Large_Al
09-09-2003, 09:55 AM
This is a very good show. I never thought I would watch it cause I'm not into choppers. But it's fun...
Father-son are the nuts & bolts of 'American Chopper' (http://www.suntimes.com/output/television/sho-sunday-chop31.html)
August 31, 2003
By JEFF WILSON Advertisement
LOS ANGELES, Calif.--Building $200,000 motorcycle masterpieces is the hook to lure viewers to ''American Chopper,'' but it's the father-son bickering that kick-starts the Discovery Channel's reality show.
Each week, Paul Teutul Sr. and son Paul Jr. fire up torches and grinders to begin work on their latest creation, which they design either for show or private clients. Weeks of drafting a plan, painting, chrome-plating and assembly are crammed into one or two hourlong episodes.
But the real tension of the show, which airs Monday nights, revolves around the verbal jousting and name-calling between anal-retentive Paul Sr., owner of Rock Tavern, N.Y.-based Orange County Choppers, and son ''Paulie,'' the shop's creative whiz.
The tattooed Teutul--his bulging arms swinging from broad shoulders poking out of a tank top--doesn't hesitate to spew rapid-fire insults such as ''Knucklehead!'' or a sarcastic ''Picasso!'' when his son leaves a mess or misses a deadline.
The 54-year-old father with the gray, walrus mustache is an obsessive clean freak: ''I just don't get it. What's so hard about keeping things organized?''
He's also the boss: ''And don't forget who writes the checks around here.''
Paulie, 28, manages to take the ridicule in stride, explaining that creating a work of art takes vision, concentration and time. Pausing to consider leftover tools and debris would stunt the process.
''Be a professional,'' Teutul barks.
It's a wonder they don't start throwing punches.
''I've gone off on him off-camera, too,'' Teutul said in a telephone interview from his New York shop. ''I don't hold back. But I blow up for about 15 minutes, then it's over. We get along a lot more than you think.''
Clark Bunting, general manager of the Discovery Channel, said: ''I would argue the center of the show is the father-son relationship, and they also happen to build bikes.''
Jay Leno, who's got an Orange County Choppers
Father-son are the nuts & bolts of 'American Chopper' (http://www.suntimes.com/output/television/sho-sunday-chop31.html)
August 31, 2003
By JEFF WILSON Advertisement
LOS ANGELES, Calif.--Building $200,000 motorcycle masterpieces is the hook to lure viewers to ''American Chopper,'' but it's the father-son bickering that kick-starts the Discovery Channel's reality show.
Each week, Paul Teutul Sr. and son Paul Jr. fire up torches and grinders to begin work on their latest creation, which they design either for show or private clients. Weeks of drafting a plan, painting, chrome-plating and assembly are crammed into one or two hourlong episodes.
But the real tension of the show, which airs Monday nights, revolves around the verbal jousting and name-calling between anal-retentive Paul Sr., owner of Rock Tavern, N.Y.-based Orange County Choppers, and son ''Paulie,'' the shop's creative whiz.
The tattooed Teutul--his bulging arms swinging from broad shoulders poking out of a tank top--doesn't hesitate to spew rapid-fire insults such as ''Knucklehead!'' or a sarcastic ''Picasso!'' when his son leaves a mess or misses a deadline.
The 54-year-old father with the gray, walrus mustache is an obsessive clean freak: ''I just don't get it. What's so hard about keeping things organized?''
He's also the boss: ''And don't forget who writes the checks around here.''
Paulie, 28, manages to take the ridicule in stride, explaining that creating a work of art takes vision, concentration and time. Pausing to consider leftover tools and debris would stunt the process.
''Be a professional,'' Teutul barks.
It's a wonder they don't start throwing punches.
''I've gone off on him off-camera, too,'' Teutul said in a telephone interview from his New York shop. ''I don't hold back. But I blow up for about 15 minutes, then it's over. We get along a lot more than you think.''
Clark Bunting, general manager of the Discovery Channel, said: ''I would argue the center of the show is the father-son relationship, and they also happen to build bikes.''
Jay Leno, who's got an Orange County Choppers