'Chopper' takes peek into cycle-building family

Pat Litowitz
New Castle News

Use "This Old House" as your base. Capture the anger of "The Jerry Springer Show." Toss in a pinch of "The Osbournes." Finally, a liberal helping of "Father Knows Best."

Or, try this.

Imagine a drill sergeant-turned-biker producing highly acclaimed motorcycles with the help of his off-beat sons.

Welcome to "American Chopper."

Rock Tavern, N.Y., serves as the center of operations in this reality series. There, you find much-tattooed and short-tempered Paul Teutul Sr.

Orange County Choppers grew out of Paul Sr.'s love of motorcycles. Thanks to the success of his steel fabricating plant, Paul Sr. expanded his interests to custom-built choppers.

The Discovery Channel crew highlights the process from inception to delivery. It's an impressive effort as Paul Jr. leads the design and fabrication portion of the business.

For example, the Fire Bike pays homage to the New York Fire Department and the losses it suffered in 9/11. A fire hydrant is positioned next to the engine, while a mini ladder is fashioned to the rear wheel. Fumes exit from the fire hose nozzle exhaust system.

It's the interaction among father Paul Sr., sons Paul Jr. and Mickey and co-worker Vinnie that boosts a "how-to show" into high octane action.

Sporting a short-cropped haircut and walrus mustache, Paul Sr. constantly totters between irritation and anger. Motorcycles are his joy, everything else a nuisance.

"Sometimes, with my father, the littlest thing is going to set him off," Paul Jr. observed in Monday's episode. "It's sort of a wildfire, you know, feeding on itself.

"I've learned over the years that you let him keep going until he wears himself out."

It's not that the leader of the Teutul clan is complicated. His rules are simple.

*Keep your work area clean.

*Be organized.

*"Don't violate people's stuff." (Think of it as a takeoff of "Thou shalt not steal parts from one motorcycle to use on another.")

The message is clear, but the words are lost in the vapors.

"I decided to try a little test," Paul Sr. tells viewers as he examines the cluttered workshop. "For the past few weeks, I kinda let Paul and (worker) Vinnie do whatever they wanted in the upper shop - cleaning up and keeping things organized.

"You know what the place looked like? A frickin' bomb went through it. Let me tell ya, the test is over and they failed miserably."

What does excel is the Discovery Channel's coverage of a working-class family's motor medium.

Copyright (c) 2004, New Castle News