American Chopper: The Series

The Discovery Channel provides great insight to creativity and mechanical fabrication. So the hosts are Simpsons-like in their family dysfunction, but look at the wonderful creations that are assembled, the use of design tools, and imagination (how ever it is induced). Though I am not a cycle rider/owner for physical handicap reasons, the show offers a fine view of the custom fabrication shop environment that can be enjoyed by anyone with a notion of mechanical fabrication curiosity. Justice is served well by the Discovery Channel for bringing the the Teutul's obnoxious creativity in to our living rooms. Personally having a background in fabrication (auto & aircraft) it is a treat to see the Teutul family dysfunction coupled with mechanical ingenuity displayed in one hour vignettes. Ride on boys!

While watching this show and hearing Paul Sr. and his sons interact, it occurred to me that this is sort of a soap opera for men. In between shouting matches and tantrums over short deadlines, missing tools, bad welds, etc. you see Paul Sr. and his sons sorting out their issues with each other and trying to work together. Sometimes these struggles end in slammed doors and hurt feelings, and sometimes (particularly when younger son Mikey is involved) they end with a joke, a few laughs, and smiles all round. Awwwwww! I think Mikey learned long ago that the best way to survive his father's wrath is to make him laugh. It works almost every time. Very clever.

I don't know anything about motorcycles, so I'm sometimes a bit puzzled by the tribute theme bikes that the Teutuls put so much effort into. Interesting as they are mechanically and artistically, the show doesn't really make it apparent to me how they help the firemen or war veterans they honor. The honorees always seem to love and appreciate them, though, so maybe that's enough.

Watching the Teutuls and their crew of craftsmen, artists, and master mechanics is addictive and fascinating. It's like looking into one of those old medieval workshops where everything was done by hand and designed and built in the shop under the supervision of a guild master. I really envy them. This is probably a way of life and doing business that's disappearing, so it's nice to think that it still flourishes in some places. See this show!

Wow! What ever happened to Discovery airing educational programming? Not only does this show contain no educational value to it what-so-ever, it actually make's me feel dumber for watching it. Hey I like motorcycles too, but why do I care about a bunch of grease monkey-drama queens who bitch at each other like middle school aged girls while they assemble over-priced yuppy bikes. It would be one thing if this show actually showed step by step how these machines are made. But no, it stoops to the lowest common denominator by showing how despicable these sell-out, coorporate blow-holes act. At least real reality television has attractive women eating rotten eggs in their underware while airing on networks not titled DISCOVERY. I expect more substance from a network that has brought me the wonderful documentaries that Discovery used to air on a regular basis.

I saw this show a few times and have had enough. The Teutels 15 minutes were up long, long ago. The only reason people watch is for the conflict between Paul Sr. and Jr. because if you want to learn about building motorcycles, you will be disappointed. Some people think that Paul Sr. overacts for the camera, but I disagree. He likes to show off his tattoos, and he looks like a Mafia bodyguard plus his New York attitude. If anything, he tones it down for the cameras. This show is nothing more than a masculinity's soap opera. The drama level is always high and I just want to see Paul Jr. beat the crap out of his dad so that this show can have an appropriate ending.

This show was unlike any other. I tuned in to see what it was like building a motorcycle. It was the third episode ever and I was hooked. I taped every episode since and the pattern is obvious. TLC ruined it. The essence of the show shifted from father and son and crew building kickass bikes to father and sons visiting Russell Crowe and Danica Patrick. For some reason it became the Jason Poole, Jim Quinn, and Nub show with the Teutels skeet shooting or bungee jumping or whatever the hell else TLC has them do. It has nothing to do with the show getting too popular or the business getting too big it's just this "Turbo TLC" in your face attitude that ruined it for all of us. Not to mention all the awful commercials for that retarded "Miami Ink" show which no one who can read or write would ever watch. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

P.S. I'm not taping anymore shows. Show was a ten, now a four or five.