American chopper

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Television series
German title American chopper
Original title American chopper
Country of production United States
original language English
Year (s) 2003–2012
since 2018
Production
company		 Pilgrim Films & Television
Episodes 233 in 10+ seasons
genre Documentary soap
production Craig Piligian, Christo Doyle
First broadcast March 2003 on Discovery Channel
German-language
first broadcast		 September 17, 2004 on Discovery Channel Germany
occupation

Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr., Michael Teutul

American Chopper is an American reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel from 2003 to 2007 and then on TLC . It is broadcast in Germany on the channels DMAX and on the pay TV channel Discovery Channel Deutschland . In German-speaking countries, a version with voice-over speakers is broadcast. The producer is Pilgrim Films & Television . The main characters are company owner of the Orange County Choppers Paul Teutul, Sr., his son Paul Teutul, Jr. (also called Paulie or simply Junior) and other employees. The production of motorcycles, especially special chopper designs, is documented. Is location Newburgh in New York State .

action

The framework activity is the construction of choppers according to the wishes of the customers. In addition, the numerous and sometimes violent arguments between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. are a feature of the series. Frequent triggers are Paul Senior's criticism of Paul Jr.'s work ethic, new design variants or work processes. Paul Senior is particularly interested in old school bikes, whereas Paul Jr. is more critical of this style and appreciates modern, extravagant designs. Whether these confrontations were, at least in part, exaggerated or staged for the television series has not been proven. In the meantime, both go their separate ways, as Paul Junior has founded his own company.

Seasons

The actual series start was on March 31, 2003 on the Discovery Channel. A pilot episode was produced in 2002 and aired on September 29, 2002. In December 2007 the series switched to the sister station TLC . The first TLC season premiered in January 2008. Season 6 began in April 2009. After the series ended in February 2010, TLC announced in early April 2010 that a 7th season called American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior is produced. Discovery Channel retired the series after 10 years and 233 episodes. The last episode aired on December 17, 2012.

In October 2017, the Discovery Channel announced a sequel to the series. The new season was broadcast on DMAX from July 23, 2018.

actor

Paul Teutul Sr.

Paul John Teutul (born May 1, 1949 ) (nickname: (The) Senior ) is the founder of OCC and the steel construction company Orange County Ironworks . After he was actively involved in vehicle manufacturing at OCC in the first few years, he has since devoted himself increasingly to the administration of the company and only occasionally works on the motorcycles himself. Optical trademarks are his mustache and numerous tattoos.

Paul Teutul Jr.

Paul Michael Teutul (born October 2, 1974 ) (nickname: Paulie ) is a partner in OCC. After graduating from high school , Teutul Jr. moved directly to his father's company, where he initially became head of the sales department. He directed the design and manufacture of almost all themed bikes that were accompanied in American Chopper . In early 2009 he got into a heated argument with his father about his work ethic. Since then, Teutul Jr. has no longer actively worked on the motorcycles, but has worked as a consultant for larger projects for the company. In the meantime he has completely left OCC with his brother Michael and founded his own company with him under the name Paul Jr. Designs . In the first episode of the 7th season of American Chopper , it was announced that Teutul Jr. now also wants to build motorcycles. The commercial property acquired for this is not far from the old OCC workshop. Teutul Jr. was able to recruit Vincent DiMartino and Joseph Puliafico, two former OCC employees, for the new project. Paulie has now sold his shares in OCC to his father. He received u. A. also the Black Widow bike back.

Michael Teutul

Michael "Mikey" Teutul

Michael Joseph Teutul (born November 26, 1978 ) (nickname: Mikey ) is the youngest son of Paul Teutul Sr. He was employed as an assistant at OCC, he also supported the webmaster of the OCC homepage. In the television series he is portrayed as a joker within OCC who draws attention to himself with strange ideas or competitions among employees. He was also active in the company's promotional events. His skills as a mechanic lag behind those of the rest of the staff. Nevertheless, he designed his own chopper with the Blues Bike . Meanwhile, he also separated from his father in a dispute, is now devoting himself to his art and has joined his brother's new company. In the meantime, however, he has dropped out of the series entirely.

Vincent DiMartino

Vincent "Vinnie" DiMartino (born October 9, 1972 ) was an OCC mechanic and for many years Paul Teutul Jr.'s partner in the manufacture of the themed bikes. He left the company with Cody Connelly at the end of August 2007 and founded his own custom bike company called V-Force Customs . In 2010 he joined Paul Jr. Designs .

Rick Petko

Rick Petko (born September 11, 1968 ) works as a mechanic at OCC. He's seen building the motorcycles since the first season of American Chopper . He is also responsible for the manufacture of tanks.

Jason Pohl

Jason Gabrial Pohl (born July 1, 1981 ) works as a designer. After initially mainly responsible for the design of individual parts such as wheels or tanks, his area of ​​responsibility grew over the years. He is increasingly responsible for the complete design of the OCC motorcycles.

Other employees known by name

  • Michael "Mike" Ammirati (born December 25, 1958), shop supervisor, mechanic
  • Ralph Estrada Jr. (born August 21, 1978), painter
  • Nick Hansford (born May 16, 1978), mechanic
  • Christian Welter (born September 9, 1978), mechanic
  • Steve Moreau (born May 15, 1970), Managing Director
  • Jim Quinn (born June 12, 1966), engineer
  • Ron Salsbury (born June 11, 1972), production manager
  • Earle Herman Smith III (born April 26, 1975), warehouse clerk
  • Ty Kropp (born August 31, 1987), machine operator
  • Mike Burkhouse (born August 20, 1960), salesman
  • Jody Flannery (born August 17, 1969), logistics
  • John Sohigian (born August 1, 1960), Marketing
  • Eric England (born August 6, 1975), webmaster
  • Kate Cleary, accountant
  • Michele Kaplan, public relations
  • Walter Kozlowski (born November 3, 1953), controller
  • Willy Eckert (born February 3, 1983), mechanic
  • John Randazzo
  • Sven Bastubbe (born November 14, 1972), extradition and transfer
  • Jeff Clegg (won the OCC FANtasy Bike "Corporal Punishment")

Former Employees

  • Cody Connelly (born August 30, 1986), mechanic, previously a trainee
  • Mike Campo, mechanic (until 2005)
  • Keith Quill, managing director
  • Craig Chapman, mechanic
  • Whitney McGuire, Merchandising (former girlfriend of Paul Teutul Jr.)
  • Lee Stamper
  • Joseph S. Puliafico, managing director of the OCC shop, meanwhile with Paul Jr. Designs

Motorcycle models to the series

  • 1:10 scale:

Jet Bike, Black Widow, Firebike, Old School Chopper, Commanche, Old School Chopper (Cody Project), Mikey's Bike, Tool Bike, Santa Claus Bike, POW / MIA Bike, Miller Electric, Dixie Chopper, Caterpillar Bike, LUCY` S Bike, Napa Bike, The Reel Deal Chopper

  • Scale 1: 6:

Jet bike, firebike

Series games

American Chopper (PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC)

The first video game for the television series was released in October 2005. In American Chopper , the player enters the world of the series, he has the opportunity to ride the most famous bikes himself or to completely redesign them. In addition to many play options such. B. Reckless Driving, Point-to-Point, Motoball, Drag Racing, the player can also compete against Paul Sr. and Paul Jr.

American Chopper 2 - Full Throttle (PlayStation 2, Xbox)

In contrast to American Chopper , in the second part, which appeared in August 2007, the player slips into the role of one of the three main characters in the TV series.

Monopoly American Chopper Edition

Monopoly in American Chopper theme including the protagonists of the series modeled game characters.

Trivia

In the music video Rockstar by the Canadian band Nickelback , Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr. and Michael Teutul can be seen in three excerpts. In addition, Paul Teutul Sr. and Jr. can be seen briefly with their motorcycles in the film Born to be Wild , including John Travolta , Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence . They also made an appearance in the third season of the series My Name is Earl , for which they also built a bike.

The TV station RTL satirized the show in the Friday Night News as "The Harleys".

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wishlist
  2. ↑ TLC reviving 'American Chopper' ( Memento from September 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/hog_brawl_DGIaJp3YxntDfDynaIrtbL?sms_ss=twitter
  4. ↑ http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/11/16/american-chopper-cancelled/
  5. ↑ James Hibberd: American Chopper is being revived by the Discovery Channel . In: EW.com . October 18, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2018.

Web links