The new CW television series “Beauty and the Beast” premiered on Oct. 11 at 8:00 p.m. The series is loosely based on the 1987 series but has a different twist on it. Despite the name of the show being what it is, the show doesn’t have nearly the same story as the much-loved fairy tale. Instead, it is a modern twist on the classic fairy tale that doesn’t work, and should  never have been attempted.

Some fairy tales are just not meant to be retold, and Beauty and the Beast is one of them, especially after the disaster that  was the 2011 romantic fantasy film “Beastly,” another modern take on the fairy tale. Maybe producers and directors  should just lay off of the need to take every single romantic fairy tale and distort it.

The pilot episode begins with a scene in 2003, in which law student Cat Chandler, played by Kristen Kreuk (“Smallville”)  witnesses her mother’s death in the hands of two murderers, who also try to kill her, but she is saved by a mysterious  “beast” who she couldn’t name. Nine years later, Chandler is a detective for the NYPD and is assigned to a homicide case.  While investigating, she comes across a man who is assumed to be dead, Vincent Keller, played by Jay Ryan.

Keller is an ex-soldier during the war with Aghanistan who was victim to an experiment to make him stronger with a mix of drugs. He was supposed to be killed, but he survived, and went into exile, occasionally leaving his home to save people in trouble. The drugs changed his DNA and turned him into a half-human half-animal species with high functioning senses that activated the “beast” in him when he felt strong emotions, such as anger. Sound familiar? Exactly. Even more frustrating is the fact that this story isn’t very close to the classic except for the fact that there is a man who has some “beastly” characteristics.

The Beast is portrayed as nothing more than an angry man, and his characteristics match that of a werewolf from “The Vampire Diaries” or a vampire from “True Blood,” or even of the Hulk. The Beauty is the typical female lead who has the tendency to want to change every troubled guy she comes across, to make him a “better man.” The characters are not depicted in a way that pays justice to the classic story; rather, they are just tidbits of every other character in every other TV show that attempts to modernize fairy tales.

When the first promo of this new series was released, I had a feeling it would be the same familiar story as every other TV series that decided to take on the new favorite of fairy tales in modern day America. I didn’t have very high expectations for this show, but I decided to check it out nonetheless, hoping that at least one TV series based off of a fairy tale would prove to be imaginative and wonderful. Obviously, I was displeased.

Beauty and the Beast lacks originality, is extremely repetitive, and is full of the same sort of story that we all have seen everywhere. A female character working for the police department, another character who cannot control his anger and has beastly characteristics, and the two meet, and sparks fly. The story that will probably unfold is quite predictable, and not in a positive way. Even though this series is supposed to be a modern interpretation of the classic tale, it lacks the creativity and originality that would have made it a more interesting story and would have given it a different outlook and perspective. Even though the acting is decent, the script is annoyingly cliche and everything is something you’ve already heard.

Beauty and the Beast can be appealing to those who appreciate a normal romantic-action drama series, but is a disappointment to those who would rather watch a series full of something different, something original and creative, with an echo of the classic that they have always loved.

But if you really wish to check it out, Beauty and the Beast airs every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. on the CW (channel 9).