With the first panel not even starting until around 10, I thought getting at the San Diego Convention Center around 8:30 was plenty of time. That statement alone is all anyone needs to prove that I was a Comic-Con International newbie coming into this weekend, but you know, I'm OK with that.

I had to practically run a mile through downtown San Diego because there is like no parking anywhere, and if there is, it's at least $20 -- and that's only until dinnertime. But as I got closer to the convention center, I got a feel of the magnitude of fandom. Thousands of people, many dressed up as some of their favorite genre characters, were everywhere ... in shops, sidewalk cafes, and herding toward the convention center.

Just across the street from the center, next to a small park, was a big black curtain that had been erected with the "Knight Rider" logo above it. Although I don't think they meant to reveal it, there was enough gap in the curtain where you could see the new battle version of KITT ... and it was looking pretty nice. Just a block away, dozens of statues of soldiers and horses were lined up to promote the upcoming "Mummy 3."

I'm amazed that the crowds were so well organized. I heard it wasn't that way last year or the year before, but I wouldn't know. I wasn't there. But if they were struggling with it in the past, they seemed to have found ways to correct it. Despite my well-known crowd phobia, I haven't felt crushed or overwhelmed. That's impressive for an event that boasts 140,000 people.

My first panel was simple enough ... "Stargate: Continuum." The night before, the movie premiered on an aircraft carrier supplied by the U.S. Navy. Of course, I wasn't there because I was still flying in from Tampa after a great SyFy Radio show with George Takei, so I missed it.

But fans who were there were cheering the premiere .... and we had a panel with just about everybody who was anybody. That included a rare convention appearance by Richard Dean Anderson, as well as Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Beau Bridges ... in fact, everyone except for Claudia Black. Fans also got a look at a trailer for "Continuum," which is released on DVD on Tuesday, as well as a special tribute to the late Don S. Davis, who died last month.

Of course, scheduling is pretty smart. You don't want to give up your seat in these ballrooms, because you probably would never get back in. So I also had a chance to see some scenes from the new MMORPG "Stargate: Worlds" (and got a cool T-shirt to go with it), before some of the cast members of "Stargate: Atlantis" came on stage. Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo, Jewel Staite -- not exactly everyone, but still some of the core actors sharing some great insight into the upcoming fifth season.

I have to say that I'm glad I moved to the front for the "Atlantis" panel because no one asked me to move for Joss Whedon. I was excited to see Whedon, as I've never been in the same room as him before, but I had no idea that he was bringing in everyone from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." I guess I should actually read the program book (I say book and not booklet, because it's so thick, it's literally a book).

What an amazing experience. Nathan Fillion is simply amazing with the fans ... in fact, so far, my three favorite panelists have been Anderson (who was extremely funny and very reminiscent of his character of Jack O'Neill), Whedon and FIllion. These are people who you can tell enjoy fandom, and the interaction with it, despite the fact that Anderson hasn't really attended too many conventions in his life.

Anderson talked about his time in the Arctic to film "Continuum," and of all the stories he could share, he talked about how amazed he was that when he went to the bathroom, his "poop would freeze." Not exactly dinnertime conversation, but it was a line that definitely "lowered the bar" for Judge, who usually is the actor responsible for bringing the comedy on the panel as low as it can go. But even if you weren't a Stargate fan, you were wiping tears from laughing so much.

One interesting event we did Friday night was an after-dinner cocktail party at the Omni Hotel about a block or so from the convention center. ABC Family was hosting it to introduce a small group of Internet writers like me to meet the cast and crew behind "Samurai Girl" and "Kyle XY" on the network.

It's funny, because we don't even cover any of those shows ... but after spending a great 15 minutes with co-executive producer Julie Plec, I can tell you we're definitely going to pick up "Kyle XY" in the coming months, and we may even bring in "The Middleman."

Jaimie Alexander, who plays Jessi XX in the series, was the most impressive to me. A very beautiful actress, she's not what Hollywood typically sees as beauty ... but she's proud of that. She knows she's tall, she's not rail thin, and isn't exactly voluptuous, but she is beautiful and she loves who she is ... I think a great role model for girls everywhere.

And Matt Dallas is extraordinary. Some could easily accuse Dallas of being just a pretty face with haunting eyes, but he's more than that. He really believes in "Kyle XY," and loves to talk about it. I've interviewed many actors in my life, and many of them will talk about their shows, but you can tell that Dallas looks forward to going to the set, and having that bellybutton removed.

I've never seen "Kyle XY," but I am going to do it now. Maybe as soon as I get back to Tampa.

There's still a couple days left, and we have plenty of news ready to be released. I'm camping out in a ballroom right now waiting for the "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" panel to start, and then after that, it's "Battlestar Galactica."

But we also have one of our columnists, Ed Left, floating around here. Funny, I have yet to meet him. We haven't seemed to run into each other at all ... but he's been attending some panels that I can't. He attended a panel on "Sanctuary" where Amanda Tapping told fans that the new SciFi Channel series is like the Web episodes "on steroids." He also said that while there is still a green screen element like it was on the Web, there are far more standing sets in the new series.

So we'll keep updating as the weekend goes on ... so make sure you keep coming back to Airlock Alpha all weekend!

Feeling a little horrific? Get your daily dose of horror news straight from The Doll, Rabid Doll that is at www.RabidDoll.com.

Hear Michael Hinman on SyFy Radio every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SyFyRadio.