Sadder, perhaps, than divorce, a lawsuit between father and sons has sundered the Teutuls, the blue-collar stars of “American Chopper” (8 p.m., TLC). The very public tussle provides the show’s permanent subtitle “Senior vs. Junior.”

Like “Monster Garage” that inspired it, “Chopper” combines vicarious workshop know-how with unscripted antics. Both shows were the prototypes for the budget-bin sitcoms that now clutter the cable schedule.

But divorces are a tough sell for sitcoms, whatever the budget. There’s a good reason CBS didn’t broadcast “Ricky No Longer Loves Lucy,” after Desi Arnaz and Lucille broke up.

As in many divorces, the kids become victims. And the kid on “Chopper” has always been Mikey, the oversized knucklehead and provider of much comic relief. He seems heavier now, with a fuller beard and a 9-mile stare. Despite his best efforts at levity, the big guy seems decidedly sad.

The season begins on a very weird note when Mikey goes to a local radio station to promote his charity event. The DJ, a gravel-voiced bear of a man named Cooper (with whom I have had the pleasure to chat about all things television) welcomes Mikey before quickly setting him up by calling up his older brother Paul, as well as their father, Paul Sr.

Hoping to score a media coup by reuniting the Teutuls, Cooper is visibly horrified when Paul Sr., begins to berate his namesake with words and phrases sure to bring displeasure to the FCC. “I won’t be calling him again,” sighs the host as his peace-making stunt comes to an acrimonious end.

You have to admire the scene for its overlapping layers of media unreality. Here we have a family that can communicate only on a radio show being documented for a television show. Can a visit to Dr. Phil be far behind?

Although Paul Sr. emerges as the bully, he’s still the center of the show’s creative edge. While his son assembles a team of girlfriends and hangers-on and scrounges for a space to open up a shop, Big Paul and his remaining cohorts design a cutting-edge bike for a Brooklyn web design firm.

For all of its soap opera and static, “Chopper” still has to revolve around its central story of rough-and-tumble blue-collar guys as creative artists. If it loses that, it’s just “Jon & Kate” with bad hair and tattoos.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Carolina hosts Baltimore in NFL preseason football (7 p.m. ESPN).

• A winner emerges on part two of the seventh-season finale of “So You Think You Can Dance” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Floyd arrives with big news on “30 Rock” (7:30 p.m., NBC).

• Langston inches closer to solving the Dr. Jekyll mystery on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

• A Halloween haunted house proves too effective on “The Office” (8 p.m., NBC).

• Andy and Chip face moral quandaries on “Rookie Blue” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Betsey Johnson guest judges on “Project Runway” (8 p.m., Lifetime).

• Michael has to break into a maximum-security prison on “Burn Notice” (9 p.m., USA).

• Lisbon faces murder charges on “The Mentalist” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A plastic surgeon embarks on a face transplant on “Boston Med” (9 p.m., ABC).

• Lottery winners share identical ailments on “Royal Pains” (9 p.m., USA).