Tag Archives: PJD

American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior: Cadillac Build-Off Part 1

30 May

May 30, 2011

From the official description of tonight’s episode: Cadillac enlists both OCC and PJD to build a bike in a father-son build-off. But even as the competition heats up, Senior reaches out to Junior with a second settlement offer- this time, without lawyers.

From this blog two weeks ago:  What these two need to do is get rid of the lawyers, sit down together and hammer out a deal.

I really can’t claim any insight or special knowledge, I’m sure most viewers thought the same thing. I just thought I’d point how predictable this show has become.

This is the beginning of the Cadillac build-off. OCC and PJD will each build a Caddy-themed bike and unveil them head to head. The bikes would then be auctioned off for charity.

American Chopper started this week with a short montage about the history of the bad blood between the Teutuls, beginning with Paulie’s firing. It wasn’t a highlight reel as much as it was a lowlight reel of Paul Senior’s lousiest moments. The montage was very one-sided in that it was a lot of clips of Senior running down his son and none of Paulie insulting his father because there are none.

The tone of the show can best be demonstrated by a short sequence at the very cool-looking Cadillac HQ. Senior and Jim were there doing research and development when Paulie, Vinnie, and Brandon arrived. They were kept separate and toured the plant with different guides but at one point they crossed paths in the hallway. The PJD crew all shook hands with Jim, while Senior looked straight ahead and walked past as if they didn’t exist.

“We kind of said hello to each other,” Senior told the camera. No, he didn’t.

“He’s scared,” he said in reference to Paulie. Why? I have no idea. A lot of stuff just falls out of Senior’s mouth that has no bearing in reality. In fact, here are some more nice things Paul Senior said about his son:

“He can’t punk out now.”

“I’m sure he’s real nervous. He’s paranoid.” Some people have been peeking in the shop windows and Paulie had Cody black them out. As the saying goes, it isn’t paranoia if they really are out to get you.

“I’ve been begging for a competition for a while now and he just doesn’t want to compete.” Paulie has been trying to start and build a business. Why would he even think about a competition? This is all Paul Senior’s ego.

“All Jr. did was tweak Jason’s designs.” What show has Senior been watching?

“Jr. doesn’t know how to do a drawing.” Well yes, Paulie doesn’t do them, but we have seen him draw them on the show. He knows how.

“He’s got to do it out of his head, or out of his ass.”

“Knowing Paulie, I guarantee he hasn’t even started putting the bike together… takes him 2 to 3 times longer than us.” The very next clip was PJD already working on the bike.

However, drawings or no drawings, Paulie had one big edge over his father. He brought in a pair of Cadillac CTS-V coupes to work from and they were using actual Caddy parts straight from the cars and fiber optics on the bike.

Senior had a pretty good but not great Jason Pohl design to work from. And as they went, Senior made a few changes. Jason had been on the floor making changes to the design as they built and Senior wanted to know why the fabricators were listening to him. As was I. It was nice to see Pohl with a chagrined look on his face.

Pohl, who Senior said is “a big distraction” in the shop, chimed in and said “I crave the competition.” Early on in the episode Senior pretended to pummel him and I wish there was a workplace accident. 

Obviously, since this is a two-parter, the show ended with the bikes in early stages of construction but I think PJD has the edge so far. He’s using a design where the bike won’t need a kickstand. It will lower and sit flat on the ground. And the technology Senior bragged about and then totally left off the Deadliest Catch bike? So far none of it has been seen on the OCC bike.

In the midst of all the badmouthing Senior thought the time would be right to reconcile with his son and also settle the lawsuit. As usual, he thinks settling the issue of the OCC shares is the same as getting back together with his son. If Paulie is thinking of having a relationship with his father he needs to watch this show first.

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American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior: Deadliest Catch Bike

24 May

May 23, 2011

Since this episode mixes up the OCC and Deadliest Catch crews, here is a very short briefing about Deadliest Catch.

Crab fishing in Alaska is called the deadliest job in the world and that isn’t just hype. The odds of dying are very high and the chance of injury is almost 100%. Some of the main players on the show are Sig Hansen, captain of the Northwestern and one of the most respected captains in the fleet, and the Hillstrand brothers who skipper the Time Bandit and are as good at having fun on board as they are at catching crab. Jake and Josh Harris are the sons of Phil Harris, captain of the Cornelia Marie, who died last season and the boys’ are having a rough time with a new captain.

As an alleged reality show I have to wonder where the line is drawn between simply filming what happens in the Teutul lives and the show actually influencing them. It can’t be simply a coincidence that twice this season OCC and PJD have gotten involved with other shows from their network. It has happened a few times in earlier seasons too. It has to be very tempting for the network to cross-promote other shows and boost ratings this way. I am sure that a lot of Deadliest Catch fans who never watch American Chopper will tune in tonight. And a few weeks ago it didn’t hurt the people from the new show Sons of Guns to be featured on American Chopper.

And remember, Senior and Junior get producers credits (and salary) on the show so there is some incentive to keep an interesting feud going. Is it all fake? Can’t be. Actual lawsuits have been filed, but how much is sweetened by the producers? I’m not sure.

The show began with a disclaimer from Paul Senior and if you think things are strange on a normal episode this was a good warning: “We’re here in Alaska and we’re going to be doing some pretty crazy stuff so make sure that whatever you see here you don’t do at home.

Then we got the pre-credit tease and we saw Sr. firing an assault rifle and lots of Jason but no Paul Jr. In fact, there will be no Paulie or anyone from PJD on this program. Realistically , for about 45 minutes it was an episode of Deadliest Catch guest starring OCC. And speaking as a fan of Deadliest Catch, seeing that buffoon Paul Sr. in the Time Bandit wheelhouse made me sick. Senior stood out, not only on the boat, but during the whole time in Alaska because he wore a bright red motorcycle jacket and pants. However, you knew it had to be freezing in Alaska because his shirt also had sleeves.

Like last week, Rick got a lot of screen time just explaining what was going on, and unfortunately Jason got a lot too. I don’t need to explain how annoying he was, but when he fired one of the Hillstrand’s AK-47s I hoped the police would get involved.

The guys went out on the Time Bandit where Senior got seasick and the OCC crew and Mike Fourtner from the boat took turns blowing things up, then they went dog sledding (where Sr. fell into t snow bank) and glacier climbing. And of course, there was always time for Sr. to badmouth his sons.

Captain Andy: “A crew is only as good as its weakest link.”
Paul Sr.: “We got rid of that.”

To the camera, Senior said: “As far as Mikey or Paulie coming out here, first of all I don’t think they would ever do it, I don’t think they would set foot on this boat. They’re just not used to the adventures life that I’ve lived.” I think if you substitute “adventurous” with “drunk” you get nearer the truth.

For the last 15 minutes they went back to OCC where Sr. made Jason change the ugly sissy bar and Robb did an amazing job on the paint, including a dedication to Captain Phil. It was a “bare bones” bike, which I found funny since last week Senior was bragging about all the technology they add to the bikes.

The bike was unveiled at Catch Con and if you are knowledgeable about Deadliest Catch it will be no surprise that among the Captains we saw Sig, Wild Bill, Captain Keith, and a new captain, Scott Campbell, but not Derrick Ray. And while all the boats were visible in the background and Jake and Josh got some face time we never saw the Cornelia Marie. Never mind the Teutuls, there is some serious behind the scenes drama happening there.

Next week is finally the beginning of a bike build-off, pitting Sr. against Jr. and also injecting some much-needed new life into this show. But since the Hillstrands spilled the beans that the call for the Deadliest Catch bike came from Discovery headquarters I am sure that the network is behind that too.

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