On Day 2, Ballroom 20 was the place to be once again, and by 8am the line stretched outside and down to the marina. This meant it was time for plan B -- the exhibit hall and other rooms, where quality shows like FALLING SKIES and SPARTACUS: VENGEANCE held their panels.

A trip to the exhibit hall revealed that the floor was surprisingly light, which provided an opportunity to see the elaborate set up of some of the booths. And the lack of giant movie studio presentations left a void that the TV networks immediately filled. Starz brought in the ludus set from its hit show SPARTACUS; Warner Bros. once again had the biggest booth which was easily spotted by its signature water tower. FOX focused on its new FAMILY GUY online game with demos, and BBC America was all about The Doctor. ABC promoted its new series PAN AM, with a booth that included stewardesses and a small plane, while G4 had an interview platform set up on the hall floor.

For a relatively new show, the FALLING SKIES panel attracted a surprisingly loyal and lively crowd.  There was an especially big reaction for fan favorite Colin Cunningham, who plays mysterious biker Pope. For the Comic-Con crowd Cunningham is familiar from his role in the STARGATE franchise.

Will Patton (left), Drew Roy (right) and the rest of the cast and producers of

FALLING SKIES received a raucous welcome and were bombarded with detailed questions

about the aliens and their motives. Photo Credit: Stephanie Holland.

The producers teased that there could possibly be other species of aliens appearing in upcoming episodes. They also hinted that fans were going to see more of Capt. Weaver’s (Will Patton) backstory, which would create a better understanding of his relationship with young fighter Jimmy. Producers were cagey on where the show was headed in season two, but hinted that the aliens’ motives for invasion might be explored.

For fans of SPARTACUS: VENGEANCE, it’s been a long wait to find out what happens in the second season. Season one star Andy Whitfield had to be replaced for medical reasons, which led to the delayed filming of season two. However, producers kept fans happy with the prequel series GODS OF THE ARENA.

The panel opened with the premiere of the season two trailer which examined the fallout of the slave uprising at the ludus. Executive producer Steven S. DeKnight said that the story will be about Spartacus becoming a leader amid clashes with fellow gladiators Crixus and Gannicus. DeKnight assured fans that season two has more of the spectacular fights and crazy love scenes for which SPARTACUS is famous.

Even though the physical preparations for the role were daunting,

new Spartacus Liam J. McIntyre (pictured) stated that Andy Whitfield and the rest of the cast

have been nothing but supportive. Manu Bennett, who portrays Crixus, confirmed this

by praising McIntyre’s performance several times. Photo Credit: Stephanie Holland.

Comic-con favorite Lucy Lawless (right), who received endless shouts of love

from the crowd, said that Lucretia will be “quite off” as she recovers

from losing everything in the first season finale of SPARTACUS. She will develop a relationship

with Illythia that has a lot of twists and turns. Dustin Clare (left) also pictured.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Holland.

Dustin Clare (pictured) will return as Gannicus from GODS OF THE ARENA,

as he meets up with the rebellion and challenges Spartacus and Crixus.

Clare says that Gannicus will be changed from his travels and has matured.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Holland.

Between the surprising fan response for FALLING SKIES and the awesome SPARTACUS trailer, Friday’s entertaining panels proved that sometimes Comic-Con is more fun without a schedule.

Stephanie Holland is a pop culture junkie, award winning journalist and proud nerd who also writes about the latest entertainment news with a geek slant for Inscaped.com.