Vam PD

Vam PD is an audio series created by Big Finish, starring Juliet Landau of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fame along with Mara Wilson, Alimi Ballard and Warren Brown. A Vampire Detective Series set in a world where Officers of the Night Catrin and Magnus protect the Masquerade and ensure that vampires are kept secret, while also indulging themselves by killing humans that have seen too much. They are now joined by their new human liaison officer Jane, someone with a secret of her own as the trio investigate crimes committed by and against vampires.

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Tropes used in Vam PD include:

• Anti-Villain: The villain of the first episode wanted to expose the existence of vampires, but did so by arranging feeding parties that got a bunch of humans killed.
• Blue Blood: It's implied that Catrin is some form of vampire nobility.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Catrin and Magnus are technically this, especially when compared to other vampires, and are rather friendly with Jane. But it's made very clear that neither feel any remorse for killing humans and at best downplay it to spare Jane's feelings, and even then it's clear that neither would be that reluctant about killing Jane.
• Good Old Ways: Catrin is fond of discussing how things used to be much better before things like the internet, missing how easier it was to hide the existence of vampires and get away with killing people. In particular she seems to have a fondness for the 1990s, using computers and phones from that decade. Magnus explains how the older vampires either end up like her, or end up on TikTok in an attempt to seem relevant.
• I Hate You, Vampire Dad: "Blood Bank" reveals that centuries ago, tradition expected the big vampire dynasties to plot against their sires and kill them. However this isn't out of hatred, with one vampire noting that he had been fond of his sire who he claims had died laughing when he finally killed him, but simply because they were expected to do that.
• I Love You, Vampire Son: Because the above trope is simple a matter of tradition instead of hatred, many vampires have an affectionate relationship with their scions. Doesn't stop them from killing them when they fail to kill their sires, as Catrin admits to having killed scions that she had genuinely cared for.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The twist at the end of "Under the Sun" has truth in reality when it comes to the evolving mythology of vampires. Originally vampires weren't killed by sunlight, though some stories did have them weakened by it, and it was only with films like Nosferatu that the idea that sunlight killed them became an actual rule that everyone believed was true.
• Masquerade: The Officers of the Night keep the existence of vampires a secret, which is made much more difficult in the internet age and there being cameras in ever phone. "Under the Sun" reveals that there is a second masquerade made where vampires are led to believe that sunlight will kill them, when in reality it's a case of Your Mind Makes It Real. This was done as part of a deal with humans, with Catrin stating that if vampires knew the truth it would bring about the end of the world.
• Nominal Hero: In theory, Catrin and Magnus should be heroic figures who protect the fragile peace between vampires and humans. In reality they only do the little that is necessary to stop whatever crime is being committed and don't care if anyone gets hurt, often killing human witnesses.
• Our Vampires Are Different:
  • This trope is actually discussed, where the classic vampire rules (flying, must be invited in, can be harmed with garlic, etc) are actually rather inconsistent and more often than not have to be enforced by other vampires. For instance, garlic is harmful to vampires but Catrin brings up how there are still vampires in Italy, despite there being a lot of garlic food that should naturally be harmful to vampires. She also brings up how one rule is that they can't eat or drink anything except blood, yet both Catrin and Magnus can do this.
  • In "Party All Night", it's mentioned that vampires can get a daylight pass which makes them safe from sunlight while Magnus explains how it's inconsistent whether vampires appear in video cameras or not. "Blood Bank" also reveals that with practice vampires can learn everything about a human from tasting their blood, such as where they grew up, relationship with family and whether they're on medication. It's also explained that silver and mirrors can be harmful to vampires, but not fatal unless mixed together.
  • "Under the Sun" reveals that sunlight, and potentially the other vampire rules, are a case of Your Mind Makes It Real. The daylight pass Magnus used was just a piece of paper and there was no magic potion to make vampires immune to the sun, vampires are only killed by sunlight as long as they believe it will do that.
• Police Brutality: According to Catrina and Magnus, Jane has a history of missing bodycam footage and camera recordings, implying this trope. It's ambiguous whether this is true since she's actually undercover, but Orham brings up reverse engineering how vampires are immune to some recordings for the police, saying it would be useful in some situations if they don't appear in bodycam footage.
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Catrin is apparently around a thousand years old while Magnus is over one hundred. According to Magnus, vampires rarely live past three hundred due to either becoming bored or making mistakes.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Apparently becoming a human liaison is considered this, as they usually have messed up so much it's their only option unless they choose to quit.
• Secret Police: The Officers of the Night count as this, since a big part of their job is covering up murders by killing whoever committed the crime and any witnesses, while also using magic to erase people's memories of their now missing loved ones.
• Ship Tease: Jane and Magnus get paired together often for certain scenes, since he's more willing to discuss what life is like for a vampire. There are several moments and comments that imply they have some fondness for each other and while she may have done it to embarrass Jane, Catrin does ask her if she wants to date Magnus.
• Shout-Out: Catrin's cats are named Lee, Cushing, Lugosi, Keanu and the Shelley sisters (presumably named after Barbara Shelley).
• The One Guy: Sort of, Magnus isn't the only male cast member in the series. But he's part of the main trio with Jane and Catrin, making him this trope.
• Token Human: Jane is meant to be the human liaison for the Officers of the Night, handling things that Catrin and Magnus can't as well as offering a different perspective on a situation. Mara Wilson was actually slightly annoyed that she was this, having wanted to play a vampire for ages.
• Token Minority: Magnus is the only main character to be black.
• Vampire Detective Series: It's an audio drama about vampires and their human liaison solving crimes committed by vampires or by humans trying to expose vampires.
• Vegetarian Vampire: In "Blood Bank" it's explained that some vampires prefer to have their blood delivered to them as opposed to killing, as well as there being animal blood supplied. The existence of artificial blood opens up the possibility of vegan vampires, though Jane tells Orhan how this would be a bad thing since vampires wouldn't have any reason to keep humans around.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl: The trailer and pictures of the characters show Catrin with white hair. Though this is at odds with the boxset covers, which has Catrin with Landau's brown hair.
• Your Mind Makes It Real: The big twist of "Under the Sun" is that vampires being killed by sunlight, and potentially every other vampire rule, only happens if vampires believe it to be true.