Not Using the Z Word: Difference between revisions

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== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Ultraviolet (TV series)|Ultraviolet]]'' never used the word vampire. Instead, the government called them "Code 5" (that is, V). Also 'leeches' as a slang term.

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S26/E03 The Curse of Fenric|The Curse of Fenric]]'' has undead which drank blood and are repelled by strong faith, but are never called vampires. (Another ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story, "[[Doctor Who/Recap/~~NS/S3~~/E01 Smith and Jones|Smith and Jones]]" has similarly vampiric creatures not named as such. Admittedly, they differ from vampires in some significant ways.) This was possibly because an earlier story ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18/E04 State of Decay|State of Decay]]'', ''did'' have vampires called by name, and the ones in the later stories were clearly [[Our Vampires Are Different|different]].

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S26/E03 The Curse of Fenric|The Curse of Fenric]]'' has undead which drank blood and are repelled by strong faith, but are never called vampires. (Another ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story, "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S29/E01 Smith and Jones|Smith and Jones]]" has similarly vampiric creatures not named as such. Admittedly, they differ from vampires in some significant ways.) This was possibly because an earlier story ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18/E04 State of Decay|State of Decay]]'', ''did'' have vampires called by name, and the ones in the later stories were clearly [[Our Vampires Are Different|different]].

** In the Big Finish audio production ''Loups-Garoux'', in which the Doctor meets a group of Werewolves, they're usually called "Loups-Garoux" (the French word for "werewolves"), but one character calls them "Lobos", sometimes they're referred to as "wolves", and "Werewolf" is used sparingly.

** The television story "[[Doctor Who/Recap/~~NS/S2~~/E02 Tooth and Claw|Tooth and Claw]]" has the Doctor explain that the monster is a "lupine wavelength haemovariform", but it's called a werewolf throughout. Similarly, the Carrionites in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/~~NS/S3~~/E02 The Shakespeare Code|The Shakespeare Code]]" are frequently called witches. The Gelth from "[[Doctor Who/Recap/~~NS/S1~~/E03 The Unquiet Dead|The Unquiet Dead]]" aren't called ghosts in that story, which is fair enough since they aren't actually ghosts, just gas creatures. They can also possess human bodies for a little zombie action.

** The television story "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S28/E02 Tooth and Claw|Tooth and Claw]]" has the Doctor explain that the monster is a "lupine wavelength haemovariform", but it's called a werewolf throughout. Similarly, the Carrionites in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S29/E02 The Shakespeare Code|The Shakespeare Code]]" are frequently called witches. The Gelth from "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S27/E03 The Unquiet Dead|The Unquiet Dead]]" aren't called ghosts in that story, which is fair enough since they aren't actually ghosts, just gas creatures. They can also possess human bodies for a little zombie action.

** Then you have the "Vampires of Venice" which inverts this trope by constantly saying how similar the [[Monster of the Week]] is to vampires, only for them to turn out to be {{spoiler|not vampires but alien fish creatures.}}

* The 2007 ''[[Flash Gordon (TV series)|Flash Gordon]]'' series avoids referring to any of the Mongo peoples as the human-animal mashups or mythological constructs that they're based on, and by which they are known in most other adaptations. Thus, Hawkmen are "[[Hollywood Meaningful Name|Dactyls]]", Lionmen are "Tuuren", Amazons are "Omadrians", and so forth. Being that it's an installment of '''[[Camp|Flash]] [[So Bad It's Good|Gordon]]''', it doesn't work. At all.