16x20 - Like Brother, Like Brother

[bunniefuu]

[suspenseful music plays]

[Tony] Oh, no.

[Tony speaking]

[narrator]
On this "Gold Rush"...


with Klondike legend,

Tony Beets.

[Tony speaking]

From training new recruits...

[Tony speaking]

...to revealing another Beets
family member...

[Tony speaking]

...and cashing in
on record gold prices.

[Tony speaking]

[calm music plays]

[Minnie] You're getting older,

but you're not slowing down
at all.

[Minnie] There's something wrong
with you, man.

[laughs]

Tony's day starts normally
enough with a visit

from wife Minnie.

If you would have told me
that I would end up marrying

that dude,
I would have said,

"Yeah, not in this lifetime."

You're lucky I was
still available.

-You'd be selling...
-[cackles]

[Minnie] No, no, no.

You would be living
with your mummy.

[Tony speaking]

The world would have never
known you.

Tony is spending the season
living at his massive


Indian River operation,

where he's been sluicing
nonstop for months,

while Minnie stays 40 miles
away at the family base,

Paradise Hill, where son Mike
runs the trommel.

[Minnie]
Sure, we'll get right on that.

Do it while the gold price
is high.

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie] I still remember when
we were selling it for 350.

[Tony speaking]

Tony and Minnie came to
the Yukon from the Netherlands

over 40 years ago
with just $300

and built their kingdom
from the ground up.

[Minnie] You know, I think
it's time for breakfast.

[Tony speaking]

-Yeah, I am.
-[Tony speaking]

Mm.

What's your plan for the rest
of the day?

[Minnie] Yeah.

[Minnie]
Well, that'll be good.

It would be nice if we can
smelt some gold today.

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie]
And don't forget, you also have

a visitor coming today, eh?

[Minnie] Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

None that I know of.

And if I would tell you,
it wouldn't be a surprise.

I have to go back
to the Hill.

See you later.

Tony's first priority

is to his morning drive-bys

in the Indian River cuts.

[honks]

To get as much gold out of
the ground as he can while

the price is hot, Tony has
built a 70-strong workforce

comprised of mostly
new employees.

[Tony speaking]

Downtime on either washplant
costs Tony $8,000 an hour,

so he needs to make sure

his operators are firing
on all cylinders.

[Tony whistles
"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"]

["Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" plays]

[Tony speaking]

[operator speaking]

[classical music resumes]

[country music plays]

Rookie operator Austin Lepage
is opening more ground using

the 100-ton 950 excavator,
the biggest in Tony's fleet.

It's a whole different
experience running the 950

compared to a 349.

Not used to it at all.

[Tony speaking]

[Austin speaking]

[Tony speaking]

Yep.

Still can't get over how much
dirt fits in that bucket.

By loading full buckets
instead of half, Tony is able

to move an extra five tons
per bucket,

getting him down
to the gold faster.

[Tony speaking]

[Austin] Yeah.

[Tony singing]
♪ La, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la ♪

[Austin] Yeah.

-[Tony speaking]
-[Austin] All right, yep.

[grunts]

[Tony speaking]

Yeah, it's quite
the experience to...

get taught how to operate
by Tony Beets.

It's quite the machine to run.

[Tony speaking]

[rock music plays]

[operator]
Tony, have you got a copy?

[Tony speaking]

[worker over radio]
Your guest has arrived.

[Tony speaking]

[intriguing music plays]

[Klaas] Knock, knock.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] Hey!

[mysterious music plays]

[Klaas] Knock, knock.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] Good, good, good.

At Indian River, Tony Beets'
younger brother, Klaas,

has come to visit.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] Oh, yeah.

Oh, you know, you've done it
yourself, right?

[Tony speaking]

The brothers grew up working
together on the family dairy

farm in the Netherlands,
where they ran equipment

and looked after the cows.

Tony left for the Klondike
when he was 24 years old,

and Klaas was 14.

Over a decade later,
Klaas came to work for Tony,

where he ran dozer,

bringing along his son,
Cousin Mike.

Now, Klaas is a superintendent,
building custom excavators for

big construction projects,
while Cousin Mike follows in

his uncle's footsteps,
chasing gold.

[Klaas] How are you doing?

[Klaas] Yeah?
Oh, yeah.

[Klaas] Hopefully it stays
that way, eh?

Yeah, yeah.

[Klaas] No.

So your beard is doing
not too bad.

Yeah, well, I like mine still
better than yours, though.

[Tony speaking]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, sure, [chuckles].

Well, you know,
you were the first one,

so you're a prototype.

[Klaas] I'm the second one,
so I'm the perfect.

-[laughing]
-[Tony speaking]

-[Klaas] Yeah.
-[both laughing]

-[Tony speaking]
-Yeah.

[Tony whistling]

[operator]
That's the wrong radio, Tony.

[both cackle]

[Klaas] I won't tell anyone.

[cackling]

[Tony speaking]

-[bleep] [bleep].
-[laughing]

[Cousin Mike speaking]

[Cousin Mike speaking]

[Tony speaking]

[Cousin Mike speaking]

Thank you.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Klaas] Ha-ha-ha!

Hey!
Kiddo.

[Cousin Mike]
Good to see you.

How are you?
Good to see you.

-[Cousin Mike] Yeah.
-Yeah, been a while.

-Been a while, yeah.
-[Klaas] Everything OK?

-Yeah.
-[Klaas] Yeah, good.

-How are you?
-Yeah, not too bad, yeah.

Have a good trip, yeah.
Yeah.

-[Cousin Mike] OK.
-[Klaas] Yeah.

[Cousin Mike]
It's been a couple of years.

[Klaas] Yeah.
Yeah.

-Quite a few years, yeah.
-Lots has changed.

Yeah.
Yeah.

Quite nice to see
everything again.

[Tony speaking]

-[Cousin Mike] Yeah, right.
-[all laugh]

Yeah.

So how are you getting along
with the old guy?

[Cousin Mike] Oh, not over,
you just gotta...

[Monica speaking]

[Cousin Mike] How is Tony?

[Tony speaking]

Cousin Mike began working
for Tony four years ago.

He started as an operator
and quickly moved up the ranks.

I don't think so.

[Tony speaking]

Now, Tony's nephew is foreman
on the biggest claim

and is one of
his most trusted employees.

[Cousin Mike]
Looking good.

Rocks are gone.
Firing back up.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] Sure.

[Tony] OK.

[Cousin Mike]
OK, let's do it.

[mysterious music plays]

Oh, it was 2010, 11,
I think so.

[Tony speaking]

Yeah.

[Klaas] Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

Yeah.

-[Tony] Yeah.
-Nice to see him doing that.

-[Cousin Mike] Yeah.
-Yeah.

Like father, like son?
Well, you never know, right?

-No.
-Oh, yeah, yeah.

He never will.

Is that why you guys
are hiding it?

Since Klaas left,
the Beets' small family

business has more than doubled
in size, exploding into

an ever-expanding empire.

[Klaas] Quite an operation
you have going, Tony.

-[Tony speaking]
-Yeah

Tony is opening up even more
ground on the other side of

his claim, over two miles from
where he did his rounds earlier

in the day.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] [indistinct]
[bleep] in there?

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] That's insane.

[Cousin Mike] Yeah.

[suspenseful music plays]

Yeah, Tony, you know,

he's getting
a little bit older.

I think a little bit,
milder also.

But he still can tell people
what he wants done

and how he wants it done.

Hey!

He will get the message
across, yeah?

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas]
What was Tony as a kid?

Well, he was my big brother.

We have 10 years of difference
in between us.

With that big of difference,
and you look up to a bigger,

older brother, we have a little
bit of the same humor.

So yeah, I don't know, it was

fun with him to work
on the farm.

Yeah, quite a bit
different, yeah.

Something else
than milking cows.

[Klaas] Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] I will, yeah,
I would love to, yeah.

Maybe I have to show you guys
how it's done.

[Tony speaking]

Tony's 63 ton D10 dozers
provide extra muscle to move

overburden and open up
more ground fast.

So, here's the D10.

It's a little newer than
the one we ran 15 years ago.

[Klaas] Still looks nice.

[Cousin Mike] I'll show you
the new controls.

OK, yeah.

And then we'll each get on
one, and we'll do some pushing.

[Klaas] Let's do it.

So this is
forward and backwards.

[Klaas] Yeah.

Instead of that lever you had
then, and now you steer

with the fingers.

[Klaas]
Looks like straightforward.

I'll give it a try, Michael.

-All right, let's do it.
-[Klaas] Yeah.

[adventurous music plays]

[indistinct]
...in this direction, Michael?

Yeah, so that excavator
sitting there loading trucks,

let's sit there side by side

and put some dirt
to that excavator.

OK, let's do it.

Well, this brings back
memories, Michael.

Kind of nice of us doing
this again.

It's nice to be doing it
together now.

[Klaas]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

I'm kind of proud
of you, Michael.

You're all doing this.

I used to do it,
and now you do it.

Yeah, we didn't think that
when you were working here

and I was 13 years old.

Now I'm working here,
and you're here for a visit.

I think I'm still pushing more
dirt than you do, so.

Beginner's luck.

Still to come...

[Monica]
I put on two bras expecting
a bumpy [bleep] ride.

[intriguing music plays]

-That's a nice truck, eh?
-[Monica] Yeah.

Oh, shame we don't have more.

At Paradise Hill,
Tony's youngest kids,

Mike and Monica, have just
taken delivery of a brand new



Safe travels, Monica.
I'll miss you.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Now, Monica must drive
the $600,000 truck 40 miles

to Tony at the Indian River.

[rock music plays]

[Monica] Ooh!
This chair!

Come on, adjust.

The A50 is the only
full suspension,

articulated hauler
of its size,

making for a smooth ride.

[Mike] Kind of jealous.

Kind of wish I could go
drive it to the Indian.

[Monica]
There seems to be a bit of,
like, rivalry between

the Indian River and the Hill,
but you know what?

Like, there's just
more happening

out in the Indian River
right now,

and also where Tony is
is where the toys will be.

I'm usually pretty busy
in the Gold Room.

It's kind of like where
I'm stuck.

So it's really nice to be able
to do something new because,

yeah, it's been a hot minute

since I got to do
something so fun.

The skies are blue,
the leaves are green,

and I'm in the shiniest yellow
truck in the whole territory.

[Tony speaking]

[Monica]
Hey, Tony, Tony, do you copy?

[Tony speaking]

[Monica]
I'm just coming into the yard
with your new toy.

[Tony speaking]

Tony's new toy is the first of
its kind in the Klondike.

The A50 is his biggest
and most powerful truck yet,

with a seven-ton increase
in payload capacity,

and an extra 47 horsepower

compared to Tony's smaller
A40 rock trucks.

[Tony speaking]

[bleep] fancy,
it's got an air ride seat.

[Tony speaking]

Didn't even feel
half the bumps.

[Tony speaking]

[Monica]
Like, I'm not even gonna lie.

I put on two bras expecting
a bumpy [bleep] ride.

I could have gone
with a sports bra.

I didn't need anything.

I would almost run
rock truck for the day.

[Tony speaking]

No, let's make sure people
don't [bleep] this one up first.

[Tony speaking]

-[Monica] "[bleep] off."
-[both laughing]

[intriguing music plays]

[operator laughs]

Three miles away
from Indian River,

Tony's oldest son, Kevin,

is deep in his second year
as a mine boss.

[operator speaking]

[Tony speaking]

[operator]
We've got a problem with a D6

by the entrance to camp.

[ominous music plays]

[suspenseful music plays]

[Tony speaking]

At Tony Beets'
Indian River claim...

[Tony speaking]

A neighboring miner's settling
pond has burst its dike,

and the road outside Tony's
claim has flooded.

Now, one of Tony's D6 dozers
has been blindly driven

into a ditch and is stuck
in the drink.

[Tony speaking]

To free the sunken dozer,
Tony will use his 550 excavator

to grab onto the blade of
the 25-ton D6 and pull it out.

[Tony speaking]

[dramatic music plays]

[clanging heavily]

[clattering]

[Tony speaking]

[clanging, rattling]

Tony has misread the road.

Now, the 550 excavator is stuck

and the inoperable D6 is
blocking access.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] Yeah.

[Tony speaking]

[Klaas] OK.

Interesting day.
D6 stuck in the water.

Then Tony tried to pull it out.
Got the excavator stuck, so...

But at least we got the toys
to get him out.

If we can get it out
without wrecking anything,

then it'll be all good.

[Tony speaking]

-We'll hook up
the D6 to the D10...
-[man] That's good.

and then we'll drag it
out of here first.

Then we'll worry about
the 550 excavator.

First, Klaas must drag the D6
to the yard where Tony's

mechanics can assess
the damage.

[Tony speaking]

D6 out of the way,

the Beets brothers now need
to rescue Tony's 63-ton



We're not out of the woods
yet, but we'll get it.

We'll get it.
Nothing new.

[Tony speaking]

[suspenseful music plays]

[dramatic music plays]

[rumbling]

Coming up...

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Yes.

[Tony speaking]

[calm music plays]

[Tony speaking]

Tony Beets is heading
to Paradise Hill.

He has one last bit of business
to take care of before

a date night with Minnie.

[Tony speaking]

I'm just going to get it in
there and let it start heating,

see if my tongs are ready.
Yeah.

Tony has called in long-time
friend and gold smelter

Danny Johnson to melt some
of his gold into bars.

You do the service.
Pour that 75 in there.

It's a practice he plans
to make part of his growing

operation to make storing
and moving gold easier.

It'd be kind of cool to see
melting gold for the first time

in real life.

It looks cooler, too.

[Tony speaking]

But, hey, Tony, if they're
laying around,

you can't spend them.

[laughing]

We're gonna pull it out,
and we're gonna dump it in.

[Tony speaking]

Now we're just gonna turn
the heat up and let it cook.

The temperature is around 1900
to melt gold, and we go up

another maybe 100 degrees,

just so it's super liquid
and we can pour it.

[hissing]

Because if you go at 1900
and it's liquid, by the time

I lift it up and pour it,
it's solid again.

So we have to have
the temperature up

a little more.

Let's just put it this way,
don't stick your hand in it.

[rock music plays]

Ready?
Hot, yeah. OK.

As one bar cools,
another jar of gold

is prepped
for the crucible.

[hissing]

That's [bleep] cool.

[Danny] We'll get all that off
and then we'll wire brush it.

And it should all
come up -- look.

Should all come up quite nice.

[Mike] I just want to see
how heavy it is.

That's [bleep] cool.

[hissing]

[Tony speaking]

[Danny] Yeah, you can pour
that in there.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Yes.

[Tony speaking]

[Mike] Awesome!

[Mike] This is about $350,000,


So, yeah, it won't get you

the best rock truck,
but it'll get you a rock truck.

[emotive music plays]

After a long day on the mine,
the king has a rare opportunity

to unwind with his queen.

[Minnie] Yup.

Well, we haven't done this
at all, have we?

We're supposed to go
for supper with people,

and it never happens,
it seems like.

[Minnie] Yeah, because always
something happens.

I mean, good thing for
FaceTime, otherwise we'd never

see each other.

Well, it's true, though.

-Here we are.
-Yep.

[Minnie] Young man.

Food, probably.

-Hey, how are you?
-I'm doing well, yourself?

[Minnie] Pretty good.

I'll have the pork
belly, please.

-[waiter] You got it.
-[Tony speaking]

[Minnie] How was your visit
with your brother?

[Tony speaking]

It's kind of funny when
you see the both of

you together, because
you are similar.

-Mm-hmm.
-You can tell you're
from the same family.

Definitely.

[Minnie]
There's no mistake there.

But even with cousin Mike,
you can see it.

The way you guys walk
and the way sometimes you talk.

And it's like, yeah,
you can definitely tell

you guys are all related.

[Tony speaking]

[Minnie]
It's been a long time, eh?

[Tony speaking]

'78.

So that's 47 years ago.

Yeah, we did.

[both cackle]

I mean, the first time I danced
with you was when --

when we got married.

That was probably
the last time, too.

[laughing]

Yeah.

[Minnie] Well, it has been
a good run, yeah.

Yeah.

[waiter] All right, folks.

[Minnie] Thank you.

-[waiter] Enjoy.
-[Minnie] I will.

I mean, Kevin seems to be
doing OK.

[Tony speaking]

Well, they're either gonna
have a hell of a sale...

...or they're gonna go mining.

[Minnie]
I think we did OK in life.

I guess it is, you know.

[Tony speaking]

-No.
-[Tony cackles]

-[Tony] No?
-No.

Ugh...
OK, dear, hm?

-[Minnie] Yes, dear.
-Yes, dear.

[Minnie] People don't realize
you're a pussycat.

[Tony] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

We'll make out just fine,
all right?