Rebecca Balding Movies

Twice during the mid-1970s, Andy Griffith unsuccessfully attempted to launch a TV detective series titled Abel Marsh. The first pilot film was The Girl in the Empty Grave; the second was The Deadly Game. Griffith once again stars as resort-town sheriff Abel Marsh, this time wrestling with a sinister conspiracy involving a dangerous chemical spill. Lane Slate produced, directed and wrote the film, while Griffith's longtime manager Richard O. Linke functioned as executive producer. Deadly Game was first telecast December 3, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cliffhanger that brought season one of Soap to a climax is resolved in season two when Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) is cleared of the murder of her lover (and step-nephew!) Peter Campbell. Jessica's husband, Chester (Robert Mandan), confesses to the crime whereupon he is convicted and sent to prison. Later on, Chester escapes with fellow con Dutch (Donnelly Rhodes), who, while holding the Tate family hostage, sleeps with Jessica's far-from-unwilling daughter, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), leading to an elopement. As for Eunice's daughter Corrinne (Diana Canova), she marries defrocked priest Father Tim (Sal Viscusco), with whom she has a child -- who, alas, is possessed by Satan!. Still later, Chester loses his memory and wanders westward, ultimately getting a job as a fry cook. To find her missing husband, Jessica hires Detective Donahue (John Byner), with whom she falls in love! Meanwhile, Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal), the gay son of Jessica's sister, Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon), opts to give women a try and to that end moves in with Carol David (Rebecca Balding) -- who happens to be carrying Jodie's baby. Later on, Jodie will have a fling with a sucidal lesbian named Alice (Randee Heller). Elsewhere, Jodie's mobster brother, Danny (Ted Wass), forced into a relationship with Mafia daughter Elaine (Dinah Manoff), tries to figure out various ways of getting rid of her. But when Elaine is kidnapped and subsequently killed, a heartbroken Danny swears vengeance. And what of Danny and Jodie's stepfather, Burt (Richard Mulligan)? Well, he has his hands full trying to convince his family that he has seen a UFO. As season two rushes to a close, Jessica Tate is compelled to choose between hubby Chester and Detective Donahue, Billy Tate (Jimmy Baio) is being held captive by a religious cult called the "Sunnies," and befuddled Burt is abducted by those "non-existent" aliens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ed Asner dominated the proceedings of the 1977 TV movie The Gathering; inasmuch as Asner's character died at the end of that film, he is absent from the 1979 sequel The Gathering, Part 2. Said sequel could certainly have benefitted from Asner's presence, no matter how illogical that presence might have been. In Part 2, widowed Maureen Stapleton gathers her family together for the first Christmas after the death of her husband. She is being wooed by handsome industrialist Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and the family (Rebecca Balding, Gail Strickland, Bruce Davison et.al.) isn't all that keen on this contingency. Even more so than the first film, The Gathering, Part 2 has the smell of a pilot. It was originally networkcast on December 17, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the on-campus accommodations are all taken, a group of college students are forced to take rooms in the spooky house of Mrs. Engels (Yvonne De Carlo) and her strange son, Mason (Brad Reardon). When one of the kids turns up dead, the police launch an investigation, uncovering the bloody history of the mansion and its owners. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Lonely teenaged witch Aviva (Danielle Harris) would give anything to be the fourth Halliwell sister -- and in hopes of being accepted into the fold, Aviva attaches herself to Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). Unbeknownst to the sisters, Aviva is under the influence of duplicitous priestess Kali (Rebekah Carlton), who wants to get her claws on the Halliwell girls' magic. This, however, is but one of many problems facing the Halliwells in this episode: Phoebe and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) have become rivals for the attention of hunky handyman Leo (Brian Krause), while the relationship between Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Andy (T.W. King) has reached a crossroads. Rebecca Balding, who would appear in later episodes as Elise Rothman, is here cast in a different but no less colorful part. ~ All Movie Guide

While still torn between his good and evil sides, Cole (Julian McMahon) comes to the rescue of Melissa (Amy Laughlin), a woman whose husband had been lured to his death by a bewitched Siren (Melinda Clarke). In their efforts to further protect Melissa, the Charmed Ones discover that the woman is destined to be a Whitelighter, just like Piper's husband, Leo (Brian Krause). The situation is complicated when both Cole and Phoebe fall under the Siren's deadly spell -- and complicated farther when Piper's still-unborn baby, sensing that his parents both need to walk in each other's moccasins a few miles, switches the supernatural powers possessed by Leo and Piper (Holly Marie Combs). ~ All Movie Guide

Now aware that she is slated to be Queen of the Underworld, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) dolefully resigns herself to her fate because she is still in love with the "possessed" Cole. Even so, Phoebe has not forgotten her obligations as a "Charmed One," which include the saving of an "innocent." When she does this, her Underworld subjects threaten to overthrow both herself and Cole unless Phoebe proves her loyalty by killing her sisters, Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Paige (Rose McGowan). However, this may not be necessary in the case of Piper, who is so depressed that she is liable to give up the ghost on her own. ~ All Movie Guide

Wyatt, the son of "Charmed One" Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Whitelighter Leo (Brian Krause), is kidnapped by the Cleaners, emissaries of a neutral power force that "cleans up" the mess caused when mortals are accidentally exposed to magic. In their efforts to erase Wyatt's existence, the Cleaners also wipe out the short-term memories of Piper and her sisters, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Paige (Rose McGowan). Elsewhere, Phoebe continues to have problems with her new empath powers; Paige doesn't know what she's unleashing when she uses magic as a defense mechanism against sexual harassment at the workplace; and Leo sends novice Whitelighter Chris (Drew Fuller) on an intriguing new assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Piper and Leo's baby has been born, and has been brought back to the manor. Although Piper (Holly Marie Combs) is the mother, the maternal bug has bitten her sisters, Phoebe (Holly Marie Combs), who talks about nothing other than the baby, and Paige (Rose McGowan), who has become fiercely overprotective. It is in fact Paige who pursues two demons bent upon stealing the baby's powers to an unholy marketplace -- where she becomes a new "magic source" which all the demons hope to bleed dry. Elsewhere, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) is both frightened and terrified by her new boss, Jason Dean (Eric Dane); and while the Charmed Ones bicker over a choice of names for the baby, the infant himself proves to be a constant source of amazement. ~ All Movie Guide

Henry Gibson guest stars as the Sandman (yes, that Sandman!), who asks Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) to protect him from a Tracer Demon (Darin Heames) bent upon destroying all the dreams in the world. In the process of helping the Sandman, Phoebe is galvanized when one of her worst nightmares suddenly springs to life. Seeing this, the demon decides to use a terrifying array of nightmares (including the requisite chainsaw-wielding maniacs and scary clowns!) to destroy the Charmed Ones. Things take a Freudian turn when the girls realize that the only way to save themselves is to figure out the real meanings of their horrible dreams. ~ All Movie Guide

In the first half of Charmed's fifth-season finale (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), the mythical Titans are released from their eternal prison, whereupon they wipe out all the Whitelighter Elders -- leaving only Leo (Brian Krause) in charge. While Leo is thus occupied, a mysterious Whitelighter from the future is assigned as guardian angel for the Charmed Ones. Somehow, this results in the three girls being transformed into Greek goddesses: Piper (Holly Marie Combs) is the Goddess of Earth, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) is the Goddess of Love, and Paige (Rose McGowan) is the Goddess of War! ~ All Movie Guide

In the opening episode of Charmed's seventh season, benevolent witch Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and her Whitelighter husband, Leo (Brian Krause), are grieving over the loss of their "future son" Chris. To forget their problems, the couple attends a Hindu wedding ceremony -- only to end up as vessels for the powers of two very nasty Hindu gods. It is now up to Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Paige (Rose McGowan) to prevent the possessed Piper and Leo from allowing the gods to consummate their love, thereby unleashing unimaginable horror upon the world. In other developments, Phoebe has second thoughts about taking a leave of absence from her gossip column when she meets her temporary replacement, Leslie St. Claire (Nick Lachey); and Paige struggles to keep the magic school from shutting its doors permanently. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide