And now, back in randy Orange County ...

After a longer wait than fans would have liked, it’s finally time to return to “The O.C.�

Although it aired a couple of recap/warmup specials in September, Fox wanted to finish covering baseball’s postseason before launching the serial’s second season. New episodes begin Thursday, with many questions left over from last year to be answered for viewers ... and also for the Orange County characters in the drama, which proved to be one of last season’s most popular new series. (MTV has since tried to cash in with its unscripted show “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.�)

A newly released DVD set of first-year “O.C.� stories also provides a refresher, but when we left them last spring:

* Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie), the newest kid on the affluent block, had returned to working-class Chino to do the right thing by staying with pregnant ex-girlfriend Theresa (Navi Rawat).

* Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), Ryan’s latest flame, had been blackmailed into going along with her social-climber mother Julie’s (Melinda Clarke) new marriage to ruthless tycoon Caleb Nichol (Alan Dale).

* Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) was prompted by Ryan’s departure to literally sail away from the O.C. life he led with his parents, Sandy and Caleb’s daughter Kirsten (Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan), and his girlfriend Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson).

* Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan), the seemingly hapless father of Marissa and ex-husband of Julie, had taken up with Kirsten’s sister Hailey (Amanda Righetti, now a costar of “North Shore,� which returns to the Fox lineup immediately after “The O.C.� season premiere).

That’s a lot to resolve, but the first episode, “The Distance,� gives it a shot. Sandy goes after Ryan with Kirsten’s blessing, hoping that bringing him back to the Cohen household will inspire Seth to return, and Marissa becomes attracted to a gardener (Nicholas Gonzalez). Former series regular Chris Carmack and Brian McNamara reprise their first-season roles as Luke Ward, Marissa’s ex-boyfriend, and his father, Carson.

“It was never a question of ‘Would Ryan come back?’ � series creator and executive producer Josh Schwartz maintains, “but a question of ‘how,’ and also of how his leaving and Seth’s absence have sort of torn this community and these families apart, and of everything they’re going to have to rectify and rebuild once they’ve returned.� And how long will that take? Not surprisingly, Schwartz replies, “That, I can’t tell you.�

However, actors Barton, McKenzie and Brody can tell you how it feels to go from being relative unknowns to much-photographed idols of young viewers. McKenzie couldn’t even escape his new fame in China last summer, because other visitors noticed him. “I’m very lucky to have parents and two brothers who are very supportive,� he says. “If I didn’t, I don’t know how I’d differentiate who I really am from how people see me. There’s this odd thing that happens when you’re in the public eye. If you want to be a celebrity who vies for attention, that can be had, but that’s not me.�

Barton has gotten extra exposure through skin-care product ads and, courtesy of tabloids, her romance with oil-family heir Brandon Davis. “I think it’s always important to promote a product that you want to be successful,� she says. “You have to work for that. I’m very proud of everything that’s come out of this, in general. It’s entirely flattering to be on the covers of magazines and to be offered the chance to do endorsements, so you can’t really complain.�

Neither can Brody, who spent part of his hiatus working with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the forthcoming movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith� (directed by Doug Liman, an executive consultant on “The O.C.�). “It’s weird to be known so well for playing this one character,� Brody allows of the engagingly nerdy Seth. “My only concern is that I hope I don’t get so well known for this character that I can’t be seen as anyone else. That said, I’m not too worried about it. I feel like I can make that transition -- and if I can’t, I feel it’ll be more because I didn’t make smart enough choices or wasn’t a good enough actor.�

The success of “The O.C.� also has affected Rowan, who paid her dues in TV’s “Boomtown,� the movie “187� and other projects in the United States and her native Canada. “It’s great, because the long-term goal is just to try to stay in the game,� she says, “to keep working and just get better at what you do. I just feel really blessed that I have such a great job and get to work with such great people.�

Gallagher, Rowan’s partner in many “O.C.� scenes, enjoys encounters with older fans as much as any. “What always perplexed me is that if you’re watching an hour drama, it’s completely devoid of any humor a lot of the time, and how inaccurately I thought that would reflect most people’s life experience. If you get out of bed and you’ve got a job to do and you’re a parent, half of what gets you through the day is either taking delight in other people’s misfortunes or laughing at your own ... so when I first read this script, it felt like the kind of world I’d really, really want to participate in.�

With the NBC ratings juggernaut “Friends� now gone from Thursdays, Fox has moved “The O.C.� there from Wednesdays, but it still faces competition from NBC’s “Friends� spinoff “Joey� and the latest season of CBS’ “Survivor.�

Says Schwartz: “Wednesday was really competitive for us in terms of ‘The Bachelor’ [on ABC] and ‘The West Wing’ [on NBC]. I think Thursday night actually is more favorable to us in terms of the demographics. We have our fan base. I think they’re going to come with us, and I really do believe we’re going to be able to build on that audience and expand.�

Jay Bobbin writes for Tribune Media Services.

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‘The O.C.’

When: 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday

Where: Fox

Rating: TV-PG-L (may be unsuitable for young children, with an advisory for coarse language)