Posted on: Monday, August 25, 2003
Family drama main draw of 'Chopper'
By Jeff Wilson
Associated Press
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 for private clients. Weeks of drafting a plan, painting, chrome-plating and assembly are crammed into one or two hour-long episodes.
But the real tension of the show, which airs Mondays at 7 p.m. regularly (though it's being pre-empted tonight for the "Monster Garage" marathon and next Monday for an "American Chopper" Marathon from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m) 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 Paul Teutul Sr. — his muscled arms swinging from broad shoulders bulging 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 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."
Besides "the Pauls," characters include Teutul's 24-year-old son, Mikey, who's described as "phone-answerer and trash-takeriouter and so much more," and Paulie's childhood friend Vinnie DeMartino, a custom bike fabricator.
The senior Teutul's passion for bike-building began in the 1970s after he saw the movies "Easy Rider" and "The Wild One."
He opened his Orange County Choppers shop four years ago near their home 80 miles north of New York City.
It quickly became internationally renowned with a stream of magazine cover stories, and last year Orange County Choppers was recognized by American Iron Magazine as one of the top 12 bike builders.
"American Chopper" is now the most popular show for Discovery, which reaches 86.4 million households, Bunting said. And it'll be a major part of a Discovery Channel motorcycle marathon on Labor Day.
"That Monday night is a thing of beauty," Bunting said of Discovery's "Full Throttle Mondays" lineup that includes "Monster Garage" and "Monster House." " 'American Chopper' really breaks through."
