History Series / BloodTies

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blood-ties_2382.jpg]]
''Blood Ties'' (2007-2008) is a Canadian VampireDetectiveSeries set in UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}, the old haunting grounds of ''Series/ForeverKnight.'' It ran for two seasons (22 episodes total) on Creator/{{Lifetime}}.

The series is based on the ''Literature/BloodBooks'' by Tanya Huff. [[VampireDetectiveSeries The leads are a private investigator, a vampire, and a cop]]. This show plays with and [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] several tropes of the FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire genre: we are supposed to be sympathetic to him, but he isn't "friendly" in the usual sense.

Henry Fitzroy (played by Kyle Schmid) has no visible {{Wangst}}. He is not TheAtoner. He doesn't suffer from IJustWantToBeNormal syndrome, so he does not waste any time looking for cures. He ''likes'' being a vampire. Since he likes being a vampire, [[IHateYouVampireDad he does not want to kill his sire.]] He still carries a torch for her.

He is a very efficient practitioner of the KissOfTheVampire, so there is a long line of bimbos who want to get into his bed. (The book version of Henry Fitzroy is cheerfully bisexual, [[NoBisexuals but this version is apparently heterosexual]].)

Strictly speaking, Henry is a Vampire {{Sidekick}}. The actual lead is Vicki Nelson (played by Creator/ChristinaCox), a human PI (and former cop), who's wound up specializing in cases on the unearthly side. There is a LoveTriangle between Henry, Vicki, and Vicki's old flame Mike Celluci, who is a (human) police detective and the resident AgentScully.

Further note: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Henry has no problem with holy symbols]]; he carries his own crucifix and attends Catholic Church. He is as good a Catholic as television and his vampirism permit (he has to be awfully promiscuous so that no one loses much blood over time).
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!!Provides examples of:
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer
* AdaptationTitleChange: The show is based on the ''Literature/BloodBooks'' series.
* AscendedExtra: Coreen originally appeared only as a client in the first Blood book, before her memory was erased by Henry at the end. She has a far expanded role in the tv-series.
* AndStarring: "And Kyle Schmid as Henry Fitzroy."
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy / HistoricalDomainCharacter: Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Averted with Henry, whose eyes go black for his GameFace and during hypnosis, as he is a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire (more or less).
* BodySurf: "D.O.A."
* BornAgainImmortality: A couple of lovers had this power. After death they would be reincarnated and their old memories would come back once they reached puberty. They would find each other again and they would spend another lifetime as a couple. Things go awry when the woman dies in an accident that also puts the man in a coma for ten years. When he finally reincarnates and gets his memories back he can't find her.
* BreakTheCutie: "Heart of Fire" is a good example of this: the ultra-handsome, charming and quirky Henry Fitzroy is physically tortured by a mad priest, who beats, drains and starves the vampire into confessing his sins so the priest can kill him. The priest also enthusiastically Breaks the Cutie by showing him videos of his ex-girlfriend betraying him, trying to get Henry to suck dry his love interest Vicki, and twisting a device that is LODGED around Henry's heart with metal spikes. As the final Break The Cutie moment, he even kills a cute little rat that Henry had spared despite his desperation for blood.
* CharmPerson: Henry (would be CompellingVoice, but Vicki can fend him off).
* ChineseVampire: While not present, they are mentioned by Coreen in reference to "Illuminacion del sol," a sun-shaped weapon that paralyzes a vampire when stuck in his or her chest. Despite the Spanish name, possibly given by its previous owner [[VampireHunter Monsignor Javier Mendoza]], it was actually created at the request of a Chinese emperor to battle jiangshi. Given that the weapon works on a Western vampire, it can be assumed that these jiangshi are the same, although the number of supernatural beings in existence in this verse could indicate otherwise.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] for Henry, at least -- he originally came from a place where, as far as the locals were concerned, Christianity really was Catholic. When he has a run-in with a crazed immortal [[ChurchMilitant Catholic priest]] Mendoza, that Catholic priest came from Catholic Spain.
* ColdBloodedTorture
* ComicBooks: Henry creates "[[InsistentTerminology graphic novels]]." (This was updated to a visual medium from the books, where he writes romance novels under a female pseudonym.) Mike makes fun of him for this constantly.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Detective Mike Celluci is given silver bullets made for his police-issue Glock 9mm to kill a wendigo. He pumps it full of silver before the creature explodes.
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: When Vicki tries to convince Mike that she was attacked by a zombie in "Bad Juju":
-->'''Mike:''' It's pitch black and you're half blind. ({{Beat}}.) I said that last part out loud, didn't I?
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Mike dies in Vicki's arms after being shot, but Henry hits the ResetButton on the GroundhogDayLoop and he's fine.
* DroppedGlasses: Though in this case, Vicki has a spare pair and they're really just to let Mike know she was in the area.
* EvilSorcerer: [[Creator/DannyTrejo Pacha Camac]] is an [[{{Mayincatec}} Incan]] priest who has himself mummified so that he can be resurrected in the future.
* FakinMacGuffin: In "Norman", the heroes Vicki and Henry are forced to give a magic dagger to the demonic villain Norman when he kidnaps Vicki's secretary and holds her hostage. Norman needed the dagger to complete a spell to release the uber demon Asteroth into the world. However, unknown to the audience, Vicki and Henry had first taken the dagger to a priest to have it blessed before they gave it to Norman, so that when he used it, his spell of summoning failed and he was sucked back down to Hell.
* FantasyHelmetEnforcement: A bizarre example, where a child is shown sneaking out of the house to ride his bike. Just because you are the evil spawn of a dark elf, sneaking out of the house to murder one of the neighborhood children, that's no reason to ignore bicycle safety.
* FightClubbing: "Necrodome." Yeah, guess what the twist to that one is.
* FullyEmbracedFiend: Henry embraces his vampiric nature. He seduces a girl every night to secretly snack on her while doing other stuff. He does give a speech to [[ActionGirl Vicki]], including "someone has to die" in it. Coincidentally, the victim they are talking about is not dead, as Henry leads her to assume. He turned the girl. At the same time, Henry also has qualities of a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire.
* GameFace: Henry extends fangs, and his eyes go black.
* GaspOfLife: In one scene we see the vampire Henry Fitzroy waking up with a gasp after sleeping through the day - it's implied that sleep for a vampire is indistinguishable from death.
* {{Goth}}: Vicki's assistant Coreen is a fairly well adjusted Goth. She even has an episode where she gets Vicki to solve murders at her Goth club.
* GroundhogDayLoop: In "5:55". Done at night on this show, of course. It's not entirely clear what actually causes the loop, but it seems to be triggered by [[spoiler:opening PandorasBox]].
* HollywoodDarkness: Appears when Vicki and Henry enter a barn at night and Vicki starts going on about how she can't see in the (well illuminated) set. There are two possible justifications: 1) Henry the vampire was facing off against a were-panther, both of whom had no problem seeing in the dark, so the audience was seeing it from their point of view, and 2) Vicki has retinitis pigmentosa, so it appeared darker to her than it actually was.
* HollywoodExorcism: Coreen is possessed in the final episode by [[BigBad Astaroth]], forcing Henry to seek the help of a priest who has done this before. An obvious ShoutOut to ''Film/TheExorcist''. [[spoiler:It doesn't go well.]].
* HollywoodVoodoo: "Bad Juju."
* HornyDevils: Emmanuel the gardener, [[spoiler:a surprisingly decent guy considering everything else going on]]. He and Henry discuss at length about women at the end of the episode.
* HorrorHunger: After being tortured, Henry is set up to go after Vicki, but he ends up biting Mike, and [[PayEvilUntoEvil later moves on to Javier]].
* HypnoticEyes: Vampires can compel most people to do their bidding. Their eyes usually turn black during the process. There are some who are immune. Vicki is one of them, which could possibly be explained by her poor eyesight.
* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: At least part of Henry's attraction to Vicki is her resistance to his CompellingVoice.
* ILoveYouVampireSon: Henry specifically mentions that a vampire only turns people he or she cares about. In his case, Christina warned him that natural vampiric territoriality would eventually force them apart, lest they [[IHateYouVampireDad kill each other]].
* ImaginaryFriend: A young girl in "Gifted" can summon her imaginary friend in a semi-solid form.
* IntangibleMan: {{Lampshaded}} in "D.O.A.," where a ghost complains to Vicki that how come he can't touch stuff, but he can still sit on a couch.
* InterspeciesRomance: Henry and Vicki.
* JiveTurkey[=/=] TotallyRadical:
** Lee, the reincarnated 15-year-old, speaks both modern-day slang AND the slang of the 1920s (proven by Henry).
** Henry himself performs some 1920s slang and a Brooklyn accent for Vicki on another instance.
* LatinLover: {{Horny Devil|s}} Emmanuel the gardener.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: [[AllMythsAreTrue Medusa]] seduces and petrifies young men. When Vicki takes the statue of her latest victim, she sends a {{Mook}} to destroy the evidence, which he does by smashing the poor kid into pieces. After Medusa is dead, her victims get better, except for the smashed one.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: A requirement for Henry in dating. Though it's subverted with Maya, who he claims he's too old for. [[spoiler: That's because he used to date her mother and still remembers her as a cute little kid.]]
-->'''Henry''': "Oh, come on, she's a little young for me, don't you think?"\\
'''Vicki''': "Isn't everybody?"
* MindOverMatter: The girl with the imaginary friend in "Gifted."
* MonsterAndTheMaiden: The show focuses on a human private investigator named Vicki Nelson who enlists the aid of a vampire named Henry Vitzroy in her cases.
* MrFanservice: Henry. Not only is he a bishonen vampire with sexy curly hair and a tragic romantic past, but he spent large quantities of the story with his shirt off or ripped to shreds, lounging/writhing around in bed (again shirtless). He's also artistic, multitalented, superstrong, cute, chivalrous, and has a lot of funny stories about his past. All that, and he can give women orgasms with his bite.
* MuggleAndMagicalLoveTriangle: Vicki's love triangle with her police officer ex, Mike, and a 500-year-old sexy vampire, Henry.
* MyBelovedSmother: Mrs. O'Connor.
* {{Nerd}}: Norman, combined with LonersAreFreaks and StalkerWithACrush.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: "5:55" features PandorasBox, which no living person can resist opening. Since Henry, as a vampire, isn't a living person, the box doesn't affect him.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: A great example of the "That's why I can beat you" outcome is a scene where the cornered freaked-out vampire (abandoned by its sire) tells Henry that he too is a monster and Henry answers "But I am the monster who is coming out of this alive."
* OccultDetective: Vicki.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent
* OurGhostsAreDifferent
* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: A werejaguar takes revenge on a hunter that kills various types of werebeasts. It is implied that (as in the ''Literature/BloodBooks'' the series was based on) wereism is hereditary, rather than transmitted.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: The voodoo kind.
* ParentalAbandonment: Vicki had a DisappearedDad that she's still pissy about. Sarah's MissingMom, well... Sarah killed her. Sarah's dad realized that Sarah was having issues after her imaginary friend attacked him and chose to disappear himself. He comes back though.
* PerkyGoth: Coreen.
-->'''Vicki:''' No one likes a perky Goth.
* RainOfBlood: One of a villain's victims drips onto Vicki.
* RaisedCatholic: Henry.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Henry was only seventeen when he was turned.
* ReincarnationRomance: Sadly goes awry, when this time [[spoiler: Helen is born ten years ahead of her lover Lee since he was in a coma before dying, and has already married and gotten knocked up by the RomanticRunnerUp, having waited for him for several years.]] Possibly subverted, since it's suggested that there may be a reason why they keep dying prematurely in all their incarnations (i.e. [[spoiler:they might not really meant to be together]]).
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Henry actually has a night job that he makes money from (comic writing), but he seems to have saved up well over the years. Plus, well, the crime-fighting with Vicki.
* RougeAnglesOfSatin: The opening credits of "Wrapped" (at least in the TV version) feature "Guset Stars."
* RoyalBastard: After Vicki realises Henry is a vampire, he reveals that his full name is Henry Fitzroy, and he's an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII.
* SadisticChoice: In the series finale, a demon makes Vicki choose between the life of one of her friends, or the power to save the world, which includes reversal of her near-blindness. [[spoiler:She chooses her friend.]]
* SelfMutilationDemonstration: Henry demonstrates his vampiric nature to Vicki by shoving a knife through his hand.
* SerialKiller: Magnus.
* ShadowArchetype: Vicki and Henry are supposed to be this in a symbolic way. Vicki's retinitis pigmentosa means that she can't see at night. Henry's vampirism means that he will be seriously hurt by daylight. Her realm is the day, his is the night.
* SilverBullet: Kills {{Wendigo}}.
* SmellsSexy: One of the odder examples: in one episode, Henry is apparently attracted to the smell of death and can't stop smelling Vicki after she returns from a funeral home.
* UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition
* StakingTheLovedOne: Javier did it to Maria.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Guess what happens to a police detective who frequently leaves the office or his current case to go chase down a personal matter or help out a former friend? He gets suspended.
* TakenForGranite: Brandon.
* TemporaryBlindness: Subverted here. Vicki has retinitis pigmentosa (and nearsightedness), which currently means she can see in the daytime fine but has issues at night. She tends to walk in front of cars and such.
* TheyFightCrime: She's a Canadian former police detective who is slowly losing her sight. He's a vampire. They Fight Crime!
* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Grimoire is used several times to summon demons. [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Henry]] has his own copy, "confiscated" from a bunch of Medieval cultists, and uses it to sabotage summoning rituals.
* TortureAlwaysWorks: Javier likes to do it with vampires to get them to confess to their crimes, after which he kills them (and drains them of blood to make himself immortal).
* TrophyRoom: Of shapeshifters.
* TruncatedThemeTune: ''Series/BloodTies'' has a full theme song and opening sequence, but (at least on Lifetime Real Women where it's currently being rerun), the theme is cut down to a title card and brief musical clip, and the credits are all shown during the next scene.
* TurnInYourBadge: Det. Mike Celluci is asked for his badge in the finale. Considering he's been threatened with it for two seasons and finally [[spoiler: left a hostage crisis to battle Astaroth with Vicki and Henry]], it's completely unsurprising.
* UndercoverAsLovers: Vicki infiltrates a fertility clinic by posing as a patient and gets Mike to pose as her husband.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Henry and Vicky.
* VampireHunter: Monsignor Javier Mendoza is a villanous variant. He was a Grand Inquisitor during the UsefulNotes/SpanishInquisition, who captured vampires using any means possible, tortured them until they confessed, and then brutally executed them. Oh yeah, he also used their blood in a potion that stopped his aging process, allowing him to continue the hunt. He doesn't shy away from murdering innocents to get his prey. In "Heart of Ice", he murders a prostitute and drains her of blood, so that [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Henry]]'s friends would give him up.
** Interestingly, the only anti-vampire weapon they show him having is a sun-shaped Chinese-made object that weakens a vampire to the point of a human being stronger. The object has to be physically attached to the vampire's chest to work, requiring trickery, given the vampires' speed.
** Mike attempts this too in early episodes, and helps Javier [[spoiler: hunt down Henry.]]
* VampiresAreSexGods: Henry.
* VillainousMotherSonDuo: [[EvilSorceress Lavena O'Connor]], the main antagonist of "Deadly Departed". When her son Magnus was in his teens, Lavena used black magic to corrupt him into a "[[PsychoForHire killing machine]]", renting him out to perform brutal assassinations to pay for her lifestyle and business. Following Magnus being arrested, Lavena forced him to perform a ritual that would bar his soul from the afterlife, and then used his spirit to carry on killing those who took him away from her. Magnus is even thankful to Vicki at the end for freeing him from his evil mother.
* WeirdnessMagnet: Vicki. Her demon tattoos draw supernatural things to her, explaining why all of her cases suddenly have to do with monsters and demons.
* {{Wendigo}}
* WhoDunnitToMe: "DOA" starts when an undercover cop's spirit strolls in and asks Vicki to solve his murder. [[spoiler:It eventually develops that he's technically still alive, he's just been [[GrandTheftMe evicted from his body]].]]
* WipeThatSmileOffYourFace: A voodoo witch does this to Coreen.
* WunzaPlot: She's a Canadian police detective who is slowly losing her sight. He's a vampire. They fight crime!
* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo
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* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Detective Mike Sellucci is given silver bullets made for his police-issue Glock 9mm to kill a wendigo. He pumps it full of silver before the creature explodes.

* TurnInYourBadge: Det. Mike Cellucci is asked for his badge in the finale. Considering he's been threatened with it for two seasons and finally [[spoiler: left a hostage crisis to battle Astaroth with Vicki and Henry]], it's completely unsurprising.

* RealityEnsues: Guess what happens to a police detective who frequently leaves the office or his current case to go chase down a personal matter or help out a former friend? He gets suspended.

* NotSoDifferent: A great example of the "That's why I can beat you" outcome is a scene where the cornered freaked-out vampire (abandoned by its sire) tells Henry that he too is a monster and Henry answers "But I am the monster who is coming out of this alive."

* AscendedExtra: Coreen originally appeared only as a client in the first Blood book, before her memory was erased by Henry at the end. She has a far expanded role in the tv-series. ([[ApprovalOfGod Tanya Huff]] said in interviews that she loved the idea and wished she'd thought of it for the books.]])

* AscendedExtra: Coreen originally appeared only as a client in the first Blood book, before her memory was erased by Henry at the end. She has a far expanded role in the tv-series.

* JiveTurkey[=/=] TotallyRadical: Lee, the reincarnated 15-year-old, speaks both modern-day slang AND the slang of the 1920s (proven by Henry).

--> '''Henry''': "Oh, come on, she's a little young for me, don't you think?"
--> '''Vicki''': "Isn't everybody?"