Like any great entertainment experience, Comic-Con is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. From the moment Preview Night opened its doors to the Exhibit Hall with goodies from the far corners of the world set out in dazzling array, to day four when the "Glee" cast gave the last rousing panel of the day to a jam-packed ballroom of 4,500 fans, it was a heady adrenaline rush.

The excitement began innocuously enough with a late night dinner after Preview Night, when spotted in a dark corner of the rooftop bar of the Hard Rock Hotel was the illustrious Aaron Douglas (better known as Chief Galen Tyrol to "Battlestar Galactica" fans) sequestered with friends. After a quick "hello" and asking if he would mind meeting a few fans, the evening turned out to be a wondrous night as Mr. Douglas graciously posed for pictures and chatted up not only our little group, but also several of the press who had been standing nearby unaware that they had a celebrity in their midst. Unknown at the time, it was his big night too as he had some fun news to share that was going to be breaking the next day, and there was no better time to mingle with the fans than on the eve of a major announcement.

It was the perfect way to settle into the surreal world of Comic-Con, which invites everyday people to mingle with the stars all in hopes of showcasing all the latest films, television shows, books, comics, graphic novels to their key demographic: fans with keyboards.

Other than the press who were in attendance in mass abundance, there is no better way to advertise the latest and greatest for all those netbooks, laptops, Blackberries, iPhones, Apple iPads and smartphones were all ready to do one thing: promote the next big hit. Everyone wants to be the first to know and be in the know -- and at Comic-Con, everyone is aiming to be a part of that inner circle.

So as day one unfolded the next morning, the fans arrived at the break of dawn to line up for Hall H to be the first to view the exclusive new "Tron: Legacy" footage, and perhaps get a glimpse of Angelina Jolie who was to be appearing to promote her new film. Being a glutton for punishment, I was in that line by 6 a.m. bright and early. I was aiming to ensure that my friends got into the room, while I dashed off to a nearby press room for the same film. As I soon found out, the "Tron: Legacy" press room was nearly bursting at the seams, but somehow by some miracle I snagged the last available front row seat.

The "Tron" press room was energized as everyone wanted to ask the one burning question that would get the best sound bite. Not surprisingly, that question was asked by Cassie Carpenter of Backstage when she asked director Joseph Kosinski about selecting Grammy Award-winning French techno duo Daft Punk to compose the score for the film. It was the question Kosinski was obviously excited to talk about.

So after the "Tron" panel's quick intro to their film, the cast and producers were rushed away to tell everyone patiently waiting in Hall H all about it. However, some days it does not pay to be a part of the press as the promoters know the real power is with the people. There were no special clips for the press, those were saved to show the 6,500 people who had waited for over four hours in line for that privilege.

Thus, shut out of that opportunity, it was time to move on to the next big thing. Fortunately day one had more than enough of that to go around. Next up was a six-hour marathon in Ballroom 20 for the back-to-back panels for "Burn Notice," "White Collar," "Psych," "Showtime's Anti-Heroes" and "Dexter." For the 4,500 fans in that ballroom, it was a treat. USA and Showtime had pulled out all the stops and seemingly pulled a rabbit out of their hats to ensure their biggest stars were in attendance to tap dance for the audience -- literally in the case of Dule Hill from "Psych" who brought his dancing shoes!

Being their second year at Comic-Con, the "Burn Notice" panel with Bruce Campbell, Tim Matheson, Chris Vance, Alfredo Barrios and Matt Nix was ready for the melee that can erupt -- especially with Bruce Campbell egging on the fans and bribing them with real cash. The room was soon rolling in the aisles with laughter. But as a fun surprise, they announced exclusively for the fans that USA Network had just green-lit a Sam Axe movie. That announcement nearly brought the roof down!

Following rapidly on its heels, the cast of "White Collar" along with producers Jeff Eastin and Jeff King were up. Being White Collars first year at Comic-Con, they seemed awestruck by the massive fan reaction. But they also came prepared. Their teaser reel was hysterical. It portrayed a scene right from the "White Collar" set where some of the cast discussed their concerns that they may be mobbed at Comic-Con due to their former iconic sci-fi roles (Matt Bomer had appeared as Bryce Larkin in "Chuck," Marsha Thomason appeared as Naomi Dorrit on "Lost," Sharif Atkins appeared as Gary Navarro in "The 4400" and Willie Garson appeared as Martin Lloyd on "Stargate SG-1"), and thus they should come up with costumes to disguise themselves for the trip to Comic-Con. For anyone who has been at Comic-Con, this is unfortunately, all too true -- which is what made it all the more funny watching the clip debating the pros and cons of their various costumes.

Then during the "Psych" panel, not to be outdone by their cohorts, not only did the cast and producers bring Curt Smith from the band Tears for Fears out on stage to perform, they had an impromptu tap dancing session as well. If that were not enough, they just had to end on a high note and showed a teaser clip with Timothy Omundson's character Detective Lassiter dancing to Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy."

USA Network's "characters welcome" theme was more than prevalent and aptly showcased -- and the audience loved every second of it! Plus, they provided the best loot with t-shirts from each show for the fans.

The Showtime's "Anti-Heroes" panel felt tame in comparison after so much amazing entertainment. But it was still impressive to have the likes of Michael C. Hall, Mary Louise Parker and David Duchovny all seated together for one extravagant panel to ruminate on their wantonly bad characters embraced by pop culture. It must surely astound them that the fans are willing to champion the bad boys/girls of television too.

However, the "Dexter" panel knew exactly how to play on the heart-strings of the fans when Hall deftly pulled off a comparison of Dexter to Batman, citing both having surrendered to their dark sides while simultaneously struggling against it. After hearing this analysis, it will be hard to look at the character the same ever again -- especially when all you can think is "that's Batman!" Surely Showtime never once thought that their anti-hero was based on one of the greatest superheroes of all time, but if they did -- very clever!

With that spectacular finish, day one came to a close -- unless you count the multitude of screenings and parties that begin only after the Comic-Con panel doors closed for the night.

Day two was eventful in its own right with more long lines and sheer entertainment. Braving yet another morass of the masses, the day started off with a must-attend panel for "Stargate Universe." Having lived up to the hype, that after 10 episodes you will be hooked for life as they had promised last year, it was great to be back to hear what the second season had in store.

Astoundingly, it was not just the promise of more aliens, more guns and explosions, and more mysteries -- instead, it was a promise of more romance, more relationships and more answers to the mysteries that perked up my ears. Just like man cannot live on bread alone, science fiction has begun to realize that the fans cannot live on special effects alone. The secret to success of any great show is the characters, and "Stargate Universe" has a large number of fascinating characters to focus on. So after taking a few moments to chat with the cast in the press room, it was time to quickly move on to the next big panel of the day.

Next up was a sneak peek at the pilot episode of NBC's new series "The Cape" with a Q-and-A panel with the cast. Oddly enough, this series also felt a lot like "Batman." While the story is about a hero who has been framed and thought to be dead, and who seeks to clear his name and seek retribution against the evil villains who stole his name and life from him, the entire backdrop of the story felt very Gotham-esque, and was populated with bad guys with funny names like "Scales" -- who strangely looked like he did have scales. But as any good "Firefly" fan knows, anything with Summer Glau starring is worth a peek, and the tantalizing reveal that Bear McCreary would be scoring the music for the show has Battlestar Galactica fans lining up to check it out.

Also daring to share a few sneak peeks with the fans was Steven Spielberg's newest alien series "Falling Skies." After showing some decidedly "War of the Worlds" feeling clips, where the aliens hover to the sides, not clearly seen but definitely raining down hell on Earth, a Q-and-A panel with stars Noah Wyle and Moon Bloodgood provided a more detailed explanation for this murky and mysterious world. Suffice it to say, there will be a long, drawn out battle with the invaders, and humans are on the losing side. But while humans may be weaker and less equipped, the human heart is stronger and will always win out. For the human spirit cannot be conquered by might alone.

Finishing off day two, it was only fitting that the cast of "Being Human" returned for its second trip back to Comic-Con to bookend their first season and launch their second season. Hailed as returning heroes, these unlikely supernatural characters clearly had won over the audience. A special sneak peek at the upcoming second season premiere delivered on their promise that the show would go darker and deeper into the fears and anxieties of the vampire, werewolf and ghost all seeking to reclaim their humanity. Unlike their soulful and overwrought characters, cast members Russell Tovey, Lorena Crichlow, Aiden Turner and Sinaed Keenan were a bubbly bunch clearly ecstatic to be sharing their show with such a fervent group of American fans.

With more screenings and parties beckoning from afar, day two wrapped so that the night life could begin. Comic-Con was only half over and despite all the amazing adventures so far, there was so much more to come.

Editor: Look for part two of this Comic-Con tale to be posted Aug. 18 at the TV Looking Glass.