Viper (TV Series)

Viper was a television action series produced by Paramount Television that features a young man who fights crime with a customized Dodge Viper that converts into a heavily armored vehicle named "The Defender". The series first aired on NBC in 1994 for 11 episodes. After being canceled, the series would subsequently be retooled and recast and then aired for three seasons in syndication from 1996 to 1999. The majority of the weapons seen on this page are from the retooled version of the series.
 
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=Guns of "The Defender"=
==The Defender's machine guns (modified M60s)==
The "Defender", the titular Dodge Viper of the show, carried a pair of machine guns in retractable turrets which were described by Ally Farrow (Dawn Stern) in the pilot episode as "Browning .50-caliber machine guns" (referring to the Browning M2).
However, in several episodes, such as "Standoff", the Defender's machine guns were removed and used by characters as stand-alone weapons. In all of these episodes, the weapons appear to be stripped-down and heavily-modified M60 general-purpose machine guns (GPMGs) in 7.62x51mm NATO, contrary to Ally's claim that they were Browning M2s. Interestingly, the M60s appear to be mounted upside-down!
=Pistols=
==Glock 17==
Detective Cameron Westlake (Heather Medway) used a Gen 2 Glock 17 as her sidearm throughout the show. All of the other Metro City police officers also used Glock 17s, and some bad guys in the show used them as well. In the episode "Street Pirates", Westlake fitted her Glock 17 with a laser sight mounted under the base of the magazine when she was trying to hit the auto-disable circuit on the Defender after it was stolen by the weapons thieves.
==Glock 17L==
A long slide Glock 17L was used by one of the bad guys in the episode "Triple Cross".
==Glock 22==
In some episodes, it appears that the Glock pistols used by Westlake and other bad guys are actually the Glock 22, the Glock 17's .40 S&W "big brother". This can be discerned by looking at the bore aperture of the pistols, which seem too large to be 9mm (in diameter.
==Walther PPK/S==
Westlake also carried a Walther PPK/S in several episodes, which appears to be her off-duty/undercover weapon.
==Beretta 92F==
Standard blued Beretta 92Fs appeared in a few episodes (though Taurus PT92s were far more commonly seen on the show). In "Turf Wars", a gangbanger was seen slapping a magazine into a 92F before the fight in the park. In "Cat and Mouse", Lena (Stephanie Niznik) used a 92F to kill a witness and then frame Westlake for it (when interrogating Westlake, Agent Catlett asked her if she had owned a "Beretta 92SB-F" as a secondary weapon). Later in the episode, Lena also used a 92F or FS mocked up to resemble a Beretta 93R machine pistol, and converted to full-auto.
==Beretta 92FS Inox==
Thomas Cole (Jeff Kaake), the leader of the team and primary driver of the Defender, carried a Beretta 92FS Inox as his sidearm throughout the show. On quite a few occasions, he used a pair of these pistols akimbo. Bad guys could be seen using the 92FS Inox as well.
==Taurus PT92==
The Taurus PT92 was a very common handgun used by bad guys in the show. Frankie Waters (Joe Nipote) also used one in a few episodes.
==The "Timecop Pistol"==
In the first episode, "Winner Take All", Colonel Dekker (Tim Thomerson) used an unusual futuristic-looking pistol to shoot at a security camera in the bank during a robbery. This gun was a dressed-up Taurus PT99AF that was originally made for the Jean Claude Van Damme movie Timecop, and it also appeared in episodes of Stargate: SG1 and Stargate: Atlantis.
==M1911 variant (Auto Ordnance?)==
Agent Catlett (J. Downing) used an M1911 variant in several episodes, which appears to be an Auto Ordnance M1911A1, though this is not certain.
== Heckler & Koch P9S ==
In the episode "Diamond in the Rough", Cole was given a Heckler & Koch P9S while working undercover as a bank robber. This gun was also used by Luke Riker's girlfriend in the episode "Cold Storage" to shoot up a bar.
== CZ 75 ==
A nickel CZ 75 was used by Tim Ramsey (Raphael Sbarge) in "Whistle Blower".
==Intratec CAT 9==
In the episode "Wheelman", Billy Lennox (Callum Keith Rennie) gave Dana Callow (Marcie Mellish) an Intratec CAT 9 sub-compact, with a primercoat finish (the pistol is normally seen sporting the matte black look). He claimed it was undetectable by X-ray machines (another Hollywood myth about polymer pistols).
==SIG-Sauer P226==
The SIG-Sauer P226 was used in some episodes, sometimes by bad guys, other times by various federal agent types. In the episode "Wheelman", the character 'Jolie' (Rachel Hayward) used one of these pistols with a suppressor. Westlake was able to identify Jolie's weapon as a SIG P226 simply by looking at the shell casings (impossible in reality), though she did correctly point out that the P226 is used by the Navy SEALs in real life. Cole himself also used a suppressed P226 in "The List".
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==SIG-Sauer P228==
Beginning with the Season 2 premier, "Triple Cross", Agent Catlett (J. Downing) began carrying a SIG-Sauer P228 as his sidearm. P228s also appeared in many other Season 2 episodes. Westlake used one in "Cat and Mouse", and Cole carried a P228 as a back-up weapon in "Out from Oblivion".
==Jericho 941 R "Baby Eagle"==
In the episode "Diamond in the Rough", the female bank robber used a nickel Jericho 941 R ("Baby Eagle"). This gun was also used by many other characters on the show.
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==Ruger KP89==
The Ruger KP89 first appeared in the episode "The List", used by the undercover agent. It was then picked up by Talia Massey (Traci Lords).
thumb|none|300px|Ruger KP89 9x19mm.
==Ruger P90==
The Ruger P90 appeared in the hands of several bad guys in the second season.
==Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith"==
In the episode "Wheelman", Lai (Alexandra Bokyun Chun) used a Smith & Wesson 3913 "Ladysmith" as her sidearm. This weapon was used again by Bianca Carson (Nancy Valen) in "Whistle Blower", and later grabbed by Westlake, who used it in a gunfight (interestingly, the gun empties several times during the shootout, yet is then fired by Westlake some more, even though she has no spare magazines for it).
==Smith & Wesson 5904==
The Smith & Wesson 5904 was another weapon which appeared regularly beginning in the 2nd season. In the episode "Cat and Mouse", Cole carried an older-model 5904 as a back-up weapon, which was used by Westlake to kill Lena's (Stephanie Niznik's) boyfriend.
thumb|none|350px|Early Model Smith & Wesson 5904 - 9x19mm
==Smith & Wesson 5906==
A few Season 2 episodes also featured newer-model Smith & Wesson 5906s. This weapon was used most notably by Detective Billy Denver (John Newton) in "Storm Watch".
thumb|none|350px|Late model Smith & Wesson 5906 - 9x19mm
==Smith & Wesson 5946==
A Smith & Wesson 5946 was used by a bad guy in the episode "The Best Couple".
=="Non Guns"==
Around the middle of the second season, it appears that the show's budget was reduced and the crew could no longer afford permits to fire blank-adapted weapons at filming locations. Or, perhaps the production moved filming to a location where permits for firing blank guns were impossible to get. Whatever the reason, beginning with the episode "Regarding Catlett", the show began using "Non Guns" for any scenes in which guns had to be fired. Real guns were still sometimes used, but only for non-firing scenes.
===Glock===
This weapon replaced Westlake's Glock 17 whenever she had to fire her weapon. It was also used heavily by bad guys.
===Beretta 92F===
These were the most common bad guy weapons on the show after the switch from real guns to Non Guns. Cole used the Inox Non Gun in place of the real Beretta 92FS Inox he had carried previously.
===SIG-Sauer===
This replaced Catlett's SIG-Sauer P228 in all firing scenes, and was also used by many bad guys.
=Revolvers=
==Smith & Wesson Model 36==
A Smith & Wesson Model 36 Chief's Special with a 3" barrel is used by Kyle Reese (Myles Ferguson) in "Turf Wars".
 
=Shotguns=
==Remington 870==
Metro City police officers and bad guys alike often used police-model Remington 870 shotguns. Westlake used one during the bank robbery in the episode "Winner Take All".
==USAS-12==
A USAS-12 combat shotgun with a 20 round drum magazine was used by one of the gangbangers in "Turf Wars" during the shootout at the armory.
==SWD/Cobray Street Sweeper==
An SWD/Cobray Street Sweeper was used by one of the assassins in the episode "The Getaway". Cole even referred to the weapon as a Street Sweeper during the investigation.
=Submachine Guns=
==Heckler & Koch MP5A3==
Many episodes featured Heckler & Koch MP5A3 submachine guns, almost always with the "slimline" forearm. Typically, these weapons appeared in the hands of bad guys, such as Colonel Dekker's motorcycle gunmen in the episode "Winner Take All".
== Kimel Industries AP-9 ==
The Kimel Industries AP-9 was often used by bad guys.
===Ingram machine pistol===
This became the default automatic weapon used by bad guys on the show starting in the episode "Regarding Catlett".
==Calico M960A==
In several Season 2 episodes (starting with the premier, "Triple Cross"), the Calico M960A submachine gun was used by some bad guys. In "Triple Cross", Calico M960As with scopes were used by two drive-by shooters. Later, Frankie even referred to one of the guns as a "Calico machine pistol" when explaining to Westlake the origins of a bullet recovered at the scene of the shooting.
==Calico M950==
Some of the Calicos seen in the show were also semi-automatic M950 pistols converted to automatic. All of these weapons also had chopped barrels with no flash hiders.
thumb|none|450px|Calico M950 pistol - 9x19mm
==Cobray M11/9==
Quite a few bad guys also used Cobray M11/9s in many episodes. Cole used one of these weapons in the episode "Standoff" after capturing it from a rogue U.S. Army intelligence officer (???)
==M91S==
The long-barreled M91S was used by thugs associated with Terry Molloy (Skip Sudduth) in the episode "Talk Is Cheap". The short-barreled version was used again briefly by Talia Massey (Traci Lords) in the 1st season finale "The List". These custom-built weapons have been featured in several films and TV shows produced in British Columbia.
 
==Uzi==
IMI Uzi submachine guns were sometimes used by bad guys.
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== Micro Uzi ==
The smaller Micro Uzi machine pistol was also a favorite weapon of bad guys in the show.
thumb|none|300px|Micro Uzi with 32 rd magazine - 9mm
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=Rifles=
==M16A1==
The M16A1 was also used in "Standoff", and some other episodes.
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== Colt Model 715/Olympic Arms K4B ==
Bad guys sometimes used M16-type rifles which appear to have been Colt Model 715s, or the Olympic Arms K4B equivalent. These rifles were used by notably in the episode "Standoff" by the rogue U.S. Army intelligence officers. In the episode "Diamond in the Rough", one of these rifles was used with a Cobray CM203.
== Norinco Type 84S Target ==
Several episodes, including "Cold Storage", featured Norinco Type 84S Target long-barreled assault rifles.
thumb|none|500px|Norinco Type 84S "Target" Rifle - 5.56x45mm. Basically a standard Norinco Type 84S with a slightly longer barrel. This variant was ready for export after the 1989 US import ban, so it is mostly seen in Canada. It has an 18.5" barrel and was not really seen in the U.S. Gun market.
=Machine Guns=
==Browning M1919==
In the episode "Winner Take All", Colonel Dekker's International Transtar semi truck had a pair of Browning M1919 mounted on firing ports atop the sleeper cabin. They are most likely the M37, which was the variant intended to be mounted on armored vehicles.
==M60E3==
One of the gangbangers fired an M60E3 general-purpose machine gun in "Turf Wars" at the Defender during the armory shootout.
=Other=
==Knight's Armament Revolver Rifle==
In the episode "Die Laughing", an assassin used a custom weapon similar to the Knight's Armament Revolver Rifle. This is, presumably, the exact same gun used on other TV shows filmed in Vancouver, including The Sentinel, Highlander (TV series), Supernatural and The X-Files.
==M72 LAW==
In some episodes, bad guys used M72 LAW rocket launchers.
==Cobray CM203 Launcher==
In at least one episode, "Diamond in the Rough", a bank robber carried a Diemaco C7/Colt Model 715 rifle fitted with a Cobray CM203 Launcher. 
==DefTech 37mm launcher==
A DefTech 37mm launcher loaded with tear gas grenades was fired by Theo (Stefan Arngrim) in the episode "Storm Watch" while robbing the payroll company.
==M20B1 "Super Bazooka"==
An M20B1 "Super Bazooka" was used by the leader of the Vigilantes gang to fire at the Defender in the episode "Turf Wars". Cole managed to deflect the rocket with a static pulse.
Category:Television
Category:Crime
Category:Science-Fiction
Category:Canadian Produced/Filmed