As the episode begins, Mark ‘Chopper’ Read (Aaron Jeffery) takes to the stage and performs a standup routine. He tells the crowd about being kidnapped in the past. He explains that he cooperated with his attacker, but eventually broke free and bashed the man. We see that Syd Collins (Todd Lasance) watches the events from a distance. Then, Chopper tells the crowd about his encounter with Alphonse Gangitano (Vince Colosimo). Chopper gets into a fight with Alphonse’s security and is thrown out of the club. He claims to have returned later with a stick of dynamite. He insists that he blew up the nightclub. A heckler in the audience calls Chopper out on his lies. Then, we see Chopper interrogating a hitman. He tortures the man until his wife and kid walks him. They leave and he returns to the torture. Eventually, the man tells him that Syd tried to have him killed.

The following day, Chopper tracks down Syd. He gets into a fight with his bikie friends. When the police arrive, Chopper fights them too. He blames Syd for his return to prison. Chopper believes that he sees Syd in the crowd. He becomes paranoid and returns backstage. A newspaper mentions that Syd has been missing for a little while. Margaret calms him down. Eventually, he returns to the stage. We briefly see Chopper getting his ears cut off. He speaks about Syd again, before telling the crowd about going straight. He is released from prison straight into Margaret’s hands. They return home and Margaret tries to convince Chopper to be Mark and not Chopper. Alphonse comes after Chopper for stealing his money. That convinces Chopper to move in with his father, Keith (Michael Caton), in the country.

He tells Keith about his intention of publishing his own book. His father isn’t impressed. He tells Chopper that he should never back down. Chopper tells Margaret about his childhood. He was beaten up at school. Then, he was beaten by his father for not defending himself. We also see a flashback of Chopper’s dad telling him about his heroic grandfather. Lewis Moran (Kevin Harrington), Alphonse and the others get ahold of Chopper’s book. They’re not impressed. Chopper and his father celebrate the book’s strong sales. Mark hires Trent Anthony (Reef Ireland) to be his driver. They head out to a strip club. When they leave, Syd is waiting. He threatens Chopper and rides off. That night, Chopper believes he sees Syd outside. He follows him with a gun, but never finds him. The following day, Chopper runs into several fans at the grocery store. He tells the crowd how annoying that can be.

Chopper and Keith visit the police station to get protection. They do not take him serious. Then, Syd visits Chopper at his father’s home. He invites him to a party and tells him to bring eight grand to help pay for the wedding. Keith argues with his son about going. Chopper goes to the party. He imagines himself beating up Syd. He also threatens to shoot Syd. Chopper speaks with a friend at the pub. She insists that Syd isn’t going to let this go. She offers to pay Chopper twenty grand to make Syd disappear. Syd shows up in the hospital a few days later. First, he says he accidentally shot himself. Then, he blames it on Chopper. Detective Martin (Jane Allsop) and her partner speak with Chopper the following day. He denies shooting Syd. Martin doesn’t believe it. We see Syd riding with Chopper and Trent. Syd asks about the money. Chopper shoots him in the stomach.

Chopper asks Martin why Syd is still alive. He suggests that he wouldn’t have let him live. Margaret arrives and argues with the police. Chopper tells the crowd that he thought the police would believe him over Syd. When the stand up routine ends, Chopper is arrested by Martin and other police officers.

 

Underbelly Files: Chopper Review

Underbelly Files: Chopper has some terrible reviews. It doesn’t seem to be the best of the Underbelly series by any means. Nevertheless, I didn’t think it was that bad. The acting was not terrible and it did have some comedy here and there. It was interesting to see more about Chopper and his dad’s relationship. The real problem here is Chopper himself. The material is terrible, because you don’t know what is real and what isn’t.

There were so many lies thrown out there that it makes it difficult to piece together a cohesive story. With the material they were working with, it turns out just like you would expect. An insane mess that is difficult to follow. Nevertheless, it was halfway entertaining. The opener scores a 7 out of 10.