November 18, 2012
This story is from the New York Post:
‘Chopper’ outta gas after decade
- By MICHAEL STARR
- Last Updated: 11:58 PM, November 16, 2012
- Posted: 11:14 PM, November 16, 2012
“After 10 years and 233 episodes of incredible, riveting reality television, ‘American Chopper’ will be ending its run,” Discovery/TLC Networks president Eileen O’Neill said in a statement.
“This series was one of the very first family-based programs on television.”
The series, a favorite of “Late Show” host David Letterman, was initially centered around Orange County Choppers, located in upstate Newburgh, NY, and featured father Paul Teutul Sr. and two of his sons, Paulie Jr. and Mike.
“American Chopper” launched in 2002 on Discovery, before moving to sister network TLC in 2008 .
It was renamed “American Chopper: Junior vs. Senior” in 2010 after a feud between the two Pauls spurred Junior to open his open his own nearby bike shop called Paul Junior Designs.
The show then moved back to Discovery.
Last summer, as The Post exclusively reported, the two Pauls — who had been estranged for three years and enmeshed in legal battles — agreed to build a bike together, which was the basis of this season’s “American Chopper.”
The final episode, airing over two nights, will feature a four-way “bike buildoff” including Jesse James.
It’s called called “Chopper Live: The Revenge” and airs Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 10 and 11, from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
It says everything about American Chopper these days that Jason Pohl has a Wikipedia article and Rick Petko doesn’t
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Yeah, but Jason probably wrote it himself.
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If that was true, surely he’d put something like: “After American Chopper’s cancellation in November 2012, Discovery announced the replacement show ‘Pohl Sharks’, in which Jason and a team of Cintiq-wielding designers revolutionise the creation of various iconic American designs”
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But what about American Chopper’s final season? Was it as happy as everyone made it look on-screen? According to Piligian, he actually fired Junior and kicked him off the set:
It’s a very tumultuous relationship, not only between the father and son, but between us as well. Junior and I would have it out, and at one point awhile back, I said, ‘We’re done with you.’
Hmm, well that’s interesting.
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