p2pnet - rss feed: Mininova lets Australians see Underbelly
p2pnet news | P2P:- MiniNova helped Australians get around a court order banning the showing of a new Australian gangland thriller.
“Preview episode,” says the promo blurb for Underbelly, then, “New. Drama series about the 10-year gangland war that shocked Australia,”
But immediately underneath, “This functionality is not available due to current legal restrictions.”
Nonetheless, last night, “most of Australia sat down to watch the first episode of the much-hyped gangland drama series Underbelly on Channel 9,” says the Herald Sun, but, “Victorians, on whose streets the real drama unfolded, were unable to join them”
But, “The program was available even earlier for those who wanted to defy the ban by using the internet,” says The Age.
“About 15 minutes after the broadcast finished in the eastern states, the first pirated version was available for download from the Netherlands-based website mininova.org.”
Geelong Supreme Court Justice Betty King had ruled screening it on official TV, “could prejudice the defendant in a pending murder trial”.
The 13-part dramatisation of the Melbourne gangland war, “had a hot cast and astonishing hype,” says the story. “A leaked video circulated on email contains clips of violence, nudity, profanity and a tag line of ‘Bang, Bang’.”
But, “It is, unfortunately for Channel Nine, compelling television,” King decided. “That’s one of the problems.”
However, “Nine spokeswoman Arabella Gibson denied potential legal issues had been ignored leading up to the $10.4 million series,” says The Age.
“How about the build-up to this show?” - Mick posted on 2 Blog or not 2 Blog a couple of days ago.
“Firstly, the Victorian Supreme Court has decided it has to watch all 14 hours of the show to determine whether or not it can be shown at all, or just not in Victoria as the content is based on the real life mob and gangland war in Melbourne,” he said.
“Then the Australian Family Association (AFA) has come out and said that it’s too graphic and that Nine should not show it at 8.30pm.
“Nine will be rubbing their hands at the publicity for their first episode that is to be shown tomorrow night as a 2 hour special. Poor old House on Ch. 10 could be the loser of the night!”
He went on, “Not bad I reckon. I haven’t been this keen for a new Aussie show since The Secret Life of Us, or maybe Good News Week Nite Lite.”
Then, “UPDATE: The Supreme Court has ordered that the series not be shown on Victorian TV indefinitely.
“HA! Too bad Mexicans!”
Stay tuned 
Also See:
Herald Sun - The right to a fair trial, February 14, 2008
The Age - Pirate Underbelly screening exposed, February 14, 2008
2 Blog or not 2 Blog - Bang, Bang, You’re Fucked, February 12, 2008
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