"The Premise:
The experiences of comedian Chris Rock, who also narrates, growing up in
Brooklyn in the early 1980s is the focus of this single camera sitcom.

-Competition: Alias (ABC), Survivor: Guatemala (CBS), Joey (NBC), The O.C.
(Fox), Smallville (WB)

-Who Was On the Panel:
Chris Rock, Tyler J. Williams, Terry Crews, Imani Hakim, Tichina Arnold,
Tequan Richmond, Vincent Martella and executive producer/writer Ali LeRoi.

-The Scoop:
Like Will Smith two years earlier, who was at the TCA Summer Tour touting
All of Us, it was standing room only as a G-rated Chris Rock explained why
he would not leave the show after the pilot:

“I don’t think I have ever done anything and walked out – there is no
evidence of that. My name is Rock, not Chappelle.”

As to whether or not there will be celebrity guests on Everybody Hates
Chris, according to Rock:

“I have never seen stunt casting that was actually funny. ‘Oh, it’s Shaq,’
and then there is some horrible excuse for him to dunk. It’s always bad.
‘Oh, Ludacris is going to be on this week.’ He says a rhyme that has
nothing to do with the show. It just sucks.”

-The Reality:
Although facing competition like Survivor, Alias, The O.C. (and, yes, Joey
too!) could be referred to as a suicide mission, the boldest programming
move of the season is likely to pay off because a) Everybody Loves Chris
looks like too good a show to pass up, b) NBC’s Joey will likely continue
to sink, and c) there is no Tribal Council on CBS’ Survivor in the 8 p.m.
half-hour. While you have to also commend ABC for moving Alias into the
time period, UPN will not go unnoticed thanks to Chris Rock. Too bad the
momentum is likely to stall once the marginal Eve kicks in at 8:30 p.m."