American Chopper: Senior Vs. Junior Season Finale

Other than the great choppers built by both OCC and PJD, viewers are also keen on the latest development in the relationship between Senior and his siblings.

In the season finale which aired last May 21, Mikey finally decided to quit the show in the hope of mending his ties with his father.  Many were saddened by his decision especially the crew of PJD.  Viewers such as myself also felt the same way.  Mikey has been part of the show for 10 years and his decision meant losing the comic relief that he provides.  Oh no, no, no!  Jason's antics are not funny!  He tries to be funny but it only results in irritating scenes worthy of being edited out!  

In episode 9, Junior reaches out to his father in an off camera meeting to achieve what he hopes to be a "genuine" conversation with his father.  Unfortunately, the interview after the meeting showed two different versions of what went down.  Personally, I'm more inclined to believe Junior's version.  Senior has been the one dishing out verbal assaults at his sons since the start of the Senior vs. Junior spin off and his version of the off cam meeting again puts Junior in a bad light.

In order to break the impasse, Junior again offers another meeting---this time with cameras rolling---and offers the OCC shop as the venue.  You can feel the awkwardness of the situation as father and son meet at the OCC showroom and walks the distance to the conference room intermittently filled with small talk to dissipate the unbearable silence.  

It was three years since we last saw father and son in a man to man conversation (which as you may recall did not end well and eventually resulted to the break-up).  It almost got heated as both again butted heads about who's at fault. I would like to commend Senior for averting further aggravation and always steered the conversation to a more civil atmosphere which showed a hint that he truly wanted to make peace with his son. 

Although we did not see father and son hug and make up, Senior placed on the table a collaboration option that he thinks would move their relationship in a more personal level---a joint bike build for charity.  Junior's response is something to look forward to in the next season.

The American Chopper Build Off: OCC vs PJD vs Jesse James

The much awaited build off is finally here!  OCC vs PJD vs Jesse James!  Whose the best custom bike builder?  Well, it's up to us the viewer and motorcycle enthusiasts to decide!  So what are you waiting for?  VOTE NOW or forever hold your peace! --- http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/american-chopper/chopper-live/final-poll.html#mkcpgn=fbtlc2&fbpostid=fbtlc2-

Now here's my two cents worth:

Who am I going to vote for and in what order?  Since there's no criteria for judging---I'm making my own.  

Theme - This is suppose to be a custom chopper build off so I'm disqualifying OCC who seemed to have lost their way here.  Is that a snow mobile they built?!  I guess Senior was too busy talking trash about his son that he didn't hear CHOPPER build off.  PJD and Jesse James got this right on the button.  Jesse James was also talking trash but at least he was listening as to what needs to be done.

Creativity and Design - This is the WOW effect.  Being from the Philippines, choppers are not an everyday sight.  So in the 3 times in my life that I've seen one cruising by definitely got my head turning 360 degrees!  But in so far that I have been watching American Chopper and looking at motorcycle magazines I can say that I've gotten myself an eye for what an exceptional bike is when it comes to design.

After much shit talking from Jesse, you'd expect him to really step up on the plate and hit a home run---NOT!  It turned out that Jesse was all talk and not much imagination!  This one goes to PJD hands down!

However, I must give credit to Jesse in terms of his bike building skills.  He made his bike all by hand that showed his blacksmith-ing skills.  Unfortunately, the build off is meant to judge the output and not the bike building process. 

Obviously, my choice is PJD over Jesse James!  So, whose your pick?

PJD Bike

Jesse James Bike

OCC Bike (if you can call it a bike, that is)

The Continuing Saga of Senior vs Junior

Many people think that after Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. settled the lawsuit that they were locked in for two years, father and son would let bygones be bygones and eventually kiss and make up---WRONG!  To this day, father and son remain estranged. 

Recent episodes of American Chopper:  Sr. vs Jr. now includes an aftershow interview with the Teutuls on both side of the fence, OCC and PJD, and every once in a while the touchy subject of reconciliation comes afore.  Apparently, Senior is more keen on reconciling with Mikey than Junior.  Why is that?

Well, I could think of a couple of reasons:

1. Mikey is obviously Senior's favorite (in terms of having fun with).
2. Mikey is the only Teutul who can actually hit Senior in the balls (literally) and get away with it.
3. Mikey makes Senior laugh (even during his many blowouts).

Senior admitted to the third one in last Monday's episode.  As for the other two, you can go back to the earlier episodes of the show and decide for yourself.

I have just finished reading Senior's business memoir "Ride of a Life Time:  Doing Business the Orange County Chopper Way" and in there you can surmise that Junior is his least favorite son. 

The primary premise of the book is HARD WORK.  Senior pictured himself as a workaholic, who, despite of any carousing the previous night, never missed a day of work.  As a father, Senior wanted to impart the same value to his sons.  He favored his second son Dan to whom he gave the reigns of his ironworks business as someone who is "willing to learn" and had the work ethics to succeed. 

Although he did cite Junior's innovative fabrication genius, he sees him as a know-it-all "who hasn't had to work for much in his life".  About this Senior says:

Not because he's lazy, but because he seems to have a natural ability to do almost anything he wants to do.  When Paulie played football, he was the best player on the team.  Whe ran trace, he was the fastest guy on the team.  When he was competitively weightlifting, he was always the best.  It all came naturally to him.

For Senior, Juniors natural abilities to excel in anything he does prevents him from committing to any endeavor.  Personally, I think Senior is so fixated in his philosophy of hard work that he does not see the natural talent of Junior.  I also believe Senior resents the fact that he is unable to teach Junior anything. 

Before Jason Pohl came to OCC, Junior was the designer.  He'd design bikes out of the fly.  No drawings.  We have all seen what kind of a custom bike designer Junior is in creations like the Fire Bike, Liberty Bike, Jet Bike, Gillette Bike, I Robot Bike, Comanche Bike, Army Bike and a lot more.  Every thing was done in his head.  Of course, to make his vision happen he had a team of excellent fabricators such as Vinnie and Rick to work with him.  Such is the world of CUSTOM bike that OCC was known for. 

Senior also questions Junior's commitment to deliver based on punctuality.  This is discounting the fact that OCC has not missed a deadline while Junior was there. 

Junior's problem with punctuality could have been addressed by counseling.  As a part owner of the company, Senior could have explained the effects of Junior's tardiness with the business.  First, owners should set an example to the workers.  Secondly, tardiness means loss of money.  With the desing all in his head, workers cannot work without Junior's presence.  If he reports for work 2 hours late, that would mean total hours late x hourly rate x number of workers on the project.  This is further compounded by the number of times overtime is needed to compensate for the tardiness.  Third, rules need to be enforced.  A logical consequence to Junior's tardiness should have been being charged with the non-productive hours of the employees affected and the overtime.  This way, there is no money loss to the company and Junior learns his lesson.  Unfortunately, Senior's counseling equivalent are blowouts that is reciprocated by resentment from Junior.  No wonder he screwed up his relationship with his children.  

I'm also under the impression that Senior doesn't have plans of reconciling with Junior.  I base this on his interviews in the show where he keeps on saying negative things about his eldest son.  How can Junior be inclined to opening the doors of reconciliation when you hear your old man lambasting you publicly?  If Senior keeps on stoking the fire of hate reconciliation is virtually impossible.

Senior vs Junior Season 2

Well, it's still American Chopper no question about that!  But now, it focuses on the rift between father and son who are now building bikes separately.  Senior remains the OCC stalwart and Junior is now the boss of his own custom bike company---Paul Junior Designs.

Custom bikes for all intent and purpose are original and designed based on the customer's wants.  OCC started out as custom bike builders but Senior had grander ideas with regard to the direction of the company and also diversified to production bikes.  PJD is still a fledgeling company but based on the builds that they have done, Junior's creativity as a designer is once again put in the spotlight.  There's no denying it---Junior is a master in terms of bike design and the addition of Vinnie is truly a welcome development. After all, they did have a good working relationship back in OCC.  This collaborative kinship is, I should say, the foundation of PJD as a company. 

However, an excellent designer that he is, Junior should also learn from what OCC did to hasten the creative process and hire a graphic designer (like what Jason Pohl is to OCC). 

It is quite difficult for others to follow what Junior has in mind if there is no graphic representation.  You can just see how Brendan just stands in awe as Junior articulates his vision for a bike.  I'd assume that Junior looks over what Brendan is doing every so often but that's a time consuming process and susceptible to error.  From a project management point of view an ever changing design is a sign of scope creep which is the primary cause of delay.  I agree with Junior that designing is a creative process but creativity needs to stop at one point especially with a defined deadline.

Villain or hero?  Based on the last few episodes it's the former.
Is the show really showing what Senior's really like? 

Junior finally out of OCC's shadow with a couple of bike
builds for PJD.

My favorite PJD build:  Jared Allen's charity bike.
If this was colored blue---it would have been
Captain America's Chopper!

Senior vs. Junior: My Take on the Dysfunction of the Teutul Family

I have been following the reality show American Chopper for 7 years now and I have grown a big respect for the Teutuls.  They are rooted and obviously gives a deal with their community.  And they can be a fun-loving bunch of lunatics when it strikes their fancy!  However, the crazy fun can be as intense when it comes to the feuding between Senior and Junior.

During the first few seasons, I have come to justify the conflict between father and son.  They both have the same end in mind---to come up with the best, bad ass looking chopper for their customer.  They do have a reputation to protect and a growing business to sustain.  However, they grew up in two different worlds.  Senior's is based on hardwork, discipline, and structure.  Not that Junior isn't hardworking.  Senior's work ethic thrives from a project manager's point of view where all tasks are defined based on time.  Other than that---well, he's the owner of the shop numb nuts!  Ha!  Ha!  A classic Senior expression eh?

Junior on the other hand is the fabricator.  The creative partner in the business.  To him, creativity is a process---a work in progress.  Like most artists, he's not constrained by time and this is where the conflict arises.  Although in the past seasons, Junior has yet to miss a deadline, Senior is always on edge everytime a bike build is in progress. 

The problem with Senior is that he does not seem to realize the value of Junior in the company.  Much that he does not want to admit it, Junior did was the one who came out with many of the earlier bikes.  Although Orange County Choppers still build custom bike for the show, the business has now grown to cater to production bikes.  This meant multi-tasking and faster builds due to close deadlines.  Junior's style no longer fit the way the business is going. The hiring of Jason Pohl as the bike designer is proof of this direction.  

Although Junior still has a say in terms of the design aspect, it is no longer a one at a time project where he can devote his creative talents to.  Multiple projects are accepted and designs are finalized via computer rendition done by Jason.  This way, everyone is aligned to how the bike will look like even before it gets build.  Design and build.  Design and build.  Business is booming!

Unfortunately, Junior did not evolve towards the direction of the business.  As the boss and as a father, Senior could have steered his son to where the business was going and the changes that needed to be done to adapt; however, Senior's lack of managerial skill proved detrimental to the father son relationship as he kept on venting anger towards his son everytime he's see Junior "slacking off".  It was a collision course towards the inevitable break-up.

This far into the season, we can see that PJD's business is picking up with four bike builds so far.  Though PJD is still far compared to the fame of OCC, Junior is slowly breaking away from the OCC shadow and making a name of his own.  Logically, a father should be beaming with pride, unfortunately, Senior is downplaying Junior's accomplishments and giving more derogatory statements than support.  This is something that have kept the viewers intrigued.  In the various interviews on the show, Senior has been contradicting himself a lot.  One time he is saying he wants a reconciliation with his son then he attacks his person in another.  This inconsistensies has made him the sinister villain of the show.

It is saddening to see father and son part ways.  One good thing that resulted in this split is the show's renewal for another season.  Another interesting twist to the Teutul family dynamics.

The First OCC Bike

Re-visit the very first theme bike that the Orange County Choppers aired on TV---The Jet Bike. 
The bike was in honor of the US military forces in Afganistan.

Built in time for the unveil at the Sturgis Bike Show way back in 2001, this project gave the audience their first glimpse of the dedication and creativity of the OCC crew.  A trait that has carried them through 10 years of success. 

American Chopper Season 6

I've been following the series "American Chopper" since 2007. It's a reality television series which originally aired on the Discovery Channel(Sky Cable) every Thursdays and Saturdays here in the Philippines. However, the show moved from Discovery to TLC in the latter part of 2007 and got bumped off the Sky Cable's program list. Good thing there's torrent and I could just download the latest episodes after it has aired in the US.

The popular series is based around the founder of the company, Paul Teutul, Sr., his sons, Paul Jr. and Mikey, and their posse of talented fabricators and mechanics-Rick Petko, Christian Welter, Vinnie DiMartino(who now has his own chopper shop, VForce Customs), Lee Stamper, and Jason Pohl-whose business is creating custom motorcycles(choppers) in their workshop, Orange County Choppers. Among their most popular clients were: Intel, Wendy's, HP, Gander Mountain, Discovery Channel, NASA, and the US Military.

What started out as a mere basement operation of building custom choppers in 1999 is now regarded as one of the premier custom chopper builders in the world! But what is it that attracted a lot of audience that made the show successful? Obviously, the guys are very creatively talented to have built all those theme bikes. Well, I guess it's the human side to the series that makes this difference. You see, cameras cover not only the build itself but also the personal lives of the Teutuls: their relationship with their employees, their various charity and community works, their support for the different branches of the military, and most specially---their relationship with one another. Personally, the last one gave genuine credit to the term reality TV as the viewers become witnesses to the blowouts between Paul Sr. and Paul Jr.

Two schools of thought here: Senior being the boss believes in a structured work ethic, adherence to schedule, and thrives on the value of punctuality and hard work. Junior on the other hand is the "artist" whose job is to integrate design, function, and quality. Artists don't like being rushed. This is where the conflict sets in.

Now on their 6th season, the company is faced by the reality of the economic standstill in corporate America. Slow down on builds forces Senior to make cuts to the staff. And then here comes the latest squabble between Senior and Junior with the former gets the boot! So far, four episodes have aired and a total of seven bike builds. Junior was not part of the build for a good two months and only arrived at a truce with Senior on the third episode. The truce was only good for one episode as Junior's "work ethics" continue to test Senior's temper eventually forcing Junior to quit to save his personal relationship with his dad.

Is this for cinematic effect? I don't know. One thing is certain, OCC won't be the same without Junior around.

Vinnie, Junior, Senior, and Mikey with the Napa Bike

(photo courtesy of flskevin_flicker.com)