Adam Baldwin

If a magnificently nerdy religion someday forms around Chuck star Zachary Levi, Comic-Con attendees can claim that they saw its genesis.

NBC’s Josh Schwartz/Chris Fedak-created action-comedy got its public premiere on Friday for a packed auditorium.

[It’s time for me to stop referring to "packed auditoriums." Comic-Con has outgrown San Diego and everything at this year’s event isn’t just packed, it’s over-crowded. For folks trying to make the various Hollywood-themed showcases, this event has become like a Mickey-free Disneyland — all about lines, over-priced concessions and wacky people in costumes. But mostly it’s become about lines. I would kill for a FastPass option.]

Chuck is one of my five favorite pilots for this fall, but the initial crowd reaction was wobbly, with neophytes waiting with uncertainty for permission to laugh at the show’s over-the-top genre elements. By the time Adam Baldwin’s Adam Baldwin-esque Agent Casey appeared, though, the audience seemed hooked, with building laughter and building applause at commercial breaks. When the pilot ended and the available talent took the dais, there was a standing ovation, goaded on by Levi, who sounded truly overwhelmed when he said, "Thank you so much for liking it so much."

The good vibrations were so palpable that even Baldwin’s absence couldn’t harsh the buzz and the people here love Baldwin like Wade Boggs loved chicken. Much of the enthusiasm was directed at Levi and his Everyman appeal.

"It’s fun to watch someone who’s like us be called into action," Fedak said, summing up the show’s plot, which finds a socially uncomfortable superstore technical assistant thrust into international intrigue.

Thrust into action before an audience with little memory of his Less Than Perfect work, Levi played his role to the geeky hilt. He joked about video game-related injuries, pantomimed a Guitar Hero performance and led the crowd in a tribute to the late John Ritter (whose Jack Tripper character Levi referenced as an influence).

Of his leading man, Schwartz noted, "It’s a hard part to cast because you need a guy you can believe as a social outcast, but who can also get the girl."

But it wasn’t the girl fans wanted to see Levi get. With some coaching from pilot director McG, Levi and co-star Josh Gomez reenacted the episode’s soon-to-be-classic (and already heavily promoted) awkward post-ninja battle 69 on the main dais table. The crowd whooped accordingly.

The panel ended with Levi urging the crowd into another standing ovation. They complied.