Advertisement
The boys perhaps provide a hint of what the show will look like at their last outside broadcast. second captains Tumblr

12 golden rules of TV that Second Captains ought to know for their new show

The five kings of Irish sports radio are about to leap into a whole new medium.

BEFORE THIS WEEK is out, the national broadcaster will hold a precious little reel (or whatever they record stuff on nowadays) with footage of the TV debuts of Second Captains.

Yes, the famous five of Eoin McDevitt, Ken Early, Ciaran Murphy, Simon Hick and Mark Horgan have all been on our box in one form or another before – TheScore.ie can’t be the only one who watched half an hour of Off The Ball on Setanta late at night… can we? – but this is different.

Thursday evening will be their own stab at a fully fledged grown-up TV show. And so long as they follow these simple rules of the small screen, video can’t possibly kill the radio stars.

Keep a fairly tight rein on your guests

Probably safest if you avoid Tom Cruise altogether, actually. No matter how good he says Days of Thunder 2 is gonna be.

YouTube credit: G Patton

But mind your manners

Credit: INPHO

Embrace the couch

Tom jumpin’ round the couch like a mad eejit reminds us; this pilot looks set to be a cosy, couchy late-night TV show.

Some shows have tried to use couches to give the feel of a relaxed atmosphere, but it never turns out that way.

Fantasy Football was a proper couchy show. Zane Lowe’s Gonzo on MTV2 was almost exclusively couch. Top Gear, on the other hand, got lost somewhere between back seat and and torture chamber.

Remember, a couch is not just for sitting on. Own it.


If you borrow Miriam O’C's sofa, be sure to lob some sort of protective blanket over it

She’d go spare if she found any crumbs from Simon Hick’s protein bars.

Credit: RTE/YouTube

Don’t be afraid of going against popular opinion

YouTube credit: ullArmy9

Do your research


Horgan, make sure the lads know exactly when they’re on

YouTube credit: PlaneandCar CrashTV·

No pen-throwing /stealing of Dunphy’s thunder

Eamo has already been brought to tears on the podcast. But just because he has bared his soul doesn’t mean he ain’t still king of the RTE Sport jungle, baby!

So keep the madness in check (until he hangs up his crown and sceptre).

Credit: RTE/YouTube

If the tele-prompter is broken / sabotaged just say ‘boom goes the dynamite!’

Repeat it over and over to yourself. Just like this dude does after an excruciating two minutes and 25 seconds of this video.

Now, no zany Ron Burgundy/ Veronica Corningstone bloopers for you.

Foolproof.

YouTube credit: Kurt Christensen

Don’t feel the need to go out and entertain the masses…


… that’ll come if you stick to being your insightful selves

As Eddie O’Sullivan used to say: Focus on the process, not the result.


Make sure your mic is off if you want to ask a guest about their private life

Better yet, just avoid the subject of “smashing it” altogether.


Spend Pat Kenny’s wages wisely*

Even split five ways, that kinda money could change a man.

*Second Captains are probably not cancelling out the massive surplus on RTE’s budget.

Second Captains to film pilot TV show for RTÉ… and you can go watch

Close
Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.