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K9 (TV series) - Wikipedia

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K9

K9 title card

Created by
Developed by
  • Shayne Armstrong
  • SP Krause
Starring
Voices ofJohn Leeson
Theme music composerMichael Lira
ComposerChristopher Elves
Country of origin
  • Australia
  • United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producers
  • Grant Bradley
  • Jim Howell
  • Steve Robbins
Producers
  • Penny Wall
  • Richard Stewart
  • Simon Barnes
Running time25 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetwork Ten (Australia)
Release3 April –
25 September 2010
NetworkDisney XD (UK & Ireland)
Release31 October 2009 –
20 November 2010
NetworkChannel 5 (United Kingdom)
Related

K9 is a science-fiction adventure series focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K9 from the television show Doctor Who, achieved by mixing computer animation and live action.[2] It is aimed at an audience of 11- to 15-year-olds.[3] A single series of the programme was made in Brisbane, Australia, with co-production funding from Australia and the United Kingdom.[4] It aired in 2009 and 2010 on Network Ten in Australia, and on Disney XD in the UK, as well as being broadcast on other Disney XD channels in Europe.

K9's co-creator Bob Baker (like several 20th century Doctor Who creators) had contractually retained particular IP rights from the TV episode scripts co-written with Dave Martin and had long sought to produce a television series starring the character. Indeed, in 1997 Doctor Who Magazine announced that Baker and producer Paul Tams were producing a four-part pilot series provisionally called The Adventures of K9. The magazine stated that the pilot would be filmed that year "on a 'seven-figure' budget", and that the BBC had expressed interest in purchasing the broadcast rights.[5] However, funding proved elusive,[6] and despite persistent rumours, the series remained in "development hell" for many years.

Promotional poster from early in the series development, back when it was titled K9 Adventures

In 2006, Jetix Europe announced that they were "teaming up" with Baker, Tams, and London-based distributor Park Entertainment to develop a 26-part series, then titled K9 Adventures and set in space.[2] This announcement, timed to coincide with K9's return to Doctor Who in the episode "School Reunion", was picked up in the British media and Doctor Who fan press.[7][8] In 2007, Park Entertainment revealed that the main setting for the series (by then retitled K-9) would be the Platte, "an old Prairie-class spacecraft" once used for asteroid colonization. In addition to K9, the characters would include Slocum, a thirty-something "space gypsy", and Djinn, "an overactive computer module in the shape of an attractive young woman".[9] This early premise was abandoned before production began in Australia.

Each episode of K-9 is approximately 25 minutes long, made for Disney XD (formerly Jetix) and Network Ten by Stewart & Wall Entertainment, in association with London-based distribution company Park Entertainment.[4] The project is being overseen by Baker;[7][8] the television series concept was developed by Australian writers Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong, in association with Baker and Paul Tams.[10] Krause and Armstrong are the primary writers for the series; four episodes were written by Queensland writer Jim Noble.[10][11][12] The series is produced by Penny Wall and Richard Stewart of Stewart & Wall Entertainment Pty Ltd, and Simon Barnes of Park Entertainment.[11] Grant Bradley of Daybreak Pacific and Jim Howell serve as executive producers.[4] Michael Carrington, head of animation and programme acquisitions for BBC Children's, told Broadcast that the BBC had declined the opportunity to be involved in the production of a K9 series, saying, "As the BBC is already committed to a number of spin-off projects, we concluded that a K9 series may simply be an extension too far."[13] BBC-owned characters like the Doctor will not appear in the series, due to rights considerations.[14]

In July 2007, the Australian Film Finance Corporation approved funding for the series, and the programme was pre-sold to Network Ten.[11] The Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) (subsequently renamed Screen Queensland) also provided additional financing.[10] The first series was shot between 3 December 2008 and 8 May 2009.[15][16][17] The series is produced in Brisbane, Australia, shooting on location around the city and on a set built in a South Brisbane warehouse.[10][18] A logo for the series was released on 27 February bearing some similarities to the original font seen on the casing of K9.[19] A trailer produced to promote the series at MIPTV was released on 2 April 2009. As it was made early in production, the music, titles, and voice of K9 were not the final ones used in the programme.[20] A second trailer was released on 1 October 2009.[21]

K-9 is set in near-future London, with 14-year-old characters Starkey and Jorjie, alongside a Professor Gryffen, who is experimenting with a Space-Time Manipulator, and 15-year-old Darius who runs errands for Gryffen. K9 Mark I follows the villainous reptilian warrior Jixen who came through a space-time portal created by the professor's experiments and saves the Londoners. While protecting them, K9 is forced to self-destruct, but is able to give Starkey instructions to rebuild him in a more advanced form. K9 and the humans then form the front line defence against alien menaces from outer space and other times.[22] The Brisbane Times reports that the series is set in London in the year 2050 and Professor Gryffen is employed by a clandestine government agency, "The Department".[18] The design of K9 is noticeably different from that seen in Doctor Who because although Bob Baker owns the character rights to K9, the original character design is owned by the BBC.

Connections to Doctor Who

[edit]

As this was not a BBC production, direct references to Doctor Who were not legally allowed for rights reasons. However, Baker and Tams have confirmed that this K9 is the original K9 Mark I, who appeared in Doctor Who from The Invisible Enemy (1977) to The Invasion of Time (1978).[15] This model was last seen in the possession of Leela on Gallifrey; in the first episode, the robot dog is damaged and undergoes a "regeneration" into a new, more advanced form capable of flight. He then explains that most of his memory was damaged, so he cannot remember anything about himself or his past.[15]

The decision to launch the show in Australia on 3 April, the launch date for Doctor Who's "The Eleventh Hour", which introduced Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, was interpreted by the Gawker Media blog io9 as a way of taking advantage of the latter show's popularity to boost interest in the new show.[23]

John Leeson reprises his role as the voice of K9.[24] Sixteen-year-old Brisbane native Philippa Coulthard plays Jorjie Turner, a rebellious 15-year-old whose mother works for the mysterious "Department".[18] 20-year-old Keegan Joyce plays Starkey, a 14-year-old orphan rebel; and 21-year-old Daniel Webber plays Darius Pike, an assistant to Professor Gryffen, who is played by Canadian character actor Robert Moloney.[15] Recurring cast members include Robyn Moore as Jorjie's mother June Turner, and Connor Van Vuuren as Inspector Drake, later replaced by Jared Robinsen as Inspector Thorne.

The first episode aired as a sneak preview of the series on Halloween 2009 on satellite channel Disney XD in the UK & Ireland. The full series later aired on Network Ten in Australia, Disney XD in the UK & Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, Italy and The Netherlands; and Disney Channel CEE in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was subsequently syndicated around the globe, including on Channel 5 in the UK and on Cartoon Network in New Zealand.[25] In the UK, Channel 5 broadcast the first series between December 2010 and April 2011. The US cable channel Syfy began airing the series on 25 December 2012, initially by broadcasting the entire first series in an all-day marathon.

Country / Region Network(s) Premiere
United Kingdom, Ireland Disney XD (UK & Ireland)
Channel 5 		(Disney Original Run) 31 October 2009 (Episode 1)
(Disney Original Run) 3 April 2010 (Full Series)
(Channel 5 UK premiere) 18 December 2010 (Full Series)
Scandinavia Disney XD Scandinavia 11 January 2010
Turkey Disney XD (Turkey) 6 February 2010
Poland Disney XD (Poland) 6 February 2010
Bulgaria
Romania
Moldova
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Hungary 		Disney Channel CEE 6 February 2010 (double episode)
Australia Network Ten
Cartoon Network 		3 April 2010
Italy Disney XD May 2010
Netherlands Disney XD 2 June 2010
France RMC Découverte[citation needed] September 2011
Russia Carousel 3 September 2011
Japan Channel Ginga February 2012
Canada BBC Kids 4 October 2012[26]
United States Syfy 25 December 2012[27]
Series Release name # of discs Region 4
(Australia) 		Region 2
(UK) 		Region 1
(US) 		Notes
1 The Complete First Series 4 27 September 2010[28] 11 December 2010
(DW Shop Exclusive)[29] 		— Contains the Complete Series 1, Episodes 1-26 and UK Limited Edition is signed.
The Bounty Hunter 1 27 September 2010[30] — — Contains Series 1, Episodes 1-6
Alien Avatar 1 1 December 2010[31] — — Contains Series 1, Episodes 7-12
Series 1; Volume 1 2 — 31 January 2011[32] — Contains Series 1, Episodes 1–12.
Series 1; Volume 2 2 — 18 April 2011[33] — Contains Series 1, Episodes 13–26.
Ultimate Collectors Edition 4 — 11 June 2012[34] — Contains the Complete Series 1, Episodes 1-26
The Complete Series 4 — — 7 May 2013[35] Contains the Complete Series 1, Episodes 1-26
plus two extras, "The Making of K9" and "Interview with K9"

K9 Mark 2 figurines were sold on the official K9 website. Tie-in books titled The Complete Book of K9 and The K9 Storybook were announced on the official website but went unreleased.[36] The Essential Book of K9, a hardback book that follows the story of K9 through all four models, crossing over from Doctor Who, K-9 & Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K9, was released in 2015. It also included original short stories and a comic.[37]

In 2019, Obverse Books published the third in their Time's Mosaic series of guidebooks to Doctor Who by Finn Clark, in part covering the K9 Television series and associated spin-offs.[38]

In 2009, Shayne Armstrong and SP Krause, writers and developers of the series for television, won the John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing at the Australian Writers Guild AWGIEs for their script for the episode "The Fall of the House of Gryffen". The episode was also a nominee in the category for Best Children's Television in that year.[39]

In 2009, Shayne Armstrong and SP Krause were also nominated as finalists in the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards for Best Television Script for the episode "Regeneration".[40]

In 2010, Tony O'Loughlan, director of photography for the show, won two bronze awards at the Queensland and Northern Territory Cinematographer Awards for his work on the episodes Angel of the North and The Eclipse of the Korven.[41]

Series VFX Director and Director of four other episodes, David Napier, was nominated for "Best Direction in Children's Television" at the 2010 Australian Directors' Guild Awards (AWGIES) for episode 26, "Eclipse of the Korven".[42]

Proposed further series and film

[edit]

The show's creators stated that a second series was in development.[43] A new design of K9 for series 2 was scheduled to be unveiled by Bob Baker and Paul Tams at the Who Shop on 27 July 2013.[44] Bob Baker told an interviewer in 2014, "Paul and I are in process of getting another series going. Hope it doesn’t take another eleven years!".[43] Paul Tams revealed on a Kickstarter page for his proposed Marti series that he and Baker are sitting out a protracted production deal before bringing back the series in a reboot titled K9 Adventures.[45] In April 2016, Bob Baker stated in an interview posted on K9 OFFICIAL PAGE on Facebook that the TV series will not continue and they will for now just focus on the TimeQuake film.[46]

On 24 October 2015, Bob Baker and Paul Tams announced the film K9: TimeQuake which was destined for cinemas in 2017 and was to feature the robot dog facing off against classic Doctor Who villain Omega in deep space.[47][48] Despite the film not materialising, it was announced on 9 September 2018 that "a new multi million dollar series" was in development under partnership with "a major US/UK company" prior to the release of the feature film.[49] On 20 December 2020 'Megabytes', an anthology featuring K9, was released which was teased as being "the road to TimeQuake".[50] When Bob Baker died in November 2021, the official Twitter page released a statement "Bob had recently completed scripts for both a new K9 Film and TV series, which will continue in tribute to Bob and his legacy,"[51] but as of 2023 this was the final message posted on the account and there is no other information available to suggest the project is still active.

  1. ^ "Doctor Who dog K9 gets spin-off" (Press release). BBC News. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Doctor Who veterans to create new 'K-9 adventures' with Jetix Europe". Jetix Europe. 24 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  3. ^ "K9". Stewart & Wall Entertainment. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Film Finance Corporation Australia. "2007/2008 - Children's Television Drama". Screen Australia. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  5. ^ "He's back! K9 takes the lead in four-part pilot series". Doctor Who Magazine (253): 4. 2 July 1997.
  6. ^ "K9 prepares to slip leash!". Doctor Who Magazine (258): 4. 19 November 1997.
  7. ^ a b Milmo, Cahal (24 April 2006). "Doctor Who's K-9 sidekick is dragged into 21st century in computer-designed cartoon". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  8. ^ a b Sherwin, Adam (24 April 2006). "K9 is back and ready to fight in shining armour". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Television series". Park Entertainment. 2006. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d "Robot Dog Brings Jobs for Queenslanders". Screen Queensland. April 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009. [dead link]
  11. ^ a b c "FFC Funding Approvals (July 2007)" (Press release). Film Finance Corporation Australia. July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  12. ^ Noble, Jim. "Diary of a Screenwriter". Screen Queensland. Retrieved 16 December 2009. [dead link]
  13. ^ Lyon, Shaun (24 April 2006). "K-9 Back for Animated Spinoff - Updated". Doctor Who News Page. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  14. ^ Johnson, Richard (11 March 2007). "Master of the universe". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 3. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  15. ^ a b c d Blum, Jonathan (24 June 2009). "K-9". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 409. pp. 8–9.
  16. ^ "Oscar Writer in QLD For New Action Series". Pacific Film and Television Commission. June 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2009. [dead link]
  17. ^ "In Development". Limelight International Media Entertainment. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  18. ^ a b c Casey, Scott (9 June 2009). "The future of London is ... Brisbane". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  19. ^ Bowman, John (27 February 2009). "K9 Logo Revealed". Doctor Who News Page. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  20. ^ Rowe, Josiah (2 April 2009). "First K9 series trailer". Doctor Who News Page. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  21. ^ "K-9 The Series (2009)". Park Entertainment. 1 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  22. ^ Rowe, Josiah (12 March 2009). "K-9 news". Doctor Who News Page. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  23. ^ Alasdair Wilkins (26 March 2010). "K-9 Series Premiere Goes Up Against Doctor Who's Return". io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  24. ^ "Look who's back once again as the voice of K9!". Doctor Who Magazine (411): 7. 19 August 2009.
  25. ^ "K-9 Series II - "WHO's a good dog?"". Stewart & Wall Entertainment. Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  26. ^ Shows Watch Play Get BBC Kids. "Schedule | BBC Kids". Bbckids.ca. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  27. ^ "Schedule". Syfy. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  28. ^ "K-9 (2009) - The Complete 1st Series (4 Disc Set)". Ezydvd.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  29. ^ "Niet compatibele browser". Retrieved 18 May 2011 – via Facebook.
  30. ^ "K-9 (2009) - The Bounty Hunter". Ezydvd.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  31. ^ "K-9 (2009) – Alien Avatar". Ezydvd.com.au. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  32. ^ "K9 Series One Volume One. [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  33. ^ "K9 Series 1 Vol 2 [DVD] [2009]: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  34. ^ "K9 Complete Box Set [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  35. ^ "K9 DVD news: Announcement for K9 - The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  36. ^ "K9 Official - Shop - www.k9official.com". k9official.com. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  37. ^ "The Essential Book of K9". The Doctor Who Site. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Colin Baker, BBV & K9". obversebooks.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  39. ^ "John Hinde Award for Science Fiction". austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  40. ^ "Shayne Armstrong". austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  41. ^ Queensland and Northern Territory Awards Archived 29 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine – Australian Cinematographers Society
  42. ^ "Australian Directors Guild Award Nominations". screenqueensland.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  43. ^ a b Christian, Lewis (16 February 2014). "Bob Baker — Interview". Wobbly Sets. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  44. ^ "Saturday 27th July is K9 DAY at The Who Shop!". thedoctorwhosite.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  45. ^ "MARTI - The World's only Superhero Meerkat! (Canceled) by Paul Tams — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  46. ^ "For Adam Kelleher...K9 OFFICIAL PAGE". www.facebook.com.
  47. ^ "#K9fans ... Bob Baker and Paul Tams are... - K9 OFFICIAL PAGE - Facebook" – via Facebook.
  48. ^ "K9 to Battle Omega in Movie "Timequake"". doctorwhotv.co.uk. 24 October 2015.
  49. ^ "K9 - UPDATE NEWS... - K9 OFFICIAL PAGE - Facebook" – via Facebook.
  50. ^ "The Road to TimeQuake" – via Twitter.
  51. ^ "Dear Friends" – via Twitter.