Hey welcome back, Dale! Y'know, when I saw your username sign up, I had a flash of recognition, but couldn't figure out why I knew the name. Now that you've posted here, I'm wondering if you were ever on the mailing list at some point?
Anyway, thank you very much for your generous comments. I'm thrilled ASF or indeed any text series can still hold some attention in this video era. (Bad enough when we only had to compete with TV, but now video webisodes are popular and we text-based series are back to being poor cousins. Makes me almost miss the days of 58k modems!)
To answer the question about how to catch up, there are a few different routes you can take:
- Read 'em all! Admittedly that's a tough order -- although a surprising number of newer audience members do appear to go through the whole archives, bless their attentive hearts!
- Read the season-by-season episode recaps, which start here. In general they're detailed enough to catch plot and character details, though naturally some nuances will be missed. These should get you up to speed without a problem, and that's what they're there for!
- Read the first two or three seasons' recaps, then start with either #3.01 or #4.01. I think this might be the best way to go. The third season was a big one (especially the season finale arc) so in a way it'd be a shame to miss out on all that. But starting with the fourth season premiere can work too.
- Feeling really reckless? Jump on into #4.31, which was written after a looong hiatus and includes a lot of expository material good for newbies and returning oldies alike.
- Skip the recaps altogether and just check out ASF's Get Hooked On... showcase from the EpiGuide. The "GHO" weeks are designed to introduce audiences to a particular series, with five days of articles catching people up on the series basics, the cast, the major plots, and so on. Start with the ASF Primer, which also has a list of 'must-see episodes' I believe; then try the Cast Snapshots and Hottest Plots features. The other main article is an interview with me, but you can skip that if you're mostly interested in diving into the show.
Maybe any audience member who's gone one of these routes can offer his or her advice?
Whatever option you choose, feel free to ask questions or comment if you need clarification on something. I'd be extremely interested to find out what you decide, and whether things live up to your memories of the show. (Though considering the length of time between
my postings, I'm a little worried that you've turned against LG15 after it missed a mere 3 days, heh! Well, at least our eps take a long time to read, so there's plenty to keep you hooked, I hope!)
Again, many many thanks for reading and sharing your kind feedback.
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How did you find the series? Any favorite characters/storylines so far? 
