No Zat guns in Atlantis?

[ReadyAndWilling]

hey guys, i'm in Season 3 of Atlantis and why don't they use Zat Guns? just seems weird to be running around with P-90's all the time as they're so lethal. they have ronnon's gun, but there's only one.

 

[David cgc]

The real reason is to help differentiate the shows. Zats are an SG-1 staple. It's the same reason they only used Puddle Jumpers on SG-1 twice, even though in reality, they probably would've shipped one or two back and had a couple of "Aerial Recon" SG teams.

We did see Zats a couple of time on SGA in Earth-based episodes, though. That was a fun little treat.

 

[Hermiod]

The Wraith's stinger weapons took their place, which makes sense since they're interested in food, not killing.

 

[Brent]

Still, it makes no sense that the Atlantis team wouldn't have had Zats, it was standard issue on SG-1 teams.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

I believe there were certain legalities involved - they didn't want to pay the guy who invented the Zat guns royalties every time the guns showed up in Atlantis. Instead, they invented the Wraith stunner pistols pretty quickly and adopted them for the same purpose.

 

[The Wormhole]

I believe there were certain legalities involved - they didn't want to pay the guy who invented the Zat guns royalties every time the guns showed up in Atlantis. Instead, they invented the Wraith stunner pistols pretty quickly and adopted them for the same purpose.

Zats were seen a few times on Atlantis, usually in Earth-based episodes. Sheppard uses one when he's stealing the jumper in The Return, Teal'c uses one while fighting the Wraith at the SGC in Midway.

I doubt royalties apply to props. After all, Star Trek re-uses every prop they ever created, and they don't have to pay royalties. I think really, TPTB simply wanted Atlantis to have its own unique aspects, so the Wraith stunner was used as opposed to the zat.

 

[BenRoethig]

Considering they were mostly captured, they probably have a finite supply of zats.

 

[Corran Horn]

I doubt royalties apply to props. After all, Star Trek re-uses every prop they ever created, and they don't have to pay royalties. I think really, TPTB simply wanted Atlantis to have its own unique aspects, so the Wraith stunner was used as opposed to the zat.

Actually, I think Joseph Mallozzi said on his blog that it was for the reason cited above. (rights)

Too lazy to find it though.

 

[The Wormhole]

I doubt royalties apply to props. After all, Star Trek re-uses every prop they ever created, and they don't have to pay royalties. I think really, TPTB simply wanted Atlantis to have its own unique aspects, so the Wraith stunner was used as opposed to the zat.

Actually, I think Joseph Mallozzi said on his blog that it was for the reason cited above. (rights)

Too lazy to find it though.

Then how did they get around that the two times we did see zats on Atlantis?

 

[David cgc]

Just bit the bullet and paid for it, I'd assume. One or two episodes is different from a hundred.

 

[Corran Horn]

I doubt royalties apply to props. After all, Star Trek re-uses every prop they ever created, and they don't have to pay royalties. I think really, TPTB simply wanted Atlantis to have its own unique aspects, so the Wraith stunner was used as opposed to the zat.

Actually, I think Joseph Mallozzi said on his blog that it was for the reason cited above. (rights)

Too lazy to find it though.

Then how did they get around that the two times we did see zats on Atlantis?

Same way they did Teal'c on Atlantis. They paid whoever held the rights and that was cool because it wasn't an 'every episode' thing.

 

[The Wormhole]

Wait, are you saying there was a rights issue when it came to having Teal'c on Atlantis? On the one hand, that would explain why we didn't see him until the fourth season. But on the other hand, what makes him any different than Carter or Hammond? Hammond made an appearance in the first season, and Carter was practically a recurring character on Atlantis, even spending one season in the main cast.

 

[Corran Horn]

Wait, are you saying there was a rights issue when it came to having Teal'c on Atlantis? On the one hand, that would explain why we didn't see him until the fourth season. But on the other hand, what makes him any different than Carter or Hammond? Hammond made an appearance in the first season, and Carter was practically a recurring character on Atlantis, even spending one season in the main cast.

The reason Jack and Daniel were in the Atlantis pilot was because both of them were in the original film. Carter, Teal'c, and Hammond were not so there were rights issues with whoever created their characters originally. IIRC McKay had been created by somebody who was a producer on Atlantis anyway. (Could be wrong)

By the time Carter joined Atlantis either something changed or they bit the bullet and paid whoever it was.