Oil Change was supposed to be a high production value documentary style show that chronicled the turning of fortunes for the Edmonton Oilers. It ran four seasons starting in 2010 and was put together by major parts of the team responsible for The Boys On The Bus, which followed the 86-87 Oilers on their quest for their 3rd Cup. This time the team wasn’t trying to win it’s Stanley Cup, but instead it was attempting to forge a new identity and kick off a new golden age of Oiler hockey. What the documentary captured wasn’t the Oilers rising out of the ashes like a Phoenix, it was incompetence and embarrassment night after night. And, rightfully, the series has been put out of its misery. At least for now.
Don Metz and his crew were granted access into the Oilers’ organization that was unparalleled at the time. They were there recording during every major move or milestone the club partook in during the running of the show. They were present for secretive scouting meetings and in the trenches during the Trade Deadline and Free Agent Frenzy.
As the name suggests, the show was about change. It was about the youth that was going to take Edmonton to places it hadn’t seen in two decades. It was about star power and changing culture. Well, that’s what they probably sold the Oilers that it was about. The unfortunate thing about agreeing to let cameras in to see you work every day is that there are cameras around to see you work every day. That meant seeing, even through Oilers tinted glasses, the way the club successfully built the worst team in the league.
The show did a good job of capturing every major moment for the Oilers during that time, but no amount of window dressing could change the fact that it was a show about a bad team that wasn’t getting any better. It captured the frustration of the losses that kept piling up for the team. They kept adding star youngster after star youngster but in 4 seasons Kevin Lowe probably aged 15 years as neither he nor whomever he hired to Manage the team could ever figure out why their AHL defense was getting schooled every night.
Every season the Oil Change crew tried to come up with a title that would ramp up the expectations that they no doubt knew the club had for the team.
Oil Change (2010-2011)
Oil Change: Overdrive (2011-2012)
Oil Change: Game On (2012-2013)
Oil Change: All In (2013-2014)
Thankfully there will be no Oil Change: Is This Thing On? or Oil Change: That Weird Grinding Noise this coming year. I’m glad it’s gone. It was embarrassing through no fault of its own. The production value and concept are great, but I watch all 82 games a year and a recap of how terrible they had been the month prior was never something I felt compelled to view. The crew is apparently moving on to a different project and I’m sure they will knock it out of the park. They are by all accounts great at what they do and I don’t doubt that for a second.
Did you like the program? Will you miss it or had it ran its course? And naturally, what is your best Oil Change title?
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»