The Ricky Nixon Show
The phenomenon of the disgraced footballer has ossified into a genre. The following article spells it out:
THE disgraced AFL player manager reveals the truth to leading entertainment [!] columnist Fiona Byrne about his problems with drugs, booze and women during 18 months of torment in our subscriber exclusive video.
In this article, Ricky has defined himself as the lowest common denominator in a particularly Australian phenomenon. Let me throw some names at you; Wayne Carey, Brendan Fevola, Ben Cousins, and now, Ricky.
Public identities of the past spent their time trying to outrun the muckrakers. Nowadays, however, they seem to be running toward them. The Osbournes are at one end of the ‘reality’ spectrum, with Kirsty Alley and Anna Nicole Smith feeding like carp at the bottom of it. Ricky rose to prominence as a successful sports agent and committed a series of ‘indiscretions’ involving drugs, booze, and under-age women. Rather than going to ground to clean up his act and salvage his career, Ricky recently launched his own reality show, Ricky and Tegan Get Real.
Feast your eyes at:
Uncomplicated “fly on the wall” look at 49 y.o. former Sports Agent Ricky Nixon’s life and times with his 27 y.o. Fiance, Tegan Gould.
The Webisodes are short and sharp (3-5 minutes in duration) and designed for Digital Platforms.
The current Teaser is designed to give you a sneak look at who they are. There will be two more Teasers over the next 7 days.
You’ll see the relationship problems they face, the people they meet, the effects of social media, being in the public eye and dealing with constant attention.
Do they have a future ?
Just when you think you have them worked out, you might have to think again!
It’s as if Ricky has made a car-wreck video and you can see him waving through the window as he’s headed for the brick wall.
When I think sin and redemption stories, I think Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. The film concludes with the following biblical quotation: “A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. ‘Give glory to God,’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’ He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know is this; I was blind but now I see.’
– John 9: 24-25.
At the end of the film, Jake La Motta is a broken man. He’s not looking for public acceptance so he can step into a lucrative television contract.
Wayne Carey’s biography is the cogent, compelling portrait of a man who was cast in the mould of a terrible childhood. He grew up to discover himself one of the most talented AFL footballers of all time and, rather than finding deliverance, he underwent gruelling personal tests, all of which demanded skills he simply didn’t have. The Truth Hurts paints a portrait of a man who comes to readers with his hat in his hand, looking for forgiveness.
If you google him and read the same story as plotted by news reports over the years, you find a similar portrait in features, but very different in character. Carey coalesces as a spiteful, violent, arrogant man who believes he has the right to do whatever he likes to feed his appetites – and his vanity.
While Nixon is also a former footballer, his career was nowhere near as distinguished. His story is about a manager; a man who facilitated the achievements of others.
Perhaps the strangest feature of the Ricky Nixon show is the perverse hint of envy.
Theme Park at its Darkest 
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