Yes, this is obviously the case that Ba'al = the Devil.  I think the fad for turning the names of ancient Deities into the names of devils and demons really got going with the mediaeval Grimoire craze.  I recall seeing Apollyon (=Apollo), Astarte (a Canaanite Goddess of love and fertility, a cousin to Inanna and Ishtar), and other Deities in strings of demonic names.

I think the Mask of Ba'al, which was a cool concept, would have worked better if props had been given just a bit more than the $1.98 they evidently had available to create the object.  It seems to drop out of sight, too, after this part of the story--I can't recall Judah making any further use of it, even though it was described as such a powerful object in the run-up to this part of the story.

Presumably they ditched it because somebody decided James Storm looked ridiculous wearing it.  And that person may have been right about it, too.

G.

Thanks, Vicki, for the Nancy Barrett photos from Ryan's Hope, and for the very cool article links.  I really enjoyed reading the latter.

I'm glad that Nancy was ultimately brought back on OLTL, since it seems that she really enjoyed the experience of working on that show.  I thought it was a scream when she mentioned "Carolyn Stoddard" amongst the old friends she found working there.  I guess that reference went right over the earnest interviewer's head!

Steve

RP, the MB is right about my multi tasking skills when it comes to Donnie B--I always have a free hand available for HIM!  *grrrrowlll**

Looks as if I'm doing THREE Samhain rituals this year.  One is happening on Nov. 8 for the old-style date--that is when my Tradition celebrates the festival.  The Samhain energy this year is really incredible.  I can see the Crone is going to lead us quite a dance.  A broom in one claw and a scythe in the other!

seasonal blessings,  Steve

Hi Patti,

Carrie has a crush on Gerard, who basically thinks of Carrie as a charming child.

HAA plays Charles Dawson, a lawyer who secretly heads (bwahaha) what's left of the coven descended from Judah Zachery's original coven.

Genders, both of posters and of pronouns, have been switching around as part of the current festivities.  The two Iron B's have switched personalities and any moment now I expect to turn into somebody of the opposite sex.  It's sort of like Rex Reed and Raquel Welch in Myra Breckinridge.

G.

Well, just chipping in my two drachmae on this.  I've always enjoyed Frid's scenes with both actresses under discussion.  The characters had relationships of such an extremely different nature that it doesn't feel fair to compare them.  I've known scenes between Julia and Barn just as intense, in their own way, as any between Barn and Ang.  I think one just aired--Barn's shock at "Jude-lia's" (gods, now there'a sWitcholeen for you) icy reprimand.

There's also the factor that through the history of the show, Parker and Frid had far fewer scenes together than was the case with Frid and Grayson.  From Julia's arrival on the scene in Parallel Time, down to the end of 1840, as one fan commented some years ago, B & J really seem to be "joined at the hip."  That's going to create a very different kind of onscreen energy than you get in the occasional spark-flying salvos between Barn and Ang.

G.

Joey, I don't have an answer for you, but will just comment that I personally found the scripts of Marmorstein and Swann on a stellar level rarely attained by Sproat, whose writing seemed much more workmanlike--serviceable but not much beyond that.

It's interesting that Sam Hall detested Marmorstein as a writer--I remember Grayson complaining about his scripts.  She had a couple of his shows to do when she was first on.  So far as I can figure out, Sam replaced Marmorstein as a writer for the show.  Gordon Russell joined around July 1967, I believe.

G.

Hi Melissa, great to see you again!

how are things?  Welcome to this Forum! You'll love it  There are lots of Grayson fans here, and we have some great specials. Did you get a gander at the photos of our gal's glamorous traveling ensemble for her trip to Mexico?  They're somewhere on this page.

xo  Steve (Gothick)