genuinegirly

What is your favorite weapon used in a sci-fi series?
What's your least favorite?
Which ones seem incredibly impractical?

Stargate SG1 started using P90s somewhere along the line. I always thought they looked super cool, and I loved that they could clip them to their vests.


I've never really liked the Rangers' Denn'Bok in Babylon 5. They used its compact --> huge capabilities on a number of occasions to confuse their dimwitted captors, but I still don't see the excitement behind a staff.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it goes from this:

to this:


Then there's the bad-guy weapons. And as far as I'm concerned, the Chigs from Space Above and Beyond have everyone beat.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

longbough

The lightsaber is the baddest of the bad weapons in sci-fi. Ask anyone.
If I could have one sci-FI weapon that would be it.

If I could have another it would be Decker's pistol in Blade Runner.

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

The_Jazz

Personally, I've always preferred literary sci-fi weapons to the ones on TV or film. My favorite is the . Might as well get rid of the whole thing, right?

I like the personal shields that David Lynch came up with in Dune. Those stayed close to my personal interpretation of the novel. Obviously not a weapon but something I thought "gee, I'd like one of those".

As weapons go, I'll take Leeloo from The Fifth Element, thanks. Indestructable, hot, fully versed in hand-to-hand combat and the antithesis of pure evil? Sign me up.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

KirStang

Definitely the light-saber. It's a samurai sword for geeks.

Cuts through reinforced titanium-unobtanium doors? Check.
Deflects lasers like a baseball bat? Check
Decapitates republic commandos with one swoop? Check.



Probably one of my favorites too though is the M41-A pulse rifle from the 'Aliens' series.



"THEY'RE COMING OUTTA THE WALLS"

Plan9

Goddamnit, Kirstang. Stealing my favorite. Smart Gun was my backup.

More in a minute.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

longbough

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Baraka_Guru

With one of these, you ain't gonna be afraid of no ghost:

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

longbough

The orb from "Phantasm"

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Walt

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Calmer than you are...

longbough

Omega 13

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Shadowex3

Phasers and blasters (since they're so similar) both strike me as incredibly impractical. They've got serious implications for using them up close, fire projectiles slow enough that you can just move out of the way (or fling it back), and leave an enormous bright "LOOK AT ME" colored trail right back to you.

My least favorite are the alien weapons that Stargate comes up with hands down. They're all universally shaped ridiculously, tend to have annoying effects, and despite being obviously inferior in most ways to the P90's that the humans carry around are always shown to one-up everything else.

Favorite... I'd take either a Denn'Bok or a lightsaber, although I'm a lot less likely to hurt myself with the former.

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Walt

Get yourself a Death Star, bro. Except for a very minor hole in their defenses, they are practically fool proof and totally awesome.

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Calmer than you are...

KirStang

Say Uncle.

Walt

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Calmer than you are...

KirStang

Walt, LMAO that was the exact scene I was thinking of. The Empire's going to build a multi-trillion dollar planet destroyer but not put a GRATE over the most vulnerable point.

longbough

Are you kidding?

The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of The Force!

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Baraka_Guru

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

KirStang

you guys crack me up.

longbough

Oh yeah?




Didn't work out so well that time, did it?

__________________
"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Willravel

Babylon 5 AND Space: Above and Beyond? genuinegirly, you're a genuinecatch. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

My choice:

Heart of Ice made me want to be a better supervillain.

Walt

Dude, you can do better than a gun that is defeated by an electric blanket and/or global warming. Mr. Freeze is on the same level as that douche kid with the "heart" ring on Captain Planet. Still not as bad as the Care Bear Stare, though.

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Calmer than you are...

longbough

How about Bolt?

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi

Plan9

Awesome. Your comment just assisted me in pushing raisin bran through my nose. I think I might be bleeding. I want to party with you.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Lucifer

While the basic lightsaber is a classic, I'll take Darth Maul's double lightsaber:

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I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
- Job 30:29

1123, 6536, 5321

Redlemon

Wait a second. Plan9 is eating a cereal that is NOT Cheerios?

My world is collapsing around me. I don't know what's real anymore.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Willravel

Dude, his wife is sick. That's not cool.

Zeraph

Ya, I hate to say it but the frickin light saber.