Chris Fedak, who with Josh Schwartz created the NBC favorite Chuck, spent much of the Comic-Con panel writing things down. Or at least pretending to write things down.

On stage at the event, which was jump started with a performance by Jeffster!, were exec producers Schwartz and Fedak, Zachary Levi (Chuck Bartowski), Joshua Gomez (Morgan Grimes), Adam Baldwin (John Casey), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker), Ryan McPartlin (Devin 'Captain Awesome' Woodcomb), Sarah Lancaster (Ellie Bartowski), Vik Sahay (Lester Patel), Scott Krinsky (Jeff Barnes) andMark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike).

There were a few running jokes at the Saturday morning event. The tendency of Baldwin's character to answer questions with grunts was one.

Budget cuts that came with the renewal were going to lead to changes, said Schwartz. "So we can only afford for Adam Baldwin to grunt."
 
"My inner monologue when I grunt is 'Joss Whedon'," said Baldwin.

The other gag, which played very well, was that the Chuck creators don't actually know what they're going to do in Season Three because they were so prepared for a cancellation at the end of Season Two.

Which is why Fedak was writing down every good idea he heard, from cast and audience alike.

When an audience member suggested that Chuck's super powers — granted to him by virtue of the new Intersect download —  should come with a price, like after using kung fu he can't walk for a half hour.

"Like art imitating life," said Levi with that honest look of his.

"Great suggestion," said Fedak, picking up a pencil and starting to write.

A musical episode? Fedak nodded and started writing again.

It was a mutual love-in event, with the Chuck cast and creators clearly thankful that the fan-led campaign to save the show was successful, and the audience more than happy to show how much they appreciated a show that reflected them and the things in their lives.

But just as the show revolves around the character of Chuck, so did the panel revolve around the charming Zachary Levi, who was funny and engaging and very comfortable being among his people, which he clearly was.

Levi and Joshua Gomez, who plays Chuck's best friend Morgan Grimes, are also friends off set. I saw them chumming around at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles earlier this summer (Gomez was raving about the upcoming Dragon Age from BioWare and EA), and Levi admitted that he and Gomez played video games together.

When asked if he'd been training in the martial arts to prepare for the his character's new powers, Levi did his best version of Bill Murray's Carl Spackler character from Caddyshack.

"I've been doing a lot of Virtua Fighter. My thumbs are worn to the bone."

But all joking aside, there were some tidbits of information dropped during the Chuck panel.

"The fighting thing is complicated," said Levi, looking over at Schwartz and Fedak as if to ask how much he could reveal. "As long as you don't talk about it outside this room," he shrugged.

Chuck's new powers — which someone in the audience has already tagged as "Chuck fu" — can't be easily granted to him. If they were, Levi said, his handlers become obsolete.

"Our very talented and wise creators structured it in a way that the powers I may be able to have have a window," he continued.

"There's a glitch in the system," added Schwartz.

"I flash, and have my powers, but they don't last."

Said Fedak: "The Chuck story is the story of a hero. But we're telling the story of a hero in pieces." Now that Chuck has figured out that he has new abilities, which can't be learned in a day, Sarah and Casey become both protectors and senseis.

The powers, Fedak added, were supposed to go to a cold, emotionless super spy. Chuck, he said, is filled with emotion.

As for how Subway, now an official sponsor of Chuck and one reason that the show was renewed for a third season, will be worked into the story, Schwartz said that is still to be determined.

But the Buy More, where most of the show's characters worked in the first two seasons, will still be part of the show.

The only detail we learned about Chuck's love interest, Sarah Walker, played by Yvonne Strahovski, came from Schwartz: "Something very emotional and traumatic is going to have happened between Chuck and Sarah. But it's going to be really, really good. Was that vague enough?"

The feel good hour came to an end far too quickly. I got the sense that Levi would have been willing to keep going all day, talking to the fans that love him as much as he loves them.