Introduction
Tales of the Gun was a television series that broadcast on the History Channel for one season in 1998. It featured the history of firearms.
Outline
Historical profiles of various small arms.
The usual episode format included interviews of historians and people who used the featured weapon, explanations of how the weapons were made, and demonstrations on a shooting range.
The series narrator for the American version was Thom Pinto, a veteran voice actor.
Episode Introduction
At the beginning of every episode:
The gun has played a critical role in history. An invention which has been praised and denounced, served hero and villain alike, and carries with it moral responsibility. To understand the gun is to better understand history.
Cast
- Roger McGrath … Self.
- William Atwater .… Dir., US Army Ordinance Museum.
- Joseph Berk … Self – Author, ‘The Gatling Gun’.
- Ian Hogg … Author.
- Garry James … Self – Firearms Historian.
- Thom Pinto … Self (narrator).
- Philip Schreier … Self.
- Mehmet Ali Agca … Self (archive footage).
- Mohandas K. Gandhi … Self (archive footage).
- Nathuram Godse … Self (archive footage).
- Pope John Paul II … Self (archive footage).
- Anwar Sadat … Self (archive footage).
- Pancho Villa … Self (archive footage).
Tales of the Gun Series
Unsure of the precise number and order of episodes, as well as the dates of release, as sources vary.
One DVD box set contains 10 discs in 5 cases, covering “all 32 episodes“, Wikipedia suggests there are 50 episodes, whilst DocuWiki suggests 16 episodes, and another suggests 5 discs with 37 episodes. Personally, I have identified 57 potential episodes, but not all have a synopsis, and an episode may have more than one title (think US vs UK version). Also, there is the Tales of the Gun Collector’s Set with 5 discs and the World’s Greatest Gun Collection with 4 discs which have some but not all episodes.
Consequently, all the episodes below have been given a number so there is some order to them (although they are unlikely to be in the correct order).
- Episode 01: Making of a Gun.
- Episode 02: Bullets and Ammo.
- Episode 03: Duelling Pistols or Dueling Pistols: The Etiquette of Death.
- Episode 04: The Gunslingers.
- Episode 05: Guns of Colt.
- Episode 06: Guns of Remington.
- Episode 07: Guns of Smith and Wesson.
- Episode 08: Guns of Winchester or The Winchester.
- Episode 09: Early Guns.
- Episode 10: The Rifle.
- Episode 11: Shotguns.
- Episode 12: The Guns of Browning.
- Episode 13: Early Machine Guns or Early Machine Guns: Advent of Rapid Firepower.
- Episode 14: Gangster Guns or Gangster Guns of the ’20s and ’30s.
- Episode 15: The Tommy Gun.
- Episode 16: Rapid Firepower.
- Episode 17: Guns of the Civil War.
- Episode 18: Guns of the Revolution.
- Episode 19: US Guns of WW2.
- Episode 20: Infamous Guns.
- Episode 21: German Small Arms of WW2.
- Episode 22: Luger.
- Episode 23: Guns of Mauser.
- Episode 24: Guns of Israel.
- Episode 25: Guns of the Russian Military.
- Episode 26: Japanese Guns of WW2.
- Episode 27: Naval Guns.
- Episode 28: M-16.
- Episode 29: AK-47.
- Episode 30: Super Guns of Today and Tomorrow.
- Episode 31: Guns of the Sky.
- Episode 32: Automatic Pistols.
- Episode 33: Sharpshooters and Long Range Weapons.
- Episode 34: Police Guns.
- Episode 35: Women and Guns.
- Episode 36: Guns of Infamy, Part 01.
- Episode 37: Guns of Infamy, Part 02.
- Episode 38: Million Dollar Guns.
- Episode 39: Guns of the Commandos.
- Episode 40: Ten Guns That Changed the World.
- Episode 41: Guns of the Orient.
- Episode 42: Guns of Valour.
- Episode 43: Guns of the US Mounted Cavalry.
- Episode 44: Rockets and Missiles.
- Episode 45: Big Guns.
- Episode 46: European Revolvers or Revolvers of Europe.
- Episode 47: Guns of the British Military.
- Episode 48: Guns of the Bizarre.
- Episode 49: Guns of the Famous.
- Episode 50: Magnificent Failures.
- Episode 51: The Magnum.
- Episode 52: Military Firepower.
- Episode 53: Guns of the Century.
- Episode 54: Guns of Beretta.
- Episode 55: Guns of Afghanistan.
- Episode 56: Guns of the Infantry.
- Episode 57: Top 10 Combat Rifles.
Production & Filming Details
- Director(s): Tom Jennings, Tony Long, Joshua Alper, Wayner Weiss, David de Vries, Jim Lindsay, and Darryl Rehr.
- Producer(s): Raymond Bridgers, Tom Jennings, Tony Long, Andrew Nock, Steven D. Smith, Michael Sackett, Craig Haffner, Donna E. Lusitana, Charlie Maday, Elyse Miranda, Darryl Rehr, Louis Tarantino, and David de Vries.
- Writer(s): Joshua Alper, Tom Jennings, Jim Lindsay, Tony Long, Darryl Rehr, Wayner Weiss, and David de Vries.
- Music: Steve Morrell and Christopher L. Stone.
- Cinematography: Phiippe Bellaiche, Chris Laine, and Mike Parker.
- Editor(s): Michael W. Andrews and Katie Smith.
- Production: Greystone Television and History Channel.
- Distributor(s): Histroy Channel.
- Release Date: 06 September 1998 to .
- Running time: 60 minutes (per episode).
- Rating: Unknown.
- Country: UK.
- Language: English.
Video Link
Military Gogglebox 
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