How ironic is that? One of the richest television stations on earth spends a bundle on a tv show which glamorizes people who steal from the rich, and they get it stolen in one of Europe's poorest countries?
And why was it stolen?
In Robin Hood, the sheriff of Nottingham taxes the poor for king John, before the merry men rob him "back". The stolen tapes of the tv show were made with tax money, a tv license tax which is usually enforced harder on the poor than on the rich. The tax is not income based, but based on if you have a tv or not. TV is an entertainment form almost universal of the working class.
So, British imperialism, under the BBC, gets robbed by an organized band of hidden dudes. And you know what? there's probably a friar among them.
Is piracy funny? No, not unless it's against someone who mails threats. The thing is, I'm about fifty feet under here is the cemetery, and they still send me notices about the resident needs to get a license or else. What are they going to do to me? I'm already dead!
I guess they could dig up my bones and lock them in a prison cell. Like that will make much difference. And what am I going to pay them with? I don't have any Romanian money.
But really, if they're going to spend seven million on the actors and the website, why not pay a fair wage to the breakfast crew? Do you think it was shot in Romania for any other reason but to save money? Seven million quid poor they are, want to save a few quid on a decent secure set.
They could at least have a daily backup of the tapes posted to a secure P.O.Box in Liverpool or something.
But that would involve the possibility of paying decent wages to working class postmen, and the BBC couldn't have that could they! Portray the chavs as heroes if it makes you a few quid, but don't give them a penny more than it costs to renew their license fee.
But with the way intellectual property is panning out, with the ability to patent a vague idea and copyright ever expanding, perhaps the robbers should have just sued. I mean really, as theives they surely have a European Right to Privacy, intellectual property rights on the methods of highway robbery depicted in the film, and perhaps something under trade secrets. Surely, a lawyer would have served them much better than a break in.
Sadly, they've prevented the stories from being shown, or so we are to believe.
Remember what I said about Blair banning Robin Hood? Could this theft be an MI5 operation, an indirect censorship of the offending historic working class hero?
Just check your post boxes. Can you find Robin Hood books or movies at charity shops? They seem to always be checked out at the local library as well? Those that are there are watered down pro-new-labour versions?
Marx my words. If the BBC does end up showing Robin Hood, it will be a watered down version approved by Tony Blair himself, and his demented ministry of culture (or shall we say, ministry of silly walks).