Why Stargate SG-1 Switched to the P90 (Dial the Gate)

when we did the First episodes they wanted the same firearms that they used in the Stargate movie which was the MP5 and back then it was the Alpha 2 model the A2 model and we used everything from the A2 to the a5s and it all has to do with the select lever the type of look it has and stuff like that all made by the same company and I'm like you know they're traveling to all these different planets it's a submachine gun round doesn't have a lot of range and it's not really meant for fighting in like in the in a builtup area of trees and stuff like that in big Open Fields it's a close quarter battle Weapon It's Made for SWAT teams or SEAL Teams that are very close quarter it's a it it has a great stopping power and all that but I'm like it's the wrong weapon for this team and I I tried to push it in back in season two and season three they're like where already invested we have all these rubbers and replicas made for all these SG teams and I said okay so start of season 4 we had a big production meeting I think we were two weeks out from doing the first episode and we had the P90s and we ordered I think we purchased 10 of them it was extremely hard to get because being French I had to speak French to Belgium back and forth with the company and lucky because of that we they said look we'll give you the wet Firearms but they can't be used in bad taste they have to be a positive effect very I call it the Top Gun Theory right and um I said finally we got the firearms and I think we got him about a month before we went to that meeting and so I'm like you know what I'm going to bring this firearm obviously clear and safe to the production meeting and I had the case with me and we're going through the script and this and that and then they mentioned oh and you know Carter and O'Neal both have their mp5s and Michael Shanks just has his sidearm and he's always carrying a a Pelican case of some sort right he always had some type of scientific equipment and stuff like that and a lot of times T would carry his staff right so uh the one of the producers and I think it was Brad Wright goes Rob just a question what's in the case behind you I'm like aha so I said 'l I says I have a firearm here and um I think it's going to be perfect for our team and I basically pulled out the P90 Andy Makita was sitting there Martin wood was there and um Alex papis who's a very good friend of mine who's retired he was also there all the ads were there I just showed them look guys it's clear and safe and they're like oh that's incredible well and so I explained to them the basically the the everything about the P90 its stopping power its range its Mobility its compactness and it's user friendly and they're like uh I can't remember which producer it was maybe it was Robert Cooper he says that's great he says uh yeah do they have real ones out there we could use he thought we fabricated that out of nothing I said no this is a real firearm I said we have 10 of them ready to go and they're like really I says well yeah I it's it's ready for the show we can do a transition where they get the P90s introduced in season 4 and they loved it and from then on it's stuck you know we still used different Firearms we had mp5s we had the saw the M60 we had numerous types of firearms but the sg1 team that was their Benchmark and they loved it because I uh I help introduced a certain type of holster not a holster a sling they can do this they can do this and Rick was always doing this right he would have just sit there and listen but they loved it because it was always in front of them it wasn't long it didn't have sharp edges they fell in love with it right from day one but before we even got to that I had to train the cast again because now there's a new weapon system so then I think it was two or three days before all the casts were in town I said look I just need give me two hours with the cast give me the gate room I'll do it in the gate room give me some production assistance to lock the doors I want full lock down just me and the cast no one else I'm going to run through the dry training and then we're going to test fire because we did a lot of firing in that gate room as you know and um I I had the forecast I said okay we're going to fire some Firearms here all P90s you're going to load on your own you know how to do it I just showed you for the last few hours and they all loaded it they chambered the round they put it on automatic and they're like well what about the brass I'm like don't worry about the brass I said just don't wear sandals or flip-flops in here that's all and uh they loved it they all unloaded their magazines and they pulled the magazines out because I had I trained the actors on everything how to clear misfires and jams how to change mags they were self-sufficient and it got as they fired the weapon more and more and more they got more comfortable with it and they knew the effects because we used everything from Full LS which is a huge muzzle flash you're looking at two feet out of the P90 to a Cordo which was about 6 in right and sometimes we we had some very um noise uh environments that uh there was bylaws where they they can achieve over certain decibel rating and uh but anytime we're in the stage people love the full loads they're more reliable they're cleaner burning they look great on camera and the muzzle flash is so big that a lot of times the film would cover multiple flashes compared to HD today which pretty much captures all of it and a lot of times the cordal loes were were so minute they don't have to enhance it by CGI but they had something at least I had options for them um and then we had these high-end rubbers that were made for the actors when they weren't firing and then we had really good replicas so I actually had three of everything three replicas for each actor three rubber guns for each actor because sometimes there was a stunt double or there was a second unit filming that day and I had to m them one to one there couldn't be anything different uh like Amanda like to she like to have her weapon a little bit higher so she could flip it into her shoulder where Rick liked his a little lower Chris didn't care he was like okay whatever it fits it's great and all that and Michael Shanks would be like yeah okay Rob I want it just offc centered a bit I'm like no problem so I modified a lot of their uh slings and everything was great and stuff like that and then it was as simple as okay we're doing a stunt here here and I would unhook the real P90 and put on a rubber one boom and then they'd go to do the stunt it was a nice we had foam rubbers we had hard rubbers you had all different types we had a whole team of uh prop molders that were making everything and they did such a great job I know that a lot of those rubber Firearms uh are in various producers offices or you know down in Hollywood or with the cast because when we did finish the show they they obviously wanted a lot of it for memorabalia right absolutely it's it's nonfunctional so it's nonfunctional it's just a pie of rubber you you watch these shows everything the Westworld I mean the the P90 you you can see it everywhere now like it really caught on fire with the the the uh everyone's recognizing the utility of of that piece they're easy to handle you know I've held one myself they're um they're they're just right for the show thanks for watching this clip from dial the gate you can find the full live stream shows on our YouTube channel or visit dial theeg gate.com for the complete schedule see you on the other [Music] side

Channel: GateWorld

Views: 409,558

Keywords: stargate, stargate sg1, stargate sg-1, sg1, sg-1, dial the gate, david read, interview, scifi, syfy, p90, p-90, weapon, weapons, production, prop, props, safety, Rob Fournier, fournier, armory, armorer

Id: X9oCdr0HvCc

Length: 8min 18sec (498 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 10 2024