TV & VIDEO - Jan. 25, 1990

Campaign to Save “Beauty and the Beast”: Die-hard fans of “Beauty and the Beast” may not have said goodby to their tunnel friends forever. Though CBS aired its final network episode on Wednesday, several cable channels are eyeing the show for syndication. And one devotee hopes that VCRs will offer another kind of “network” for three unaired episodes. Nancy Dibble from Albany has started a “Beauty and the Beast Videotape Pledge” in which fans are promising to pay $20 initially for the exclusive tapes, and sending their pledges (not their money) to the producers of the show, Witt Thomas Productions. Dribble, a book editor, said she based the idea on the success of book clubs. She needs about 100,000 pledges for it to work. “So far there’s been great reaction,” she said. “People who love the show must know it need not die.” Cable outlets A&E;, TNT have inquired about picking up “Beast,” but the leading contender is Lifetime, which appeals to female audiences and matches the show’s demographics, according to a spokesman from Republic Pictures, which will distribute the show. No new episodes are planned.