History BodyHorror / LiveActionTV

* One of the main characters in ''Series/BeingHuman'' is a werewolf, and his transformation is lovingly described in the opening narration of Episode 2: during the process, he actually has a heart attack, and liver and kidney failure, as his internal organs change; and he eventually becomes unable to even scream as his vocal cords tear. As the narrator points out, while any other human would quickly die of shock, the werewolf is somehow kept alive and conscious for the whole thing. This eventually leads to [[spoiler: his death, when he deliberately transforms without the trigger of a full moon, in order to save his daughter's life. The devastating organ failure is not accompanied by the usual werewolf trait of lunar-powered accelerated healing, and so kills him.]]

* One episode of ''{{Angel}}'' has a surgeon who can detach body parts to stalk people. Illyria is another example, if an unseen one: she liquifies [[spoiler:Fred]]'s organs and turns the skin into a shell as [[spoiler:Fred was dying]].

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': An illness compromises Odo's ability to maintain a stable form. Also, when Garak tortures Odo using a device that prevents him from regenerating, Odo's body begins to deteriorate.
** The Female Changeling physically deteriorating in the advanced stages of the Section 31 virus.
* ''{{Supernatural}}'' is quite fond of this one

* ''{{Star Trek Deep Space Nine}}'': An illness compromises Odo's ability to maintain a stable form. Also, when Garak tortures Odo using a device that prevents him from regenerating, Odo's body begins to deteriorate.

* Occasionally shows up in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Often it's in the demons, but once in a while, human types are seen too. One example are the fish monsters in "Go Fish", who are [[spoilers:members of the swim team,]] altered by chemicals. Eventually they tear their old skin away to reveal the monster underneath.

* One episode of Series/''{{Angel}}'' has a surgeon who can detach body parts to stalk people. Illyria is another example, if an unseen one: she liquifies [[spoiler:Fred]]'s organs and turns the skin into a shell as [[spoiler:Fred was dying]].

* Occasionally shows up in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Often it was in the demons, but once in a while, human types were seen too. Like the surgeon in one Angel episode who could detach body parts to stalk people. Illyria was another example, if an unseen one, since she liquified Fred's organs and turned her skin into a shell as Fred was dying. 'Buffy' had the fish monster transformations in 'Go Fish'.

* Sheppard from ''StargateAtlantis'' was slowly turning into something akin to the Iratus bug in the episode "Conversion". Eventually had to be sedated as he was getting increasingly dangerous.
* ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':

* ''StarTrekVoyager'': In "Scorpion" Harry Kim gets bitch-slapped by an alien from Species 8472. Alien cells in the wound begin to infest and transform Harry's body, covering his face in strange tendrils. Fortunately the Doctor is able to cure the infection... except for a solitary tendril up Harry's nose. Or so B'Elanna claims.

** And, of course, The Borg, who do this to everyone they meet.

*** This particular being could also detect any cancer in anyone, and accurately and precisely describe the type, location, size, disease status, and detailed prognosis of the person, apparently by sight alone. He could also create a new body (and apparently control both bodies simultaneously) pretty much at will (provided he had enough material, at least), and could (and did, at least twice) kill off one body as a decoy.

* ''{{Supernatural}}'' is quite fond of this one, episodes such as "Skin" and "Metamorphosis" springing to mind.
** In "Skin" and "Nightshifter," we see that shapeshifters have literally [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin shed their skin]] (by ''ripping it off'') in order to change shape, which includes teeth, hair, and other fun things. But the shapeshifters get PlayedForLaughs (until the end) in [[spoiler:"Monster Movie"]].
** And let's not forget the ruguru, a cannibalistic creature that starts out human, before abruptly developing a hunger for everything - including human flesh. The body horror element kicks in when they begin their transformation into their final form as their bones literally move under their skin, and after they take just one bite of long pig . . . urgh.
* Not surprisingly, ''{{Tales From The Crypt}}'' utilizes this trope in many of its episodes. In "Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow," a partially-deaf criminal gains the auditory system of an owl through a surgical transplant--[[spoiler:only to then develop other owlish features, including an ''Exorcist''-style swiveling head, feathers, and a beak. When he grows the beak, his face ''cracks open'' like porcelain and the beak literally ''bursts out of his skin.'']] It's as unpleasant as it sounds.

* ArrestedDevelopment plays it for laughs, with Tobias's hair transplants rejecting him (yes, not him rejecting the transplant, but ''the transplant rejecting him.'')

* The Fungus Monster from ''Primeval''.

* One of the main characters in ''Series/BeingHuman'' is a werewolf, and his transformation is lovingly described in the opening narration of Episode 2: during the process, he actually has a heart attack, and liver and kidney failure, as his internal organs change; and he eventually becomes unable to even scream as his vocal cords tear. As the narrator points out, while any other human would quickly die of shock, the werewolf is somehow kept alive and conscious for the whole thing.

** "The Ark In Space"; it's not the gigantic bugs; those look silly. It's what seems to be a man in a sleeping bag covered in green goo, and before that, the person ''turning'' into said bag of slop by melting bodyparts is worse than the [[MonsterOfTheWeek alien creature it turns into]]. "The Ark in Space" also has one of ''Series/DoctorWho'''s most famous cliffhangers, with Noah slowly removing his hand from his pocket to reveal he's being taken over by... [[SpecialEffectFailure green bubblewrap]]?

*** It wasn't as scary as it was supposed to be. They made the Abzorbaloff life size, but the 9 year old in question intended it to be the size of a city bus.

** In the fourth series episode "Planet of The Ood", [[spoiler:the bad guy turns into an Ood. The sequence has him ''peeling off his skin'' shortly followed by him ''spewing up a piece of his own brain!'']] Talk about trauma. On top of that it was a [[spoiler:KarmicTransformation]]. Made worse yet by the fact that [[spoiler:it's [[BlackAdder Percy]].]]
** The disembodied head-statue-things in "Silence in the Library".

* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', the BloodierAndGorier adult SpinOff of ''DoctorWho'', dials this trope UpToEleven at times.

** Let's see: in "The Pandorica Opens," StevenMoffat introduces the [[BlatantLies not-at-all terrifying]] concept of [[spoiler: a 'zombie' Cyberman, whose various disconected body parts can all move and function in nefarious ways. First, there's the chopped-off arm which can fire its weapon, play dead, and electrocute the Doctor, then there's the severed head, which moves around on the wires protruding from the neck, using them to ensnare Amy - and then, after the dessicated skull falls out, it tries to snatch up Amy's own head as a replacement. Oh, and then the Cyberman reassembles himself.]]
** In the Series 4 premiere, "Partners in Crime", [[spoiler:the monsters are the Adipose, creatures born from human fat that, in times of emergency, convert all matter in a human's body to achieve birth, effectively killing them. And they're ''[[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Adipose adorable]]''.]]

** The disembodied head-statue-things in "Silence in the Library".
** The Abzorbaloff's process of absorbing people in the episode ''Love & Monsters'' is both scary and disgusting. There's also a HarlanEllison-esque [[spoiler:pavement-person]]. Interestingly, the Abzorbaloff was designed by a 9 year old who won a contest. Watching that episode makes one wonder if the 9 year old was allowed to watch it.

** Anything written by Philip Martin requires the Doctor's female companion to be slowly, grotesquely, apparently irreversibly transformed into something else. And then the stories all tend to be filled with skin-crawling, glorpy creatures, in case the audience is not barfing heavily enough.

** The creationist vicar in ''Ghost Light'' slowly turned into an ape.
*** Another example from ''Ghost Light'':
-->'''Light''': (holds up a bloody, severed arm) "I wanted to see how it works, so I dismantled it."
** "The Ark In Space"; it's not the gigantic bugs; those look silly. It's what seems to be a man in a sleeping bag covered in green goo, and before that, the person ''turning'' into said bag of slop by melting bodyparts is worse than the [[MonsterOfTheWeek alien creature it turns into]]. "The Ark in Space" also has one of ''Series/DoctorWho'''s most famous cliffhangers, with Noah slowly removing his hand from his pocket to reveal he's being taken over by... [[SpecialEffectFailure green bubblewrap]]?
** "Revelation of the Daleks", has one character [[spoiler:reduced to a living disembodied head with part of his brain exposed, inside a transparent Dalek and pleading for death, a wish eventually granted by ''his own daughter'']]. He has done absolutely nothing to deserve this.
** In "The Lazarus Experiment", this is how Professor Lazarus discovers his experiment wasn't 100% successful.
** In ''The Time of Angels'', we learn that the image of a Weeping Angel becomes an Angel. You know how your retina forms images in the back of your eye?
* The ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Something Borrowed" [[spoiler:centred around Gwen's pregnancy with an alien "baby" and her attempts to hide this from her wedding guests, while escaping from the alien mother who wanted to tear her apart to reclaim the child.]]

** "Fragments": Owen's fiancée appears to have (very)-early onset Alzheimer's. Then it's supposed a brain tumour. [[spoiler:It turns out to be an alien in her brain.]]
** ''Children of Earth'' features the 456 aliens who use human children as [[spoiler:living drugs, a process that stunts the children's growth and leaves them thin, hairless and immobile, but conscious the entire time.]]
** In ''[[Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay Miracle Day]]'', the entire human race becomes functionally immortal, but still capable of feeling pain, getting sick or sustaining injuries. This provides ample opportunities for BodyHorror scenes, such as the suicide bomber reduced to a burnt (still conscious) head, or the woman who gets crushed inside a car, or [[spoiler:the hundreds of Category Ones incinerated alive]]...
* Getting back to Who itself, ''Mission To The Unknown'' introduces us to the Varga plants. Used as watchdogs by the Daleks, these are giant ambulatory cacti with at least a basic animal-like intelligence. They hunt animals - any animals, including humans - and then shoot their spines into them. These spines carry a venom with unusual effects: the victim first becomes paranoid and psychotic, obsessed with killing; then, ''they transform into Varga Plants themselves''. Even killing the host body does not arrest the transformation. ''Brrrrr.''

* Occasionally shows up in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''.

-->'''Light''': (holds up a bloody, severed arm) "I wanted to see how it works, [[NightmareFuel so I dismantled it.]]"

** In ''The Time of Angels'', we learn that the image of a Weeping Angel becomes an Angel. You know how your retina forms images in the back of your eye? [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Yeah...]]

** "Conspiracy" was full of body horror-related NightmareFuel.

* Any of the ''AnimalPlanetHeroes'' shows can dip into this trope (embedded collars, untreated festering wounds, filth-matted and/or mangy pelts, near-death emaciation), as do AnimalPlanet's vet-clinic shows.

* Occasionally shows up in ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''{{Angel}}''.

* Virtually every patient of the week in ''{{House}}'' will have some degree of body horror.

* The ''{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Something Borrowed" [[spoiler:centred around Gwen's pregnancy with an alien "baby" and her attempts to hide this from her wedding guests, while escaping from the alien mother who wanted to tear her apart to reclaim the child.]]

** "Children of Earth" features the 456 aliens who use human children as [[spoiler:living drugs, a process that stunts the children's growth and leaves them thin, hairless and immobile, but conscious the entire time.]]

** Let's see: in "The Pandorica Opens," [[StevenMoffat Steven Moffat]] introduces the [[BlatantLies not-at-all terrifying]] concept of [[spoiler: a 'zombie' Cyberman, whose various disconected body parts can all move and function in nefarious ways. First, there's the chopped-off arm which can fire its weapon, play dead, and electrocute the Doctor, then the severed head, which moves around on the wires protruding from the neck, using them to ensnare Amy and then, after the dessicated skull falls out, it tries to snatch up Amy's own head as a replacement. Oh, and then the Cyberman reassembles himself.]]

** The creationist vicar in ''Ghostlight'' slowly turned into an ape.
*** Another example from ''Ghost Light''

** In "The Lazarus Experiment" this is how Professor Lazarus discovers his experiment wasn't 100% successful.
** In ''The Time of Angels'', we learn that the image of an Angel becomes an Angel. You know how your retina forms images in the back of your eye? [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Yeah...]]

** And then comes the 8th season first episode, where [[spoiler: Cuddy's kissing scar on House's leg.]] It was like a scene from a movie by DavidCronenberg. Though, actually [[FetishFuel it was quite delightful]].

* Occasionally shows up in BuffyTheVampireSlayer and {{Angel}}.

* Lord Zedd from MightyMorphinPowerRangers is missing ''all of his skin'', has an exposed brain, and is probably wearing a full-face mask for a very good reason. Its heavily implied that he used to look like a perfectly normal human before getting hit by the local MineralMacGuffin's security system.
* The Fungus Monster from Primeval.

* SixFeetUnder used this a LOT. After all, this IS a show about morticians, and they spend a lot of time talking about and performing embalmings. There are a LOT of really unpleasant things that happen with a body in the first few days after death that a mortician has to deal with to make it look and smell nice for the funeral.