Hollywood Weapons – A Show You Should Be Watching

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    Outdoor Channel has been making a wide variety of firearms-related shows (a popular one is “Gun Stories” with Joe Mantegna). The producers of that series created another show called Hollywood Weapons and it is definitely a show you should be watching.

    The show’s format is somewhat like Mythbusters in that they test a gag or scene from a movie or TV show and verify or defy the details by using the real world gun or weapon.

    The Cast Of Hollywood Weapons

    Show hosts, Terry and Larry. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    Show hosts, Terry and Larry. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    Hollywood Weapons has a dynamic duo hosting the show. Somewhat like Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman you have an energetic and eccentric host with a sterner and down to earth co-host. Terry Schappert is the host that portrays the excitable and eccentric personality. Schappert is a United States Army National Guard Special Forces veteran. He is a classically trained actor with previous shows under his belt like “Dude You’re Screwed” and History Channel’s “Warriors”. Part of the fun is Terry dresses up in every episode based on the Hollywood Myth. For example, in the episode reviewing Predator, Terry dressed up to match Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character Dutch.

    Some of the "Western" collection at ISS. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    Some of the “Western” collection at ISS. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    Schappert’s co-host is Larry Zanoff. He is what grounds Schappert’s character in the show. Larry Zanoff is a Motion Picture Armorer at Independent Studio Services aka ISS. ISS is a prop house that also hosts one of the most impressive firearm collections available and rents out those guns for use in Hollywood (as well as major video game companies). ISS is the company that provided the four miniguns at the Agency Arms event last Shot Show.

    There is actually a third persona on the show, Pompeyo Cepeda. He is Terry’s “sidekick” and portrays a second character in the series that Terry interacts with and he provides comedic relief.

    The Guns Of Hollywood Weapons

    MIniguns featured in one of the episodes. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    MIniguns featured in one of the episodes. Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    All of the guns you see in Hollywood Weapons come from ISS. They have a working relationship with the producers and the ISS collection of guns is simply jaw-dropping. You can see a small portion of it in the show when they have scenes that take place at the prop house. As I mentioned above, they have an episode looking into Predator. Schappert wants to know if clear-cutting a jungle is possible with a handheld minigun. I won’t spoil it for you but it was not only informative but entertaining.

    Now, I will caution you, the first episode is a little bit dry. They were getting their feet wet but the series does get immeasurably better. The biggest downside is that the episodes are a little short. They are only 22 minutes long and they definitely leave you wanting more. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the show. The show is full of guns and some history behind them, and Larry’s knowledge of guns is nothing short of encyclopedic. There is a lot of information packed in those 22 minutes.

    While the show is an Outdoor Channel original production, the first two seasons are available to stream on Netflix (and have been for the past month or so). Check it out before the new third season starts next January 2019. Or if you are interested you can subscribe to My Outdoor TV and watch all of Outdoor Channel’s shows along with Hollywood Weapons.

    Current Shows

    Here is a list of the two seasons currently available on Netflix and their episode titles.  See if you can guess what movie or TV show each episode covers…

    Season 1

    1. Terry’s Criminal Mind
    2. Shark Go Boom!
    3. The Good the Bad and Terry
    4. Dying Hard
    5. Schapbo
    6. Terry and the Minigun
    7. Scoreless
    8. Terry Vs Gorn
    This sums up the show... Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    This sums up the show… Image courtesy of Hollywood Weapons.

    Season 2

    1. Terry Down Under
    2. Bond, Terry Bond
    3. Just-Terry-Fied
    4. Terry’s Reindeer Game
    5. Ex-Men The Origins of Terry
    6. Pay Terry Back
    7. Paint Your Red River Stagecoach at High Noon
    8. Terry’s Underworld

    Did you know that Hollywood Weapons chooses some of the episodes based on feedback from the fans?  You can leave them feedback here: http://outdoorchannel.com/showfeedback.aspx?genre=shooting&showId=48441

    Stay tuned, we have some interesting content coming up related to Hollywood Weapons in the next few months!

    Nicholas C

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