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.

American Chopper: Senior vs Junior

When we thought that the series has reached an end when it was cancelled by The Learning Channel (TLC) last February 2010, a fresh twist to the Teutul family has given it new life with the airing of American Chopper Season 7: Senior vs Junior.

Season 6 ended with Senior and Junior, the founding entity behind Orange County Choppers, parting their separate ways in an impasse regarding the latter's proposed buy out of the former's company shares.

Junior was previously fired by his father and formed his own design company outside of the motorcyle business. This is more due to the one year non-compete clause in his OCC contract.

His first solo venture landed him a partnership with Coleman. Unfortunately, with the American recession still in the air, additional projects were hard to come by. Now that the one year non-compete clause is over the battle for the custom chopper supremacy is on! And with Vinnie back as Junior's partner OCC may have their hands full!

Whose side are you on?

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)