Stun Guns: Difference between revisions

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Unlike real world weapons made by Taser, which work by a very powerful electric shock, many of these show no clue to ''how'' they incapacitate a target, simply acting like a nonlethal version of the [[Instant Death Bullet]]. And like the [[Tap On the Head]] often used for similar purposes, in fiction they almost never cause someone to be killed accidentally. In real life, Taser weapons have infamously caused several heart attacks, although they're still much safer than coshing or shooting someone. If they intentionally cause pain, can be an [[Agony Beam]].

Useful when [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] is in effect. Ideal as [[Family-Friendly Firearms]] and often part of a [[Non Lethal Warfare]].

Useful when [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] is in effect. Ideal as [[Family-Friendly Firearms]] and often part of a [[Non-Lethal Warfare]].

Compare [[Instant Sedation]] (especially in the form of firearms firing tranquilizer darts) and [[Static Stun Gun]] for the electric-powered variant ([[Department of Redundancy Department|For the last time,]] [[Real Life]] equivalent: the T.A.S.E.R.).

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* In the 1963 ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' serial "The Daleks", the Dalek's weapons are shown to have a secondary 'stun' function which is used on one of The Doctor's companions. However, it should be noted that the blast does not render him unconscious, it only temporarily paralyzes his legs.

* In the 1963 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial "The Daleks", the Dalek's weapons are shown to have a secondary 'stun' function which is used on one of The Doctor's companions. However, it should be noted that the blast does not render him unconscious, it only temporarily paralyzes his legs.

** In their defense, Ian was pretty [[Just for Pun|stunned]] when they blasted him.

** The Fourth Doctor gets knocked out by such a weapon in "The Ark in Space". "Stun guns; I hate them."

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* ''[[Lost]]'''s Others have weapons similar to tasers, with multiple settings. They also have dart guns, whose darts inflict an electrical shock that can kill or merely incapacitate a victim.

* Phasers in the '''[[Star Trek]]''' franchise developed with the times.

** [[Star Trek the Original Series|The original series]] featured a ''stun setting'' (which would handily knock out any non-[[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|godlike]] humanoid) and a ''kill setting'' which would [[Disintegrator Ray|make things go away]] (unless, again, the target was just plain immune). "The Man Trap" and "The Conscience of the King" featured lethal settings that left a body, [[Bloodless Carnage|with no visible damage, as per typical television standards of the time]]. Something similar may have featured in "What Are Little Girls Made Of", when an [[Ridiculously Human Robots|android]] has a hole shot in it, revealing its electronic workings. Ironically, this is the first episode to show disintegration. On the other hand, phasers also could heat rocks (or heat coffee) as a story might allow, which might have involved a special ''toast'' setting unmentioned in the canon media.

** [[Star Trek the Original Series|The original series]] featured a ''stun setting'' (which would handily knock out any non-[[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|godlike]] humanoid) and a ''kill setting'' which would [[Disintegrator Ray|make things go away]] (unless, again, the target was just plain immune). "The Man Trap" and "The Conscience of the King" featured lethal settings that left a body, [[Bloodless Carnage|with no visible damage, as per typical television standards of the time]]. Something similar may have featured in "What Are Little Girls Made Of", when an [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|android]] has a hole shot in it, revealing its electronic workings. Ironically, this is the first episode to show disintegration. On the other hand, phasers also could heat rocks (or heat coffee) as a story might allow, which might have involved a special ''toast'' setting unmentioned in the canon media.

*** An intermediate "Heat" setting was mentioned in the [[Star Trek the Next Generation|TNG]] Technical Manual.

** After ''[[Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country|The Undiscovered Country]]'', it became canon that movie-era phasers on Stun could kill at point blank range (to the head). On occasion, phasers have been set to "maximum stun" when facing unusually tough enemies, which is implied to have a higher risk of killing someone.

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[[Category:Tropes Examined By the Mythbusters]]

[[Category:Stun Guns]]

[[Category:Trope]]