Catching up with Constantine on "The Bold and the Beautiful"

My man Constantine is now heading into week four of his 13-week stint on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

He’s only made a handful of appearances, but his story is about to kick into high gear (which is probably why he’s been added to the opening credits).

Since “B&B” is only a half-hour soap, it’s not as hard to jump in. So let me get you caught up so you can start watching…

C-man’s story revolves around Phoebe Forrester and her boyfriend Rick Forrester. Phoebe is the 18-year-old daughter of Taylor Marone and Ridge Forrester. Rick is the slightly older son (26, maybe?) of Brooke Logan and Eric Forrester, Ridge’s father.

Now, before you start yelling, “Ewww!” let me explain that although Ridge always considered Eric to be his father, his biological father was revealed a few years ago to be Massimo Marone. So technically, Phoebe and Rick are not related, but I agree it’s a little borderline…

Phoebe and Rick occasionally sing karaoke at Insomnia, the local café. C.J., Insomnia’s owner, put a video of one of their performances on the Internet to create some publicity for the café. The video got 5000 hits on its first day.

Constantine (His last name has been dropped.), a well-known recording artist, sees the video and the attention it’s getting. Since he’s starting a new record label, he decides to track Phoebe down. He invites her and Rick to his studio (which is conveniently located in his apartment), but it’s clearly Phoebe he’s interested in. And since Rick is clearly the better singer, it’s obvious that Constantine has other things besides music on his mind…

Phoebe takes Constantine up on his offer and goes to the studio (without Rick) to watch him lay down tracks for “Everybody Loves, Everybody Cries” (which sounded awesome, by the way).

Meanwhile, Phoebe’s stepfather is convicted of a murder that, unbeknownst to Phoebe, her father, Ridge, committed. Rick, however, is convinced that Ridge was involved and tries to find evidence to help Nick, which makes Phoebe so angry she breaks up with him. But when Ridge confesses, Phoebe is devastated—both about her father and her reaction to Rick’s suspicions. Unable to get in touch with Rick, Phoebe turns to Constantine, who offers to be there for her until she can get in touch with Rick.

However, the reason that Phoebe is unable to reach Rick is that he is with his former love, Ashley. Using his breakup with Phoebe as a chance to rekindle their romance, Rick convinces Ashley to run off to Mexico with him. But when they discover Ridge’s confession, Rick immediately calls Phoebe and tells her he’s coming home. Phoebe is thrilled, but Constantine (who is obviously not so thrilled) does his best to put doubts in her mind about why she couldn’t get in touch with Rick. Constantine invites Phoebe to come record tracks in his studio while she’s waiting for Rick, but before they can leave, they run into Phoebe’s aunt Felicia and then Rick calls and asks her to meet him at his office. When Phoebe leaves, Felicia takes the opportunity to set Constantine straight about her niece. Constantine assures her his interest in Phoebe is purely professional, but he does care about her as a friend. Felicia doesn’t fall for his act or his smoldering gaze. Or does she?...

When Rick and Phoebe meet up, he promises her he won’t leave her. Rick goes to Ashley’s and after a few passionate kisses, he leaves, breaking off their relationship. Or does he?...

And now you're caught up...

Soaps always focus on their younger actors during the summer, but this story looks like it could be better than most. I’m having a little trouble buying the Rick-Ashley thing though since Rick is played by Kyle Lowder, who played Brady Black on “Days of Our Lives” and Ashley is played by Eileen Davidson, who played Kristen DiMera on “Days.” So I feel like he’s sleeping with his dad’s girlfriend, even though that was another show…

But one of the great things about watching “B&B” is that it’s reminded me of my love for Jack Wagner, who is fantastic as Nick Marone. And after watching today’s episode, I’m hooked as it appears that Nick’s wife is carrying his ex-wife’s baby (There was a mix-up with the in vitro fertilization.)…

Oh, and Constantine’s good too. I just wish he didn’t look so scary…

“The Bold and the Beautiful” airs weekdays at 1:30 p.m. on CBS…