History OurVampiresAreDifferent / LiveActionTv

** These vampires cannot be staked. In his first appearance, Tesla was impaled against a cave wall and was mildly annoyed (ruined a good suit). He was then impaled by [[JackTheRipper Druitt]]'s hand and was thought to have been killed until revealed to have survived. Explosions, especially of the nuclear kind, work well, though.

** They have some of the natural powers usually attributed to vampires like controlling human minds by [[HypnoticEyes looking at someone's eyes intensely]] or an impressive type 4 HealingFactor.

*** Could have been averted: as the [[Dr Who]] character Leela of the Suvateam wisely advised, if you wish to hit the heart you can strike from just under the sternum (the heart normally leans just a bit to the left, so a central strike works just fine) and up, avoiding the ribs entirely.

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': Tragically few details are given about the specific vampiric nature of Count von Count, but he is known to have the obsessive-compulsive bit (as his name suggests, he lvoes counting things) and is suggested to have control of the weather (as OminousThunder can always be heard whenever he laughs). Uniquely, he also has purple skin, although whether this is a result of vampirism, puppet-ism, or the combination of the two is unknown. He has been seen in the sun, although, again, his lack of actual skin brings into question whether other vampires of his world are similarly immune or if it is a puppet advantage.

* Tragically few details are given about the specific vampiric nature of [[Series/SesameStreet Count von Count]], but he is known to have the obsessive-compulsive bit and is suggested to have control of the weather. Uniquely, he also has purple skin, although whether this is a result of vampirism, puppet-ism, or the combination of the two is unknown. He has been seen in the sun, although, again, his lack of actual skin brings into question whether other vampires of his world are similarly immune or if it is a puppet advantage.

** The show's vampires are described as a type of demon (just one of many) possessing a corpse; this is actualy consonant with many Eastern European vampire legends,'vampir' evidently deriving from 'upir', a variety of psychopomp that evidently someyimes can't resist the temptation presented by a now-vacant body. They are said to lack souls, explaining their amoral behavior. They have [[GameFace "demonic" faces]] that only appear just before they feed or during a fight, or any other time [[RuleOfCool the writers want them to look more intimidating]] -- [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Whedon explained in interviews that he was unnerved by the thought of a teenage girl murdering normal looking people on network television, so the "vamp face" was created to allow for guilt-free slaying.]] Vampires have many of the usual traits otherwise, including sensitivity to sunlight (although very much the direct-sunlight-only variety; put them in any kind of shadow and they're quite cozy) and the stake-through-the-heart kill. [[NoBodyLeftBehind When killed, however, they turn to dust instantly]] -- a conscious decision by the producers, since they didn't want to devote time in every episode of a teenage-oriented show to "Well, let's clean up all the '''dead bodies'''."

** The show's vampires are described as a type of demon (just one of many) possessing a corpse and are said to lack souls, explaining their amoral behavior. They have [[GameFace "demonic" faces]] that only appear just before they feed or during a fight, or any other time [[RuleOfCool the writers want them to look more intimidating]] -- [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Whedon explained in interviews that he was unnerved by the thought of a teenage girl murdering normal looking people on network television, so the "vamp face" was created to allow for guilt-free slaying.]] Vampires have many of the usual traits otherwise, including sensitivity to sunlight (although very much the direct-sunlight-only variety; put them in any kind of shadow and they're quite cozy) and the stake-through-the-heart kill. [[NoBodyLeftBehind When killed, however, they turn to dust instantly]] -- a conscious decision by the producers, since they didn't want to devote time in every episode of a teenage-oriented show to "Well, let's clean up all the '''dead bodies'''."

** Buffyverse vampires are ''insanely'' allergic to wood. Some vampire legends required that a stake of ash wood severed from the tree by a bolt of lightning be driven through the heart, and that was just to keep the vampire in place. Buffyverse vampires however "dust" when stabbed in the heart with a pencil or chopstick, and crossbows are a common weapon despite their modern-day impracticality. You still have to hit the heart, though -- Angel's taken wooden stakes in the neck, the arm, the shoulder, and in one case in the chest but ''just'' missing the heart, and was only mildly discomfited. The rib cage also seems to [[MadeOfPlasticine cave in immediately against wood]], as vampires have been staked with blunt wood objects, such as a spatula handle or a tree branch, and without much force behind the blow (Xander accidentally staking Jesse, in fact just any non-augmented human staking a vampire basically implies their ribs can't handle any damage from wood - at one point it's stated outright that wood goes through vampire flesh like a hot knife through butter).
** It does have to be wood and only wood, though. If anything else pierces their heart, they're discomfited, but still alive. [[ImmortalityHurts Well, alive in an undead kind of way.]]

** Buffyverse vampires are ''insanely'' allergic to wood. Bram Stoker's Dracula needed a stake of ash wood severed from the tree by a bolt of lightning driven through his heart, and that was just to keep him in place. Buffyverse vampires however "dust" when stabbed in the heart with a pencil or chopstick, and crossbows are a common weapon despite their modern-day impracticality. You still have to hit the heart, though -- Angel's taken wooden stakes in the neck, the arm, the shoulder, and in one case in the chest but ''just'' missing the heart, and was only mildly discomfited. The rib cage also seems to [[MadeOfPlasticine cave in immediately against wood]], as vampires have been staked with blunt wood objects, such as a spatula handle or a tree branch, and without much force behind the blow (Xander accidentally staking Jesse, in fact just any non-augmented human staking a vampire basically implies their ribs can't handle any damage from wood - at one point it's stated outright that wood goes through vampire flesh like a hot knife through butter).

** In Season 9, they are different to even "normal" Buffyverse vampires, without the Magic Seed allowing demons to posses a sired body. Vampires are now much more mindless and feral. The Scoobies call them Zompires (Zombie/Vampires) So as not to confuse them.

** Let's not forget the influence of CharacterShield. Angel and Spike have both had some close brushes with heart stakage, whereas Vamp Willow in "Doppelgangland" was killed by being stabbed through the stomach.
*** Actually Vamp Willow was staked through the back. And apparently vamps build up some wood resistance over the years: Kakistos easily survived a common stake. And the Master, another particularly ancient vampire, died from being impaled on a thick broken table leg through the heart, being tossed down two stories from the roof into said table leg.

** In the ''[=BtVS=]'' fifth-season opener "Buffy vs. Dracula," Dracula had some of the traditional vampire traits that other Buffyverse vampires don't, including shape-shifting and mesmerism. These "special powers" are dismissed by Spike as "Nothin' but showy gypsy stuff." Dracula is also more focused on romance than just finding food.
*** He also displayed an immunity to being staked. When stabbed, he'll disintegrate like a normal vamp, but he can regenerate at will.
*** In the Season 8 comic "Wolves at the Gate", Dracula elaborates that he went to great lengths to gain his special powers, which are tied to a sword in his possession that is an ancient artifact not unlike Buffy's scythe.
*** As well, Drusilla, in "Becoming, Part 1", used a mesmerism-like power on Kendra, enabling Drusilla to kill her.
*** Although, since only three vampires in the entire Buffyverse seem to have the ability of mesmerism (The Master, Dracula, and Drusilla, who was psychic before being vamped), it's possible that this is not a vampire ability at all, and instead is an unrelated magical or mystical ability. And Dracula's mesmerism apparently is different in some undefined way from the Master's and Drusilla, because after Buffy's first death she was immune to the Master's mental powers and later to Drusilla's, but still vulnerable to Dracula's.

* ''LostTapes'' has two vampiric [[DoingInTheWizard animal monsters]] as antagonists. The first are featured in the episode "Cave Demons" as nearly man-sized semi-vampiric/predatory bats with impressive wingspreads. The second was out and out called a vampire and is a horrible brutally animalistic, but living, creature the feeds on blood from humans and small animals it can catch. The episode also portrays its lair as something akin to a raccoon's or a pack rats, as it lives in the basement of a [[HauntedHouse old home]]. There's a third vampire, the Strigoi, which is a supernatural creature, capable of invisibility, shape-shifting, and other supernatural powers.

* ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury''. The episode "Space Vampire" has a creature called a Vorvon. It has the abilities of HypnoticEyes, VampiricDraining (of LifeEnergy), {{Invisibility}} to electronic viewing and turning the humans it killed into zombies. It can be fended off by a "power lock" instead of a crucifix and is WeakenedByTheLight of the sun.

* ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury''. The episode "Space Vampire" had a creature called a Vorvon. It had the abilities of MindManipulation, VampiricDraining, {{Invisibility}} and turning the humans it killed into zombies.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric The Curse of Fenric]]", "Haemovores" can be repelled by a focus of belief. A Soviet soldier is therefore able to ward them off with a red star, while the Doctor can summon enough belief without a focus, by thinking of his companions. The doubting priest on the other hand had some trouble.
** In the new series story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E1SmithAndJones Smith and Jones]]", the blood-sucking Plasmavore (not the same kind of vampire) is impervious to sunlight, looks completely human, shows up on scanners as whatever species it most recently drank from, and drinks blood from human necks ''with a plastic bendy straw''.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E06TheVampiresOfVenice The Vampires of Venice]]" features [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin vampires. In Venice.]] [[spoiler:Except they're actually stinkin' alien fish disguised as humans with ugly teeth.]]
** The serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E4StateOfDecay State of Decay]]" had traditional vampires... [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]], on a PlanetOfHats version of {{Uberwald}}. The Great Vampire, however, is a giant bat-monster, the last of a race wiped out by the Time Lords.
** In this episode, while Romana tells a soon-to-die ally that vampires can only be killed by a wooden stake, the Fourth Doctor offs the Great Vampire [[spoiler: with a dart-shaped shuttlecraft, like the bowships the Time Lords used on the Great Vampires long ago]]. How he managed to hit the heart is probably one for [[ImprobableAimingSkills another trope]]. Oh, yeah -- [[NoOntologicalInertia when the Great Vampire dies, all the vampires created by it go to dust as well]]. Gotta love efficiency.
** ExpandedUniverse explains the Vampire taint entered the Universe by [[NiceJobBreakingItHero primitive experiments in time travel]] by the {{Time Lord}}s, and the Great Vampires are equated with [[EldritchAbomination infinitely horrific beings]] called the Yssgaroth. An interesting tidbit is that ''FactionParadox'', a ''Series/DoctorWho'' spinoff, makes it quite clear virtually '''''anything''''' can be infected with Yssgaroth taint. Up to and [[OhCrap including]] [[LivingShip timeships]].
** In BigFinishDoctorWho, one account claims the Vampires were originally a peaceful species that only fed on unintelligent beasts they bred. However they were attacked by Rassilon, who took their power of regeneration for the Time Lords. The vampire Provost Tepesh is played by Creator/ColinBaker.

** Their fangs resemble those of a serpent.
** After draining their victims they can [[FaceStealer shapeshift into their form and absorb their memories]]. It’s implied they do this by [[YourSoulIsMine feeding on the person’s soul]] as well as their blood.

* In BigFinishDoctorWho, one account claims the Vampires were originally a peaceful species that only fed on unintelligent beasts they bred. However they were attacked by Rassilon, who took their power of regeneration for the Time Lords. The vampire Provost Tepesh is played by Creator/ColinBaker.

* In ''Series/BloodTies'', vampires have some of the traditional weaknesses but none of the others. Sunlight burns (all vampires instinctively know when dawn is near), blood is necessary (although killing isn't), turning is done via the drink/give blood method, a vampire can be killed with a stake to the heart (or by ''punching'' through the heart with a first), and religious symbols are useless. Vampires are fast and strong. They can also hypnotize, although this, for some reason, fails to work on Vicki (possibly, due to her poor eyesight). All vampires are extremely territorial. It's almost impossible for two vampires to be in the same city without killing each other (unless the city is very big, then two or more vampires may divide it amongst themselves). This biological mechanism keeps the vampire population low. The territoriality only develops after about 6 months, allowing the newly-turned vampire to learn from his or her maker before being forced to leave. The only known way of incapacitating a vampire appears to be the Iluminación del Sol, a Chinese-made device that incapacitates a vampire when pressed into his or her chest.

* ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' had a "salt vampire" that could look like its victim's ideal love/sex object. This allowed it to find victims when straight salt wasn't available.

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}''[='=]s Paige was partially turned into a vamp. They have a hierarchy similar to bees. Vampires only appeared in a single episode, because in order to save Paige before she finished transforming, her sisters killed the vampire queen, freeing Paige and causing every other vampire in the world to die instantly. They have the standard vampire weaknesses and their eyes are extremely sensitive to light making them wear sunglasses in bright places.
** Actually, another vampire queen showed up in the season seven finale (or an episode near it), and then yet another queen appeared and got killed off by a BigBad in ''Revival the Zenescope'' comics. So it wasn't every vampire in the world that was destroyed in the episode where Paige was turned, just that one queen's clan.

* ''LostTapes'' has two vampiric [[DoingInTheWizard animal monsters]] as antagonists. The first are featured in the episode "Cave Demons" as nearly man-sized semi-vampiric/predatory bats with impressive wingspreads. The second was out and out called a vampire and is a horrible brutally animalistic, but living, creature the feeds on blood from humans and small animals it can catch. The episode also portrays its lair as something akin to a racoon's or a pack rats, as it lives in the basement of a [[HauntedHouse old home]]. There's a third vampire, the Strigoi, which is a supernatural creature, capable of invisibility, shape-shifting, and other supernatural powers.

** There are minor changes in the SyFy Channel remake. The physical need seems to be a larger component and they heal by drinking blood. Whether holy symbols affect them has not been addressed but Aidan was able to enter a church.