0/5

Is Tricky Business the “Days of Our Lives of mercantile agents?”

An experienced debt collector takes a look at Nine's new drama and questions its authenticity.

Just how realistic is Tricky Business?

It’s a TV Drama after all so nobody is expecting doco-like accuracy.

But The Illawarra Mercury has gone to the trouble of getting the opinion of Steve Bosilkovski, who has 26 years as a debt collector working in the same region as the Christie family of Nine’s new drama.

Mr. Bosilkovski said he had stopped watching because it was too far removed from the reality experienced by he and wife Donna, who was also a qualified sub-agent within their mercantile agency.

He says the plotline involving Lincoln Lewis as a fledgling mercantile agent who becomes romantically involved with a woman he was supposed to serve falls short of the mark.

“It’s a conflict of interest,” he explained.

“[Debt collecting] is a very misunderstood industry. It’s not an easy field to get into. You’re fingerprinted, there are background checks.

“[The show] is the Days of Our Lives of mercantile agents.

“The one thing I like about it is that it’s probably let people know what ‘mercantile agent’ means. And it’s good to see Wollongong and the area on TV.”

But his wife is a bit kinder.

“You wouldn’t watch it if it were too much [like real life],” she said.

For Nine’s sake, hopefully they don’t have a ratings box.

I’m still waiting for Shane Bourne and Debra Byrne to do more on the show.  I like their pairing but the procedural elements just aren’t grabbing me at all.

21 Responses

  1. @Kenny, if you’re going to single out one program with the realistic and plausibility card, you’ve got do it to everyone single other program as well.

  2. Yes I agree it should have been treated much better. What chance has it had really? I watched the first two episodes but really its on too late for me. I don’t watch The Voice as its boring but I might have given Tricky Business a better go if it was on earlier. Shane and Debra are not featured nearly enough, they should be the heart of the family and shown a lot more.

  3. Ha Ha Freddo! As for me, I’d gladly watch Antony Starr do anything, nothing… I don’t really care really, as long as I can look! That aside, I am watching it and enjoying it. Not bothered with the voice so the lead in doesn’t affect me. Nor do I watch Rafters. I tried when it started but after two episodes I didn’t care for any of them. Surprising as I really like Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thompson. But here’s the point. I choose not to watch Rafters but I appreciate people do like it regardless of my opinion. These forums are full of people who don’t watch a program but still feel entitled to criticise it. Not surprising as people were bagging it before it even started. It never had a chance in my opinion and it deserves to have been treated better.

  4. I don’t watch Voice so keep forgetting to tape it. Understand why they used the Voice lead in, but having a family drama starting at 9.30-9.45pm will never work.

  5. Judging from the ratings (prob still bloated by The Voice over-run) I’d say that this is more like the Cops LAC of Mercantile Agents.

  6. @Kenny Before you play the realistic and plausible card, let’s just look at some of the shows that are on TV at the moment, Revenge if it was realistic and plausible the main character would be in jail, Downton Abbey, characters don’t look like they’ve aged in ten years, how realistic is that? Then look at NCIS and CSI, in a matter of minutes they have test results that would usual take months.

  7. Tricky Business was commissioned by the former head of drama and the current programmer. It was not a very good idea from the start. These guys are debt collectors after all, not your favourite people in the suburbs. The series looks like this ugly reality finally dawned on everybody but far too late so it was then dressed up as a Rafters lookalike. Take Underbelly out of Nine’s drama line up and the result has been a succession ranging from very ordinary (Rescue) to terrible series. Tricky Business is just the latest and House Husbands seems a good idea for an American sitcom if you have very clever writers. I suspect it will be back to the drawing board for Nine.

  8. @Nathan – Fact, ficton, whatever, but it’s got to be realistic and plausible.
    Nine shed 1.6m between The Voice and Tricky Business last night. So much for the lead-in theory.
    No promos seen recently on Wollongong-based WIN. Strange.
    I guess anyone who’s sorta interested in it will catch the weekend rerun.

  9. I seriously doubt Nine cares… They clearly don’t regard the show very highly as it never airs when their EPG says it should. Even if you could catch an entire episode, it’s on too late.

  10. Has anyone else noticed how nine hasn’t plugged this at all this week?? It lost 25%of its viewers in one week and this week you wouldn’t even know it was on!! There’s only one place this shows going!! Nine cancelled it’s good dramas no wonder the head left!! As cheesy as it may seem to some people actually liked rescue etc nine should’ve stuck with it!! Better still bring it back!!!

  11. It is definitely not a ‘great’ show and it’s very soapy but I’m kinda enjoying it despite its flaws it is definitely a guilty pleasure I won’t go around talking about it though lol.

  12. The Nine Network’s former head of drama suddenly left last year and has never been replaced. How can Nine’s management leave such a key position vacant and expect ratings success? What does anyone think is going to happen to Nine’s drama offering? House Husbands is next cab off the rank. Will it work? Who takes the credit if it’s a hit or the blame if it doesn’t?

  13. I have to agree.
    I was really looking forward to this show.
    But after the 1st episode, I can’t watch anymore.
    It does remind me of how a “Soap” would write this. And that’s such a shame for all involved.
    And it under uses Shane & Debra.
    I really love both actors.
    But they weren’t there enough to make me watch again.
    And the younger brother character is just laughable (not in a good way)
    Just my 2cents worth. 😉

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