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''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series, shown on History, and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop,〔Rick Harrison and Tim Keown. ''License to Pawn''. 2011. Hyperion. (pp 1–3 ).〕 a 24-hour family business opened in 1989 and operated by patriarch Richard "Old Man" Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, Rick's son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. The series, which became the network's highest rated show〔Childers, Linda (July 7, 2011). ("Rick Harrison of 'Pawn Stars' spills success secrets" ). CNN Money.〕〔("Corey Harrison: Partner and general manager, Gold and Silver Pawn" ), ''Las Vegas Sun'', February 26, 2010〕 and the No. 2 reality show behind ''Jersey Shore'', debuted on July 26, 2009.〔(''Pawn Stars'' ), Locate TV, accessed December 23, 2010.〕〔Rick Harrison and Tim Keown. 2011. (page 204 ).〕 The series depicts the staff's interactions with customers, who bring in a variety of artifacts to sell or pawn, and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by either the Harrisons or Chumlee. The series also follows the interpersonal conflicts among the cast. One reviewer referencing these conflicts described the show as a version of ''Antiques Roadshow'' "hijacked by ''American Choppers" Teutul family.〔(Lawrence, Christopher. "Las Vegas pawnshop center of new reality series" ) ''Las Vegas Review-Journal''; July 19, 2009〕 ''TV Guide'' has offered a similar description, calling the show "one part ''Antiques Roadshow'', a pinch of ''LA Ink'' and a dash of ''COPS''".〔Moynihan, Rob. "Summer's Guilty Pleasures". ''TV Guide''. June 21, 2010. Page 23〕 Numerous local experts in a variety of fields also regularly appear to appraise the items being sold or pawned, two of whom having gone on to their own spinoff programs. Antique restorer/metal artist Rick Dale is the star of the series' first spin-off, ''American Restoration'', which premiered in October 2010, and mechanic/auto restoration expert Danny "The Count" Koker stars in the second spinoff, ''Counting Cars'', which debuted August 13, 2012.〔("Danny 'The Count' Koker is in the Driver's Seat When New Car-Loving Series Premieres on History(R) – 'Counting Cars'" ). The Futon Critic. July 25, 2012.〕〔Rose, Lacey (July 20, 2012). ("History Orders Car Flipping Series Starring 'Pawn Stars' Personality (Exclusive)" ). ''The Hollywood Reporter''.〕 == Production history and format== ''Pawn Stars'' began with Brent Montgomery and Colby Gaines of Leftfield Pictures, who were struck by the array of eclectic and somewhat seedy pawn shops in Las Vegas during a 2008 weekend visit to the city. Thinking such shops might contain unique characters, they searched for a family-run shop on which to center a TV series, until they found the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop less than two miles from the Las Vegas Strip.〔Fixmer, Andy (October 21, 2010). ("Pawn Stars: Our Most Revealing Reality Show" ). ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.〕 It had been the subject of a 2001 PBS documentary,〔Bourdeau, Annette (March 12, 2012). ("'Pawn Stars': 13 Things You Didn't Know About Chumlee, Rick And Corey " ). ''The Huffington Post''.〕 and the manager and part-owner, Rick Harrison, had been trying unsuccessfully to pitch a show based on his shop for four years.〔〔〔Smith, Grady (June 28, 2010). ("'Pawn Stars':" Rick Harrison talks about cable's most unlikely hit!" ). ''Entertainment Weekly''.〕 The shop, and Rick, had previously been featured in the Las Vegas episode of ''Insomniac with Dave Attell'' in 2003.〔, accessed Sep 19, 2009, July 13, 2011.〕 The series was originally pitched to HBO, though the network preferred the series to have been a ''Taxicab Confessions''-style series taking place at the Gold & Silver's night window.〔Harrison; Keown, 2011. page 249.〕 The format eventually evolved into the now-familiar family-oriented motif used on the series. History president Nancy Dubuc, who had been charged with creating programming with a more populist appeal to balance out the network's in-depth military programming, picked up the series, which was initially titled ''Pawning History'', before a staffer at Leftfield suggested that ''Pawn Stars'' would fit better with the locale.〔Harrison; Keown, 2011. page 252.〕 The network concurred, believing that name to be more pleasing and easily remembered.〔 The staffer adjusted its story-line in order to bring it in line with the network's brand, which included the on-camera experts appraising the items brought into the Gold & Silver, though she did not discourage the interpersonal conflicts among the show's stars.〔 The series is filmed on location at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although jewellery is the most commonly pawned item at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, most of the customers featured in episodes bring in a variety of vintage or antique items to the store, which has 12,000 items in its inventory as of July 2011 (5,000 of which are typically held on pawn). Each episode consists of segments devoted to approximately five or six of these items, in which one of the staff members, usually Rick Harrison, his son Corey, or Harrison's father Richard (known as the "Old Man"), explains the history behind the object. When the buyer is unable to evaluate an object, they consult with a knowledgeable expert who can evaluate it to determine its authenticity and potential value, and in the case of items needing repair, the cost of restoration or preparing the item for sale. Whoever is evaluating the object goes over the potential value with the customer, including the expert's opinion, if one is given, often interspersed with an interview in which he explains the basis of his decision to the viewer. A price tag graphic at the bottom corner of the screen provides the ever-changing dollar amount as the two haggle over the item's price. On occasion, Rick will purchase items in need of restoration before determining its restoration costs, thus taking a risk on such costs.〔Examples include the chronometer in "Sharks and Cobra" and the barber's chair in "A Shot and a Shave".〕 Interpersonal narratives focusing on the relationship and conflicts among Rick, Corey, the Old Man, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell, who also works at the shop, also comprise episode plots. These usually pertain to arguments over the running of the shop, the elder Harrisons questioning Corey's judgment,〔〔 and aspersions cast on Chumlee's intelligence and competence.〔 Before the second commercial break, a multiple choice trivia question related to the shop and its inventory, the cast members or one of the featured items is shown, with the answer provided after the break; beginning with the Season 8 episode "A Very Vegas Christmas", a trivia question is asked at every commercial break. In addition to spawning imitators, such as the truTV series ''Hardcore Pawn'', the success of ''Pawn Stars'' has been a boon to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which has become a Las Vegas tourist site,〔 and has expanded its business accordingly. Originally averaging between 70 and 100 customers per day, the shop's traffic increased to more than 1,000 by October 2010. To handle the increased business, the shop hired nearly 30 new employees,〔Corey Harrison indicates he manages 30 employees in the second season episode "Backroom Brawl", and later states the shop has 48 employees in the third season episode "Like a Rolling Chum". The (June 2010 ''Entertainment Weekly'' source ) also indicates a staff of over 40 employees. According to Richard Harrison on Page 88 of his son's 2011 autobiography, ''License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver'', the shop had 12 employees at the time the show began production.〕 and underwent a $400,000 expansion of their showroom by two thirds, to 15,000 square feet,〔〔 the shop's tenth expansion since it opened. Rick Harrison also mentioned in the fourth season episode "Over the Top" that he was building a gym above the Pawn Shop for the staff's use.〔 The shop also now sells its own brand merchandise, whose designs originate from fans entering design competitions on Facebook, which saves the Harrisons the cost of hiring professional designers. The staff's presence on Facebook and Twitter also ensures audiences during local nightclub appearances, for which Corey Harrison and Chumlee Russell are paid $1,000 a night.〔 As a result of filming at the shop, however, the four main cast members no longer work the counter, due to laws that require the identity of customers pawning items to remain confidential, and the tourists and fans taking photos and video in the showroom that would preclude this. When shooting episodes of the series, the shop is temporarily closed, with only a handful of customers allowed into the showroom.〔〔Harrison, 2011. pp. 70, 89〕 In July 2011, Harrison signed a record-breaking 80-episode renewal contract for four more seasons of the series.〔 After being broadcast during its first four years on Mondays at 10PM ET, the program moved to Thursday nights at 9PM ET on May 30, 2013,〔Hibberd, James (April 22, 2013). ("'Pawn Stars' gets new theme song from Lynyrd Skynyrd – EXCLUSIVE" ). ''Entertainment Weekly''.〕 replacing ''Swamp People'', which moved an hour later to 10PM ET.〔Per (Swamp People's official Facebook page )〕 The program also received a new opening and theme song, "Winning isn't Everything", performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd.〔 The opening would be replaced again with different theme music from an uncredited artist on June 12, 2014. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pawn Stars」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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