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Diana Bennett

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Character
Name: Diana Bennett
Occupation: criminal profiler
Relationships: see article
Fandom: Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Other:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
This fanart is titled "Study of Jo" after Jo Anderson, the actress who played Diana. The artist, Jamie Murray, has utilized a photo reference commonly used for the character.

Diana Bennett is a Beauty and the Beast character who appears in the third season of the show.

from The Absurd Season, art by P.S. Nim (1990)

She is brought into the beginning of the highly contentious third season after Catherine Chandler's murder.

Diana is a police officer and criminal profiler charged with investigating Catherine's death.

The character was very controversial and the subject of intense fannish opinion due to her role as Catherine's replacement. Many fans were heartbroken to lose Catherine, and were angry with TPTB's assumption that they would simply slide in another character to take Catherine's place as Vincent Well's probable love interest.

From a fan in early 1990:

Will Diana Bennett be Vincent's new heart throb? It is doubtful because of his eternal love and devotion. Only true fans would begin to understand and accept this. The unknowing would be trapped by the prospect of another woman. How DALLAS! [1]f

Jo Anderson, the actress who portrayed Diana, at the October 1992 convention in Germany, Great Expectations: A World of Dancing Lights

Pairings

The main pairing with Diana is Vincent Wells, the Beast.

Other fans paired her with Joe Maxwell or Elliot Burch. Some did this because they liked to imagine Diana with either man, and some did it to keep Diana away from Vincent!

A Controversial Figure

"No!," first page of a poem in the 1991 con zine, Masquerades where Vincent Wells is clear Diana is simply a helpful placeholder

Anger over Catherine's death and Diana's role carried over into fannish wank, with many zines excluding works that incorporated Season 3 canon and sometimes Diana in particular, while others refused to read Vincent/Diana or Diana-centric stories.

I liked Diana well enough, but nothing could ever (and never has IMO!) match the romantic relationship between Vincent and Catherine. Therefore, I tend to read only Classic stories or SND (she's not dead) stories. I'm still waiting for Ron Koslow to write ... *something* ... to SND

bring Catherine back to Vincent. :-) [2]

Anger Over TPTB's Assumptions and Manipulations

From a fan in June 1990:

I could enjoy playing with the Diana character. After all, isn't she the ultimate "Mary Sue" character? She's there to help our hero find his baby, to save his life, and — I thought — to bring Catherine back. She's us, our surrogate, solving all the problems.

[...]

Then the writers did the unthinkable — there's that testosterone poisoning at work again. They decided that Catherine was really dead, and Vincent would form a bond with Diana! I mean, it was right there in the first draft of the script, and as I read it, I felt as if someone had slimed me. What kind of eternal romance ends in tragedy so that one of the lovers can go off and have another eternal romance? [3]

Some Fans Hadn't Liked Catherine, and Were Glad of a Replacement

Other fans were very much a proponent of Diana. Some cited their ambiguous or dislike of Catherine mainly due to her role in leading the Beast into constant danger and her background of wealth. These fans welcomed Diana and her new energy.

From a fan in early 1990:

I don't know how others feel, but I love Diana and even in the few shows she featured in I prefer her character to Catherine's. I am sure I will be hung from the highest tree for this remark but I never could believe in Catherine and always wondered what Vincent saw in her. The flaws in Catherine's character (not Linda Hamilton), who I thought did the best with what she was given) never gave me the satisfaction I wanted, I could never truly believe and care enough for her. I believed in the romance but not the woman. [4]

From the little we saw of Diana, I believe this woman 1. Would commit herself body and soul. She'd like the poetry and the music, but sooner or later, she'd want more fulfillment and go after it. 2. She's cautious of Vincent, naturally, but not afraid of him. She understands him in a way Catherine never could. I had the feeling her background would be a lot different from Catherine's. She's been on the outside and knows how it feels. 3. If she had to face exposure of her love for him, she'd stand behind him and take the lumps with him. She'd have the land of courage Catherine, unfortunately, lacked. [5]

She's Okay... But Only as a Friend!

Diana is very often portrayed in fanworks in what fans came to call Diana Appears as a Friend, the latter to let fans know that Vincent Wells, the Beast, has no romantic or sexual interest in her.

I read something in a letterzine about the Creation Con in Sacramento last November. They were having a slide show and Jo Anderson's face came on; everyone booed. Then they asked, "If Diana was in a storyline where Vincent and Catherine's relationship had never been intruded upon, would you like her?" Well, the overall consensus was "Yes, sure, but not when they're trying to shove her down our throats as a replacement for Catherine." [6]

For me, it was clear-cut from the word "go" -- Diana could never be a replacement, in any way, shape, or form, for Catherine. And replacement she WAS indeed intended to be — a romantic one, at that, as revealed time and again by several of the B&TB writers. Had she been intended as merely a friend -- well, even then it wouldn't have done for me.... my ultimate feeling about Diana is this: Had Catherine lived, I would have gladly accepted Diana's presence as a strong secondary female character. There were things I might have liked about her. [7]

Vincent Deserves to Be Happy

A few felt that the Beast deserved to be happy despite losing someone loved:

I am of the firm belief that Vincent deserves to love and be loved... by anybody. [8]

The loss of a loved one does not mean one can never love again, and anyone who would wish that upon Vincent truly has no heart![9]

I soon became a die hard third season fan of Diana and my more recent stories reflect that. Also I want Vincent to go on with his life as I had to after the death of my third husband [...]. I had to for the sake of our kids, and that's what I believe Vincent will have to do eventually and I see Diana as helping him to find his full potential as man and find peace within himself once again. [10]

I would very much like to see Vincent's need for love answered. He had Catherine for such a short time that it isn't fair to believe that this is all the love he will ever know. Isn't it possible to love a woman without denying the loyalty one had for another who is now deceased? Doesn't love grow from love? Isn't it true that the more you love the more love you have to offer? Wouldn't Catherine want Vincent to find someone to love? But not Diana Bennett, you say? [11]

Diana: A Female Vincent, An Equal

Spiritually and intellectually, Diana begins as Vincent's equal. She tells him repeatedly that if he tries to do it alone, he will fail. She seeks him out to demand her right to fight by his side. Ultimately, he lets her. Yet although Vincent needs Diana, she needs him just as much. Vincent is Diana's salvation, her means to get past the barriers that divide her from others. Vincent is the only person she has ever known who understands her nature. His world, the Tunnel World, is her true home, because it is only there that her gifts would be welcomed rather than threatening. [12]

I have heard more than one person say they thought Diana was a "female Vincent." The same coloring, that medieval quality about her (in spite of her modern clothes), a certain stillness, a "listening" quality about her.[13]

Criticism of Her Sloppy Clothing: She Looks Like a Rat!

...she looks too raggedy-looking. Even at the baby's naming ceremony, she looked unkempt. Doesn't she have at least one nice dress? [14]

If Diana is to be the new "love interest", she needs a shot of adrenaline to spruce her up. As is her look is so bland and unemotional. Her voice is a boring monotone. She needs a wardrobe that doesn't look like it came from the trash can behind that ramshackle loft where she lives. Once she has been made presentable and worthy of Vincent, the relationship must be developed slowly and very gently.[15]

It is infuriating to read letters in TT and elsewhere whining about Diana's casual (frequently referred to as "sloppy") mode of dress, her unglamorous digs ('ramshackle loft"), and her tendency to wear her hair in a comfortable and practical style rather than a style which would be more becoming. She needs to be made more "presentable" in order to be made "worthy" of Vincent This is obviously the voice of people unable to find a serious valid reason to dislike the character, but determined to find a flaw or make them up. Are these valid criteria for judging anyone? Is that where B&TB taught us to put our priorities) — a person's appearance and address? We hope not! (Heavens, our hero wears vests of converted mattress padding, lives in the sewers, and looks like a wild animal!) These are really petty complaints and cheap shots from people with closed minds. [16]

I’m crazy about Diana. At last, a woman with a mind of her own. She does her job, she does it well, without asking permission from anyone about what to do or how to do it. She’s objective but caring, strong without being domineering. And isn’t it refreshing and unusual for TV to see a down-to-earth woman who wears no makeup and chews her nails. [17]

Not Given a Chance, Too Wrapped Up in Fan Anger

I noticed the writers trying to create a love relationship with Vincent, and this ticked me off SO MUCH that I think a lot of Diana was lost in the anger I felt towards the direction the writers/plots were going in. I always wanted to give her a chance, but so many things conspired against that: the newspapers blaring "New Beauty," all the bad gossip concerning Linda Hamilton, the absolutely (to me) stunning news that not every fan felt like I did concerning Catherine's "death" — that totally floored me. We had become a big family, supporting one another, and then, to find out (!) that other fans felt the show could continue WITHOUT Catherine — I was flabbergasted! Now, 10 months later, I have learned to live with this fact, but... it was hard accepting this realization. [18]

Experiencing True Grief Over the Loss of a Character

For most fans, the death of the character, Catherine, was like losing a real life loved one. They felt that in order to accept Diana, they had to give up disregard Catherine: From a fan in 1990:

In a way, still calling it B&TB is just confirming that Catherine was disposable, and for me that can never, EVER be true. BEAUTY and the Beast, for me, ceased to exist with Catherine's death.[19]

In 1993, a fan wrote:

As far as my favorite episodes, while I love them all for different reasons, I didn't really think the time would come when I would really appreciate the third season episodes, but at last I do. I think that when they first aired, fans were not prepared for the shock of Catherine's death, I know I wasn't, and unfortunately, I think we entered a period of mourning. I know that we are only talking about a TV show, but I have never gotten so caught up in characters before. Anyway, my point is, at the time of the original airings, we could not appreciate the "Diana" episodes fully.[20]

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Some controversial stories were "Night Moves" by Beth Blighton in Castles in the Air #2 (1991) and Unfinished Symphony in A Secret Place #6 (1990). Fans felt that the romances and third-season settings were not properly labelled on flyers and advertisements.

Some works, such as The Restoration Trilogy (1990), focus on a love triangle in which both Diana and Catherine are present.

Others choose to exclude Diana complete through various canon divergences (usually SND), including Daybreak: From Shadows into Light (1991).

Where Have All The Flowers Gone? by Margaret Davis ("Diana's story starts at age 5 and we learn how early influences in her life shaped her into the woman we saw.") (from Huntress #1 (1992)

Fans continue to write stories about Diana in the interent era. Examples include:

Zines

Vids

Meta

Other

Portrayed in Fan Art

It appears that the same one or two photo references inspired much of the Diana Bennett fanart.

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1998

Fan Comments

1990

Spiritually and intellectually, Diana begins as Vincent's equal. She tells him repeatedly that if he tries to do it alone, he will fail. She seeks him out to demand her right to fight by his side. Ultimately, he lets her. Yet although Vincent needs Diana, she needs him just as much. Vincent is Diana's salvation, her means to get past the barriers that divide her from others. Vincent is the only person she has ever known who understands her nature. His world, the Tunnel World, is her true home, because it is only there that her gifts would be welcomed rather than threatening.

This doesn't mean that they, Vincent and Diana, would have to become lovers — though if they did it would be a relationship of incomparable depth. Even friendship between them would have been utterly fascinating and rewarding.

Unlike myself, some fans found Jo Anderson unbeautiful. It is certainly true that her clothes, makeup and hairdo were made as unflattering as possible. With Linda Hamilton, it was just the reverse. In the first season, she was consistently presented as beautiful and glamorous. Then, during the second season, as Catherine discarded her vanity, she was often allowed to look downright plain. With Diana, no doubt, it was intended to go the opposite way. As she found love and acceptance, she would have blossomed.

[...]

Many fans speak of Diana as an intruder, a too obvious (and inferior) substitute for Catherine. They say they want to scream at her, "Keep your mitts off Catherine's things!" But why should a show only have one leading female character — or only one kind of female lead? Why should there be so many strong and major and varied and well-developed male characters — Vincent, Father, Elliot, Joe — but only one token leading female? [21]

Fans of the show loved it, not only for the uplifting stories, but because of the special appeal of Vincent and Catherine. These two were meant to be together, and for the producers to think we would accept Vincent with another so-called "beauty" is completely ridiculous. I can't believe any true fans of the real Beauty and the Beast really liked the third season. Vincent used to say Catherine was "his life," and to have us believe that he would be interested in someone else, especially this "Diana" character, was completely unbelievable. I'm sorry, I just didn't care for "Diana" at all. She had nothing to do with Beauty and the Beast, and she seemed like an intruder in Vincent's world. [22]

...I always felt that we were only given the character because "THEY" thought we needed a female character in there with all of the males. I found Diana only occupied air time during the episodes she appeared in and really did not give much to her scenes. I realize that Jo Anderson walked into a tense situation, but I believe she could have added more to the character than just saying her lines. I believe the sloppy dressing was just another way to make her different from Catherine. Catherine dressed very nicely and was very lady-like, so Diana had to be the exact opposite so we could not say they were trying to make her into Catherine. I guess what upset me the most out of all her scenes was when they had her kill Gabriel with Catherine's gun. It was like they thought I would suddenly love Diana because she killed the man who caused Catherine's death, and with Catherine's gun. To me it was just another of many scenes from third season that made little sense. [23]

Diana — A fascinating strong character in her own right. But she looks too raggedy-looking. Even at the baby's naming ceremony, she looked unkempt. Doesn't she have at least one nice dress? [24]

I resisted Diana at first, as I'm sure many others did, but, by "Invictus" she had proven her viability to me. There are plenty of fascinating possibilities in her friendship with Vincent. I don't feel enough time has passed yet (in their universe) for Vincent to be ready for more than friendship from Diana, but there are stories waiting to be told. [25]

The word "Beauty" in the title becomes meaningless if you can simply "fill in the blank" with any woman — be it Diana or someone else. In a way, still calling it B&TB is just confirming that Catherine was disposable, and for me that can never, EVER be true. BEAUTY and the Beast, for me, ceased to exist with Catherine's death. Vincent does continue, but his Beauty does not If they were to call the new show "Vincent" it would be more accurate and honest. And maybe I'd watch that show, because it wouldn't be "pretending" to be what it was the first two seasons with Catherine. [26]

From the little we saw of Diana, I believe this woman 1. Would commit herself body and soul. She'd like the poetry and the music, but sooner or later, she'd want more fulfillment and go after it. 2. She's cautious of Vincent, naturally, but not afraid of him. She understands him in a way Catherine never could. I had the feeling her background would be a lot different from Catherine's. She's been on the outside and knows how it feels. 3. If she had to face exposure of her love for him, she'd stand behind him and take the lumps with him. She'd have the land of courage Catherine, unfortunately, lacked. [27]

The inevitable comparison between the two women, which is, in some ways, is unfair to Diana. We saw Catherine during the most vulnerable period in her life, saw her completely restructure her life, and followed the course of her relationship with Vincent. We knew her for two full years better than we would know even our closest friends, because we were allowed to share the most intimate details of her life, something most of us don't do, even with our closest friends. After watching the first nine episodes of season one, I felt as though I knew Catherine very well. After watching nine episodes of the third seasons, I find I don't really know Diana at all, and sadly enough, I really don't want to know her. [28]

Try as I might, I cannot imagine V&D together, or reading love sonnets, or listening to concerts in the park. What would they do anyway? Read detective stories? The whole thing is too impossible. Also, I don't like the way Diana looks. She looks like a rat. Maybe she and Mouse could get together. I think they tried too hard to make her the opposite of Catherine.

It is infuriating to read letters in TT and elsewhere whining about Diana's casual (frequently referred to as "sloppy") mode of dress, her unglamorous digs ('ramshackle loft"), and her tendency to wear her hair in a comfortable and practical style rather than a style which would be more becoming. She needs to be made more "presentable" in order to be made "worthy" of Vincent This is obviously the voice of people unable to find a serious valid reason to dislike the character, but determined to find a flaw or make them up. Are these valid criteria for judging anyone? Is that where B&TB taught us to put our priorities)—a person's appearance and address? We hope not! (Heavens, our hero wears vests of converted mattress padding, lives in the sewers, and looks like a wild animal!) These are really petty complaints and cheap shots from people with closed minds. [29]

We spied a few people wearing at TunnelCon. The button read, "Who says we have to give her a chance?" The answer is Vincent. His very existence has said we have to give everyone a chance, ever since the pilot, and anyone who refuses to even consider the validity and value of Diana as a character hasn't been watching.[30]

Regarding the Diana vs. Catherine issue — well, I've always been up-front that I was never able to like Diana because she was so obviously intended as a replacement for Catherine (at least in the earlier versions of the scripts, and in the plot outlines for a continued third season storyline). But, had Diana appeared as a secondary character, a friend to Catherine and Vincent, I would have liked her. She would have added another strong female character to the show, and I could never have too much of that! Diana is actually far more like me, personally, than Catherine is. She's from a middle' class background, she lounges about in jeans and sweats, she's very unpolished and forthright and not traditionally "feminine" — all traits I feel are true of myself. The main difference between me and Diana is that I'm far more openly emotional than she is, which would be a major stumbling block for me to relate to her. In that respect, Catherine and I share a similar personality trait. [31]

If Diana is to be the new "love interest", she needs a shot of adrenaline to spruce her up. As is her look is so bland and unemotional. Her voice is a boring monotone. She needs a wardrobe that doesn't look like it came from the trash can behind that ramshackle loft where she lives. Once she has been made presentable and worthy of Vincent, the relationship must be developed slowly and very gently. [32]

I really like Diana and I wish people would stop making comparisons. She's an individual and should be treated as such. She went to Catherine's apartment to do her job. I liked her down-to-earth qualities, like the baseball cap she wore while waiting in the cemetery, her not-to-perfectly-clean loft and her jeans with the holes in the knees. I found her very easy to relate to. (May 1990) [33]

Up until [season 3] things had been fine, but, when that third season came out, it became instant warfare. Instant warfare. If you dared say that you liked Diana — For example, I published an issue of a Beauty and the Beast zine after that came out, and I had a, like, three-page story which was just a Diana story. I had people send me back my flyer, which talked about this, torn to pieces. And, this didn't happen to me but it happened to Dovya, who also published a Beauty and the Beast zine at the time. She had the same situation happen, but someone—more than one person—tore the story out of the zine, ripped it up in pieces and sent it back to her. It's like, overreaction much?"[34]

It was ridiculous to think of any woman taking Catherine's place in Vincent's heart. Yet. I found myself defending the character of Diana Bennett.

"Maybe he will change her," was my first comment, "Maybe she is an empath too," was my second thought. "And maybe they will become partners and take on the bad guys together!"

Diana Bennett is a very interesting character. Food for much thought has been served in the few lines she has been given.

I would very much like to see Vincent's need for love answered. He had Catherine for such a short time that it isn't fair to believe that this is all the love he will ever know. Isn't it possible to love a woman without denying the loyalty one had for another who is now deceased? Doesn't love grow from love? Isn't it true that the more you love the more love you have to offer? Wouldn't Catherine want Vincent to find someone to love? But not Diana Bennett, you say?

I like Diana. I like the way her character is developing. I like the way she went into Catherine's apartment, turned on the music and turned out the lights. I like the way she adopted Catherine's rose. I like the way she adopted Catherine's rose. I liked the way she walked through the house, looking at and touching everything gently, as though it was all very cherished and important...Diana has a way to go. But, maybe Vincent will teach her a better way to deal with her great sensitivity without faking a brassy, conceited demeanor. She could come a long way with a little love from him. [35]

1994

I never thought myself to be a classic B&B fan. I just thought I was a fan, full stop, but something's happened d to make me realise I am a "Classic B&B fan whatever that means. I have come to this conclusion by realising that when I read fanzines containing stories of Vincent with other women, with Diana, especially in a romantic or sexual nature, I used to feel really uncomfortable, so much so I avoid reading any fanzines which include the said mentioned. [36]

1995

I like Diana; there's so few good female characters on TV, and the idea of a 'psychic detective' really appealed to me. I'd love to see her wind up with Joe Maxwell; I think they would be a good match. [37]

2003

I don't watch TV at home, but when I visited a friend last year, I consented to sit through The X-Files with him. I hadn't seen it in a few years, so I was blown away by Scully: beautiful, smart, capable, assertive. I immediately thought, "I gotta slash her!"

But with whom? She doesn't have an attractive sidekick or an archvillainess in canon. An original character would be suspected of being a Mary Sue, and probably with some justice, because I do want Scully for myself. (No, Spooky can't have her. She's mine.) I stewed for a long time, and finally ended up writing crossovers, slashing her with Emma J. Russell from the movie The Saint and with Detective Diana Bennett from Beauty and the Beast, the latter despite the attendant difficulties of pairing a redhead named Dana with a redhead named Diana.

So that's the big problem: finding a fandom that has not only one, but two interesting, complex female characters. In most fandoms, we're lucky to get just one. [38]

2015

... while Jo Anderson didn’t seem all that striking to me at first glance, she had the kind of face that gets more compellingly beautiful the more you look at it. She was a redhead with enormous, soulful blue eyes and luminous skin, like a Titian painting brought to life. And she had an earthier, subtler appeal than Hamilton had; Diana was more of a middle-class character with a New Jersey accent (the actress’s own) that I found rather charming. [39]

2020

Yeah, I know this might make me a pariah in the fandom--if the fandom stil exists--but I LOVED Diana. For a character who was only in half a season, she was so complex so quickly. I loved her incredible, almost supernatural instincts, her tendency towards obsessive behavior, her courage, her recklessness, even the careless way she dressed. I really wish she'd gotten at least a full season to show her stuff. [40]

Fannish Links

References

  1. ^ from Pipeline v.3 n.3 (March 1990)
  2. ^ "Becky's Fanfiction Recommendations". Archived from the original on 2021-11-22.
  3. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4 (June 1990)
  4. ^ from Once Upon a Time...Is Now #20 (March 1990)
  5. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  6. ^ from Tunneltalk/Issue v.2 n.2 (1991)
  7. ^ from Tunneltalk/Issue v.1 n.10 (August 1991)
  8. ^ from a letter of comment in A Secret Place #7
  9. ^ from Once Upon a Time... Is Now #22 (May 1990)
  10. ^ About me
  11. ^ from The Whispering Gallery #18/19 (1990)
  12. ^ from Diana moved me ''powerfully", an August 1990 essay by Barbara Goulter.
  13. ^ from Tunneltalk/Issue v.1 n.6
  14. ^ from Tunneltalk/Issue v.1 n.4
  15. ^ from Once Upon a Time... Is Now #22 (May 1990)
  16. ^ from Tunneltalk/Issue v.1 n.6
  17. ^ from Once Upon a Time... Is Now/Issues 019-020 (February 1990)
  18. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.9
  19. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  20. ^ a comment by Ann Marie in September 1993, from Of Love and Hope v.1 n.2
  21. ^ from Diana moved me ''powerfully"
  22. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  23. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  24. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  25. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  26. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  27. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  28. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.4
  29. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.5
  30. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.6
  31. ^ from Tunneltalk v.1 n.5
  32. ^ from Once Upon a Time...Is Now #22 (May 1990)
  33. ^ from Once Upon a Time...Is Now #22 (May 1990)
  34. ^ from Media Fandom Oral History Project Interview with CatalenaMara (accessed November 4, 2013.), see Dovya's open letter, I am not immune to grief over the death of a fictional character. (1990)
  35. ^ from The Whispering Gallery #18/19
  36. ^ from Chatterbox February 1994 (6)
  37. ^ from Chatterbox June 1995 (2A)
  38. ^ from Kadorienne in Some Thoughts on Femslash
  39. ^ from Revisiting the 1987 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TV series (spoilers) by Christopher L. Bennett (2015)
  40. ^ from Fandom by Azar Suerte
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