Hey…now slow down just gosh darn minute!  There was some new-fangled rock and roll music and jumpy, fast-speed video during the establishing shots today.  Am I watching MTV or The Bold and the Beautiful?  I must say I liked the new look…but it was a little jarring to then switch back to the old, familiar look of the interior shots…and same ol’ dramatic music at the end of the scenes.  Baby steps, I guess. 

Outside Forrester Creations, Shawn Brady approached the loading dock and told himself Marcus had done really well.  (It was actually Mr. Brian Beemer who last played Shawn on Days of Our Lives.  Ooh-wee, he’s a hottie.  This was proven right away by his shirt being unbuttoned just a little further than it needed to be.  But for the record, I’m not complaining.) 

In Eric’s Office, Steffy ran into Phoebe.  Are they identical twins?  Are they twins?  Heck, are they even sisters any more?  Steffy told her sister (we’ll assume they are still related until told otherwise) she should be furious for her telling their father about a private conversation she had overheard.  But since Eric had been so understanding, Steffy wasn’t mad.  Phoebe warned her sister getting involved with Marcus would only cause heartache for them both.  Ridge would oppose it every step of the way. 

Up on Donna’s Roof Top Lounge, Rick spoke with Marcus.  He was disappointed the new employee hadn’t been honest with him from the start, but he understood the reasons.  They were cool with each other.   They were cousins after all.  When Marcus wondered about the Forrester family tree Rick answered with… 

The Quote of the Day:  “It’s really not a tree.  It’s more like a gnarly mess of incestuous branches.”  (You can say that again.) 

Steffy appeared.  Rick left.  Steffy flirted with Marcus.  Please make it stop.  Again, let me say I have nothing against the actors or the characters – other than the fact they’ve been on the show a total of two weeks.  I just find this flirtatious play incredibly unrealistic for a couple over the age of….say…thirteen.  Steffy and Marcus are both young adults and at least…the very least….20 years old.  They aren’t Bogey and Bacall.  They aren’t even Dave and Maddie from Moonlighting.  Stop the attempts at playful banter and bowling talk.  I think they’d be going on dates and gettin’ it on. 

Steffy left and Shawn Brady walked on to Donna’s Roof Top Lounge.  Marcus thought he looked familiar.  Shawn introduced himself as Owen Knight.  We learned Owen was the private investigator who Marcus had hired to find his mother.  (A couple of episodes ago, Marcus told Eric he had hired a PI to find his mother.  That PI had given him the newspaper clippings about Donna’s wedding to Eric that led Marcus to Los Angeles.  Obviously, this idea was hatched well AFTER the first scenes of Marcus were taped.  If you hired a private investigator, wouldn’t you expect them to check out all the details instead of handing you an article that MIGHT be about your mother and let you fly to meet her?)  Anyway, Marcus said it was nice to finally meet Owen in person.  (If he had never met Owen, how would Marcus think he looked familiar?  And how was Owen hired if Marcus had never met him.  Was Owen like Charlie in Charlie’s Angels?  Was he just a voice over a speaker phone?)  Wow!  I’m on a bender today, ain’t I?  Owen told Marcus he had done well with his new family.  It appeared Owen wanted some more compensation.  Hey!  I’ve got an idea, Owen.  Why don’t you take off your shirt and have Rick come and show you how to do those naked torso bench presses he does so well? 

At the Marone Manse, Brooke brought Stephen and Beth over to meet with Katie and Donna.  Upstairs, Brooke, Donna, and Katie came up with a sure-fire plan to help Beth remember the past.  They would reenact family memories so she could live them again.  (I think that sounds like the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.)  Katie had a great line about her life being and “empty void” without their mother.  (Is that the opposite of a “full void”?)  Downstairs, Beth told Stephen she had decided she had to go back to Paris.  Now get this!  The reason was…she didn’t want to be a burden to her family.  (Gee.  Like we haven’t heard THAT before.)  The girls came downstairs and insisted their mother stay.  They wanted to be there for her like she had been there for them.  Stephen told Beth to take a look at their daughters.  He was certain she could not find “three more loving, compassionate people on the earth.”  (Oh really?  The Dali Lama?  Mother Teresa?  OK, she’s dead.  Ty Pennington?  You get my point.  Donna?  One of the top three compassionate people on the face of the earth.  I doubt she’d make the top 1,000,000.)  Beth was touched and decided to stay. 

I think I’ve outdone myself today.  I deserve a cocktail.