What’s Next for Lovers in ‘Beauty and the Beast’?

For Catherine and Vincent, the characters in CBS’ “Beauty and the Beast,” the first season of the series was a period of longing and separation, of breathless, secret encounters, of poetry and tragedy, of heightened romance, candlelight and tears.

Their fans--especially the female contingent--thrived on the unconsummated love of Vincent (Ron Perlman), the hairy but platinum-hearted beast who inhabited a secret world in the sewers of Manhattan, and crusading young lawyer-heiress Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton), who spurned all human suitors to continue her spiritual trysts with Vincent.

But now it’s Season Two (tonight at 8 p.m., Channels 2 and 8). And even the most romantic of viewers may begin to wax more practical.

The beast and the beauty have been dating for more than a year, and let’s face it, they’re not getting any younger. Isn’t it time for Catherine to get serious, or start seeing other beasts? Could an heiress find happiness if she moved to the sewer? Sure, the couple come from different species--but did that ever stop Capt. Kirk when some dewy-eyed Martian or Venusian lass wanted to know what it was “you Earthlings call . . . love”?

In short, is unconsummated love, er, credible in the second season?

“Beauty and the Beast” creator Ron Koslow says yes. He remains convinced that second-season viewers will find the special love shared by Catherine and Vincent not increasingly frustrating, but more special than ever.

“There is a reason this relationship is, shall we say, charged,” Koslow said. “There is an implicit taboo, an implicit impossibility to this relationship. I think any time you have that kind of electricity between two people, it’s far more interesting to explore that power than to attempt to neutralize it.”

That does not mean simply re-exploring last year’s turf, Koslow added.

“I think we’re going to see deeper communication between the two of them,” he said. “These are two people who in many ways can be closer on a very fundamental level than most people--two people who can be completely honest with each other. What we want to do is explore the implications of that honesty.”

As happened last season, Koslow said, both parties will have their faith tested. The temptations of the real world will continue to challenge Catherine’s commitment, and the Beast may be challenged this season too. “It is conceivable that someone could come into his life who would attempt to tempt him away from Catherine,” Koslow said.

The show, which Koslow describes as a “contemporary fable,” has more going for it than romance, Koslow added. He said this year’s stories will bring new elements and characters to the underground world.

“There’s a whole civilization down there, a Utopian world beneath the streets of New York,” he said. “Who are they? How did they get there? What are they doing down there?”

The streets of New York will be used more creatively as well, Koslow said.

“To me, New York is a magical place. New York is the primeval forest of our time, full of wonders and terrors,” he said. “In New York, you can turn a corner, run into someone, and your life can change. We want to explore that--but always in the context of this epic romance.”