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American Chopper

(Rated TV-PG, Reality TV, Starring Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr., Where to watch: Discovery Channel, TLC, DVD, Online)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 12.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Boisterous bike building; older tweens and up.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 12 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    The stars often take part in some pretty loud arguments, but when the dust settles, it's clear they respect each other. The cast demonstrates teamwork in building the bikes.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    There's some casual rough-and-tumble among the guys, but it's all play, and no one gets hurt.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    "Ass" and "hell" are popular, but anything stronger ("bitch," "s--t," "f--k") is bleeped out.
  • Consumerism:

    OCC obviously gets a lot of publicity from the show. The crew often works on creations with themes like Spider-Man or Wendy's, and marketing logos are prominent during those episodes.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About American Chopper

Parents need to know that because this show documents the creation of custom motorcycles, it includes a lot of information and technical terms that most viewers probably won't understand. But there's still a lot of fascination to be had in watching such elaborate projects come together. Pauls Jr. and Sr. often irritate each other and share loud exchanges of some choice words, many of which have to be bleeped out. But it's obvious that each ultimately respects the other and that both think highly of their staff, with whom they share mostly good relationships.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the team effort that making these bikes demands. How does the team put their ideas on paper? What are the roles of each employee? How do they use teamwork to get to their goal? How do time constraints affect how they work? Parents can also use this show for artistic inspiration, sitting with kids to sketch their own custom motorcycles.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in Oklahoma
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Love it!

    I am 10 and this is one of my fovorite shows. It seems very manly and i am a big girly girl. I like the people and what they do. It is very entertaing. It has some language but other then that great!

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    Lives in Tennessee
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 3.0

    an ok show

    i like it ok but not crazy bout it an ok show 4 kids 2 watch

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Washington
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0

    It's real life

    From what I can see, and I have watched each and every episode, American Chopper is really nothing more than a show that deals with a family run business. Pauls Sr is a perfectionist, and rightly so, while his son Paul Jr, while not the perfectionist his old man is, is still passionate about the bikes they build. Both go at it seperate ways but the end results are exactly what they both want. Custom choppers that each is proud to put their names on. The language can be a little raw at times, but thats reality at its finest. Anything less would just be acting in front of a camera.

  4. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Connecticut
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 3.0

    This show is for adults

    The show is about creating specialized motorcycles and focuses around the family that owns the business. There's a lot of profanity which is beeped out. It's a good show for adults or older teens, but not for young children.

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