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How do we know that the dredge is worth a million dollars? It's a hunk of rusting junk in the middle of the Yukon wilderness. Besides, it's a hell of a storyline for Discovery to exploit, much better than the Dakota boy's possible plots.

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The problem with that theory is that from what we've been told, none of these guys, not even Toad, makes anything like a million per season from Discovery.

There is good authority that the Hofftard South American expedition last season cost upwards of $13 million.  Discovery paid it.

 

Paying for "Tony's" dredge is a bargain for them.  I am not aware of anyone who has publicly reported they have done so, but it seems pretty obvious to me.

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I don't know why the need to fake anything on this show.

 

I find Parker's story and his deep relationship with his grandfather very interesting.  Parker has grown up in front of us and I think he is much better this season from last season.  I think his grandfather saw how he talked to the men that worked for Parker and let Parker know you do not treat people that way even if you do have a beef with them.  Their relationship comes across the TV in waves and it is real.

 

Tony's story is interesting too.  Using an old mining thingy and moving it and setting it back is interesting.  I want to see it work because I just can't wrap my head around how it does.  And Tony brings enough off color personality to the table (that is real and not producer driven) they don't need the fakey fake "will he get it done in time bullshit"  Tony is real and needs no fake drama to go with him.

 

Even Todd with his redeeming season from last season is somewhat interesting.  I have even started to cheer for him to be successful just so his guys make money. 

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I don't know why the need to fake anything on this show.

My guess is that the real world of actual placer mining is a bit more boring, and boringly money-driven.  Genuinely competent miners probably don't make so many stupid decisions or drum up much drama, and likely spend more time checking their equipment to make sure it won't fail suddenly.  They probably don't 'slow-pour' their gold weighings (and may just ship it off for processing without slobbering over it), nor do they require high school-style pep talks in order to do their jobs.  They also, I'm sure, talk about fuel and expenses a whole lot more when Disco isn't picking up that tab, and if they're spending more money than they're making, they shut down.  In the real world, lazy morons like Todd go broke or get fired, in Disco-world, they're lionized and given their own show (or such is the rumor).  

 

Tony and Parker, now - interesting guys but I'm pretty sure they'd be doing different things if Disco wasn't paying the bills.  One imagines that Tony would be doing his actual business ventures using modern methods (cuz if the old ways worked so great, why aren't they still using floating dredges?) and Parker would be minding the family camp ground and maybe delivering pizzas on the side.  I'm sure these are nice enough guys in their own right but what we see them doing is, apparently, pretty much entirely manipulated and often scripted.  Hard to imagine anyone telling Tony Beets to say 'fuck' more often than he does anyway, but this is why you hire 'genuine personalities' for your fake show.  

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This one made even less sense than usual.  Assuming any trace of truth, the one thing I did enjoy was Parker's bluster proving to be nothing but hot air.  Tony owns him until Parker steps off his land.  But, I am not buying ridiculous miscommunication.  Neither of those guys is that stupid.  Yet, Tony did seem to force Parker to find a better method, didn't he.   

 

I'm also unclear as to Parker's gripe.  It appears in the preview that Fantasyland isn't even ready to give up pay, anyway.  Why wouldn't he run more Farcut bedrock if he can't get anything anywhere else?  This just does not add up.  I also wonder why we saw parker deliver gold instead of having Tony come by as he did for all previous cleanouts.  This whole deal does not make sense to me.

 

What did make sense, unfortunately, was Parker's lying.  He was going on and on about how he has to "pay the bills."  Well, he is already well into profit with 1,050 ounces in hand.  He was just being greedy.  The lad is going to be fighting his impulse all of his life.  On the one hand, it will serve him quite well.  He will work like crazy to be a success.  Yet, nothing is ever going to be enough and it will cost him, unless he finds a way to temper his desire.  

 

Another site was saying that Tony was only working to make the dredge operational one day/week.  This whole either/or fight with Minnie was staged, if true.  If what we saw was closer to actuality, the Beets siblings deserve kudos for their all-in mentality and hard work.  I would like to learn why the workers quit, though.

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I enjoyed the complete lack of even pretending Todd does any work. Dave works all day finding non-frozen ground, and drives back to the cozy cabin to tell Todd about it. And how much has that team, who is losing money daily, spent on decor? The flag on their wash plant alone must be several hundred dollars. They have been presented as this American Dream, do what you can to survive team, but they are precisely the opposite to me. They waste money through incompetence and poor leadership. I wish Dave would tell them all to go scratch and go somewhere else. The Discovery Channel money must be quite good.

That's why I tolerate Parker and Tony and their fake dialogue and contrived story lines. They both work a lot and are integral parts of their crews. You would think Todd could at least drive a rock truck (I do believe even I could do that), but he is too busy making fake expeditions to neighbors.

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was it the previous show when the claim owner drove up and they talked about $4/yard gold?   they briefly showed Todd working.

 

right as the guy drove up, they were showing Todd scraping some dirt with a backhoe or something.   I was just thinking to my self, "what is he doing?"   when the claim owners truck appeared in the background.   nice segue.   fortunate camera angle.   good timing.       ;)

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Wow, so much at stake - if they don't get more gold right where the map and the geologist told them it'd be, the crew might begin to 'seriously doubt [Dave's] judgement'.  There's some powerful writing there, GR, like right on the edge of my seat.

 

They're hardly even pretending that any of these mining operations make fiscal sense.  It's refreshing that they've just abandoned the notion that anyone even cares about the numbers adding up.  

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The Hoffman segments of the show are only worth fast-forwarding through. Discovery should preface their segments by playing a few bars of "Send in the Clowns" so it would be easier to time the FF button than having to watch for Toad's shizzlebeard.

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I can't believe that even in a scripted program they have Grandpa weigh the gold out allll byyy himself.  Sure - he is such an honest guy.  I'm thinking that this is the same jar of yellow flakes they've used from Season 3

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The only thing piled higher than the overburden Parker has to move in Fantasyland is the BS from TPTB in this one.

 

The contrived radio exchanges were laughable.  OMG OMG OMG - we are out of pay!!!  All of a sudden!!!!!!  Give me a break.  Parker knew very well that he would soon be out of pay.  He made a gamble that Fantasyland would be ready.  He lost his gamble.  Then, we get the whole consultation with Gene - as if that didn't happen long before.  

 

The real decision, if there ever was one, was whether to extend the Farcut as they ended up doing, or to prepare Fantasyland.  Everything else was a matter of fate and the resultant actions obvious.  What is going to be fun going forward is watching parker struggle with a decision to leave that area altogether forever and perhaps purchase land elsewhere - despite the fact he has prepped Fantasyland for Tony.  Tony wins either way.  Again.  I love it.

 

We again get the big time push narrative for the dredge.  Didja notice how much they got done in one day?  If they had worked on that thing on a daily basis, it would have been re-built within a couple of weeks.  But, limiting to a one day/week schedule, we now get the faux tension of the coming Winter shutting it all down before they have a chance to get her running.  Still, I love seeing the magnificently capable engineers doing their thing.  It's just amazing to me.

 

So, on the one hand, we have the Hofftards gushing about the gold captured in the sluices.  "Best ever!"  Then, we have the reveal, which was very good, but not miraculous.  What does Toad say, "I knew it would be good, but not THAT good."  Huh?  They were very clearly expecting a monster clean out.

 

Despite the problems with this season, I really do enjoy seeing Gene treating Parker with his due respect as an owner.  Parker reciprocating by not taking his frustrations out on Gene and the rest of the crew is also a welcome sight to these eyes. 

Edited by Lonesome Rhodes
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Yes, despite all the faking, Parker does seem to be acting as the most responsible owner.  There might be less stress because he doesn't have to prove himself this year.  I'm sure you're right Lonesome that these decisions to move, clear or dig have been made quietly in the trailer with most of the guys.  I do like Gene and give him credit for his act of respect for Parker.

 

I think the 2,000 oz bit was put in by the show.  Parker just wants to get as much as he can.  The bet is if Parker stays in the Yukon.  Does not Alaska make the mines return the site to "original" condition?  Fred had to fill in his holes....yes?  Do they have to do that in the Yukon?  The Toad's mine was have done and left.  Oops - that's right - Toad's claim was half done already to get him started for this season.

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Parker mines an island of paydirt; the Hoffman crew puts rock trucks out of commission

 

Normally I like Parker, but that tantrum over his contract was just unacceptable.  It was childish, entitled, unprofessional... and other personal pet peeves.  He was completely out of line.

 

It's weird to watch the Hoffman crew high fiving over a smaller amount of gold than Parker is very disappointed in.  It seems like the Hoffman's operation is way more expensive to my completely untrained eye as well, so they are actually losing more.  Different standards, I guess.

Edited by HalcyonDays
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I really hope Parker was playing to the cameras and not expressing his genuine belief.  Tony gave him a break with the 15% for the first 1500 ounces.  That way, Parker would have the best chance to recover his costs and make some profit.  If the ground was really rich, Tony would be crazy to not extract a premium for it.  Parker had already guaranteed himself a tidy profit.  His only costs going forward were food and fuel.  

 

If Parker is as screwed as he says he is, why not go back to that cut he abandoned which had yielded that fantastic clean out just as he decided he was moving to the Farcut?  Again - no costs beyond fuel.  Or, he can play out his resentment and decide to shut it all down.  That'll show Tony! 

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I think his resentment was played for the cameras.

 

although he might have a little surprised when Tony told him that last 8 ounces were tagged at 20%.

 

(20-15) %   X   (8 ounces) =  0.4 ounces.    at $1000 dollars per ounce, that little correction gained Tony an extra $400.

 

so, yeah.   It was worth speaking up.

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I had to go back to the main premise about the 20% moment.  Why do we think this was anything more than more fake reality?  Parker has kept his head down and worked hard and not been a spoiled brat this year. I'm thinking this is totally manufactured.

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The reason the Hofftards high-five over a small cleanout is the amount of gold they mine is irrelevant. They're actors in a reality show who have been paid to mine gold, have a lot of drama, and clack their helmets together after praying for lots of gold.

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Well, I saw on the latest Dirt that Parker really wasn't kidding.  He professed to still not understand why Tony would have a tiered pricing system.  He also expressed his oft-spoken  resentment that he had no choice but to accept Tony's terms. 

 

Well, Parker, how would you have liked it if Tony took 20% from ounce one?  Then, what?! 

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Parker was acting like a petulant little child about that.  "What choice did I have?" he whines.  He could have negotiated a better deal, or gone elsewhere.  Shut up, Parker.

 

I always enjoy seeing Freddy Dodge, and the segment about his brother and their operation was really cool.  They have quite the setup.  I still think they are the real deal.

 

I wish Jack & Todd Hoffman would stay off my screen - forever. 

 

ETA - oops - the Freddy dodge stuff was in an episode of the dirt on 2/13 - sorry for any confusion

Edited by walnutqueen
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I know they fake drama for these shows, but c'mon Parker - it makes you look bad. Tony Beets said the plain truth. Why did you sign that contract at the beginning of the season then? Did Parker not think that they would ever get to a point where he'd have to pay Beets the 20%.

 

I was rolling my eyes when the kid was whining but really. Beets is doing the work too, but not to line your own pockets, Parker. He wants to line his own, not make you richer.

 

Sheesh. What a brat.

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What are the chances that Tony was the one who turned Parker on to the idea of redirecting the creek?   So, let's do some math about how put-upon our young Prince really is.

 

Let's go with a 2,000 oz season.

 

Tony's cut:                      325

20% Slag on 1,675 ozs: 335

Parker's Take (before expenses):      1,340 x $1,200 = $1,608,000

 

As was evidenced on the Dirt, Parker is in the market for even more heavy equipment.  After just two seasons, he has acquired quite the collection of such.  Where the heck did he think he would be?  Did he really think he'd be this far along - debt free?!!!!  Surely, his father has told him how ridiculously fortunate he has been and to not count on that luck continuing.

 

The dredge project has been a fascinating human behavior study.  The engineers were alllll tut-tutting as to how Tony screwed up by not first installing the stud/peg.  Yeah, it was more work for them.  But, would any one of them have taken on the project at all?!   It takes a Tony.  Each needs the other, eh?  Didja notice the passive-aggressive behavior as they bitched about the lack of radios?   It sure seemed more important for them to have the argument than to fix the issue.  Tony took care of that in about 3 nanoseconds.  

 

Jack has always been the first to blame and the last to accept blame.  If the FB site out there is correct about his having essentially been a slumlord, this guy is the worst.  It sure helps explain how Turd became Turd, too.  Let us pray!

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I had the exact same reaction to Jack's temper tantrum: well, that's where Todd gets it. I did enjoy Dave and the other guy making faces about the meltdown. Although one must think there is something seriously wrong with Dave that he continues to associate with this crew.

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I do not care if this was 100% a Disco deal, 100% financed by Disco.  Bringing that dredge back to life is simply a damn cool thing.  The steely determination of Tony and the engineering work arounds are marvels in and of themselves.  The biggest false note in this arc tonight to me was Monica supposedly figuring out that the damaged buckets would give Tony what he had to have, even if they wouldn't be all that great for hauling pay.  Tony has been the big picture guy the entire time and he was looking at the trees and not the forest in this crucial moment?   It pretty much goes without saying that he had to have known she found them and that they were damaged long before she got back to camp.   Sometimes, Cristo, you just go too far as you beggar belief in what you do.  

 

The phony baloney Hoffman weigh in announcements really get my goat.  These were taped, one after the other, one fine night long after the season ended.  It was just a matter of chopping up the numbers to best facilitate the Disco narrative.  I don't think I can even trust whatever that final revealed total number, whatever it may be.  

 

The preview showing Parker's crew wanting to call it a season either 1) is complete and utter BS, or 2) confirms that they are not in line to receive a cut of the mined gold.  They are on a vein not often found anymore in that area and they just want to go home?!  

Edited by Lonesome Rhodes
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Does anyone remember the numbers from the Hoffman crew early in the season? They had to give the land owner a lot of gold off the top. And then Dave invested a million (?) dollars? All season the numbers have not worked out at all to 1000 oz actually resulting in profit.

Parker's crew being tired is manufactured for sure. That guy last year stuck with him for weeks past freeze.

Next week they are doing a second hour updating the Freddy Dodge operation that Dave abandoned. Hope they made a killing.

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I do think the toad's total will be fake - obviously. 

 

I was trying to count how many  are on his crew.  I think I counted eight guys and I'm pretty sure the wife is  included as the cook and I'm wondering if the other one/Jack's wife must be on the payroll for something.  I'm figuring at least ten to pay. I saw one comment somewhere else that even 3000 ozs won't cover the Toad's cost of fuel, equipment rentals.  You subtract  20% to the mine owner, 20% for purification (or whatever they call it for cleaning it up and firing it) That leaves them 60% or 1800 ounces which should be about 2.4 million. Parker said his fuel costs was $900,000 so the Toad has to be AT LEAST 1.2 million (which also includes all the trailers being powered up).  Down to 1.2 million.  Then you take out the investment (Dave's fake) - that's 700,000 left.  Now pay the crew for 4 months - $240,000 and food $10,000.  - They would have 500,000 left.  Don't forget the accounting and legal filings, etc.

 

Problem is is that they will come in (faked)  just over 1000 ounces NOT 3,000 oz.  People got burned again.  And don't say these are Christians.  They have given us a bad name with their past crooked deals, questionalbe gold weighing and  cussing.

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Bringing that dredge back to life is simply a damn cool thing.

I've ff'ed most of these parts, Lonesome - did Tony ever give any reason at all why he'd want to resurrect antiquated technology?  Presumably this stuff was state-of-the-art right about the time Tony was learning to skip rope, but we've seen updated wash plants like big red and somehow I'd guess they're way, way better at catching gold.  Cool, maybe, but the best way to extract gold?  Mmmm, maybe not.  Plus if any single part of it breaks down (and it will) nothing gets done.  It's not like you can just keep running with one less truck while you fix it, a great weakness of the all-in-one system and probably another reason why nobody uses it anymore.

They would have 500,000 left.  Don't forget the accounting and legal filings, etc.

Don't these guys pay taxes?  I figure the 'Yukon' government is gonna want their cut, and it's gotta be a hefty bite of what's 'left'.  This sounds like another thing Disco would rather we not think about.

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Did I miss something with the two trucks that broke at roughly the same time?  They seemed like they were the same model truck, so why not pull the damaged part from truck 2 to fix the drive train on truck 1?  Why run truck 1 with only two wheels powered?  Oh right, fake drama.

 

Agree with all about Parker and his resentment over the contract he fucking signed.  Ever-more it makes me wonder if Parker would be running a deep-fat fryer were it not for his family's benevolence and Disco's checkbook.  I mean he seems to be doing an okay job having been handed the reins, but I just can't imagine any serious operation handing him anything, to say nothing of Tony Beets.

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I never heard a true practical justification from Tony, or anyone else.  The closest they came to such was how it would move a bunch of potential pay right to the sluice, all-in-one.  

 

My belief is that it was a great way for Disco to feature Tony and his family for a fraction of the millions they spent on the Hoffman's jungle adventures.  I would LOVE to know if Disco contractually gets a cut of any gold that thing may end up processing.  

Edited by Lonesome Rhodes
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I would LOVE to know if Disco contractually gets a cut of any gold that thing may end up processing.

Didn't even think of that.  Don't know how much Disco is making off this show but my guess is that all the gold ever found in all the seasons combined wouldn't cover their production costs for this one, meaning that gold return is trivial to them.  That doesn't mean, of course, that Disco doesn't care at all about the gold but I'll bet if they the crews divide the gold in lieu of salaries, Disco'd make money on the deal.  This on the gold they say they get, not on the gold they actually do get (which may well be far, far less).

 

Given how crappy the huge dredge must be at capturing gold, I wonder if some folks make money by processing the tailings from previous dredging operations.  I would assume that these dredges went for the really rich deposits first, the kinda opportunities which are simply no longer to be found on the surface.  Gotta wonder if the gold that went right through their crappy old sluices would be worth going after with modern methods.

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The Hoffman crew makes a desperate bid to hit their season goal. Tony's attempt to run his million dollar gold dredge ends in a shipwreck. Parker fights the big freeze as he pushes to hit his 2.4 million dollar goal.

Discovery will have us believe 217 oz were in a little stretch of road?  Yeah, ok.

 

Parker's land-buying storyline was seemingly scripted sometime last winter, and they have been playing out scenes to lead up to the end all year.

 

THIS WAS A GOOD SHOW WHY DID THEY DO THIS?!?

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Name one thing that changed in Parker's overall business from the time he shut it down to the time he decided to rescind that decision.  Classic Disco shenanigans.  Didja notice how Parker threw out "25 or 30 percent" as he was bitching at Tony?  When did Tony say anything about increasing his cut?  Even if he did, so what?  Fantasyland will be open next season and whomever mines it will reap well over a million dollars with a 75% share.  

 

We already saw and heard Parker trying to buy more heavy equipment after the season ended.  With what does he plan to buy any land?  Oh, right.  Disco will buy it for him - just as they leased land for the Hoffmans.

 

It was nice to see the dredge engineering team expressing excitement about it finally being ready to rock and roll.   We saw in the preview that the thing was up and running.  I am curious if Tony really wanted to run a lot of dirt through it last season as the rickety sluice box would likely allow gold to slip through.  There is nothing that man hates more than wasted gold.   

 

I really enjoyed the show about the Dodge's season which aired right after this one.  It was very interesting seeing how technology above and on the ground yielded geographic data.  In this case, it wasn't going to change anything as to how they were going to approach the end of the season.  However, if it worked, it could definitely guide them for next season, if there is one.  I most definitely recommend y'all find a way to see that episode if you can.

 

Next week we will have the final eps of this season.  It's gonna be a hoot watching Disco contort everything in an attempt to make it all plausible.  They will fail miserably with the Hoffturds arc.  What lies will they conjure to play up the rift between Parker and the world (Tony)?  

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If Parker wants a new claim, it seems all he has to do is google gold mining claims for sale. For $200K

 

Here is one write up "For Sale. Placer gold claims on lower Wright creek in the famous Atlin mining district, over 400 hectors ( 1000 acres) of virgin ground, lower part of wright creek has never been mined with heavy equipment. Upper wright creek produced well over 40,000 oz of coarse gold many nuggets over 10 oz. Read more: gold mining claims for sale | gold mines for sale | gold property | yukon property | Alaska property | mining equipment for sale | excavators | gold panning supplies | gold mines | mining |. http://www.juniorminers.com/forsale.html#ixzz3TQpKz3Ko http://juniorminers.com/forsale.html

 

This one can be bought for $200,000. I really like this site - lots of fun info...

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This one was pretty fun because there wasn't too much producer interference. I didn't understand the forth guy though - didn't Dave leave because he was working for wages and not a percentage? The last scene pushing the pans of gold back in was hokey nonsense, but why would that guy get a share and Dave wouldn't?

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(edited)

So, so cool seeing the dredge do its thang.  Now comes the question of how much more Tony is willing to put into it.  Those ancient motors and the specialty ironwork are sure to fail and the sluice operation is clearly a problem.  Just how much faith does Tony have in his land?  

 

I remain thoroughly annoyed by the "extra" week arc at Parker's operation.  There was almost nothing in it for his crew.  What was all this "We can buy land" BS?!   Did Parker promise them extra equity in any new land?  No way.  Then the whole mystery about building out a road to the supposedly awesome parcel.  If Parker had not already been explicit with all of them about that plan, they would have walked.   I'm glad they all got lucky with the berm they were already exhausting (and there's the hint they all knew they had to move on to a new parcel) and I chuckled when Parker admitted his guess as to the new area was dead wrong.

 

Parker has now created a problem of scale with his assets.  He has to move one helluva lot of yards of pay to justify his equipment outlay.  This makes it more difficult as so much of the best land has already been picked over.  What the heck is out there, in bulk, for him to go after?

 

Loved seeing Grandpa John again.  Haaaaaaated that he expressed enmity for Tony.  He has to know that without Tony, his grandson would be up the proverbial creek without a Christo.  

Edited by Lonesome Rhodes
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I remain thoroughly annoyed by the "extra" week arc at Parker's operation.  There was almost nothing in it for his crew.  What was all this "We can buy land" BS?!   Did Parker promise them extra equity in any new land?  No way. 

 

I noticed the use of "we" during his explanation of wanting to buy some new land.   

 

I think some of the responses he got after the previous episode's meeting (need 400 more)  definitely implied that he was being greedy.    he referred to that during this episode when he said it was not all just "more, more, more".    but it sure did look like WANT-MORE-GOLD.

 

I wonder if any of his crew will pass on working for him next year.

 

I watched part of the aftershow.    amusing moment when Christo asked Tony what advice he would give Todd.    "Get out of bed and go to work."    hahaha.   it looked like Todd did not like that answer.   :)

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