K-9 (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids K9
K9 title card
Created by	Bob Baker Paul Tams
Developed by	Shayne Armstrong SP Krause
Starring	John Leeson Philippa Coulthard Keegan Joyce Daniel Webber Robert Moloney
Theme music composer	Michael Lira
Composer(s)	Christopher Elves
Country of origin	Australia United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Grant Bradley Jim Howell
Producer(s)	Penny Wall Richard Stewart Simon Barnes
Running time	25 min.
Production company(s)	Park Entertainment Stewart & Wall Entertainment Screen Australia
Release
Original network	Network Ten (Australia) Disney XD (UK & Ireland) Channel 5 (United Kingdom)
Picture format	HDTV
Original release	31 October 2009 (2009-10-31) – 20 November 2010 (2010-11-20)
Chronology
Related shows	Doctor Who K-9 and Company The Sarah Jane Adventures

K-9 is a fun science-fiction adventure TV show from Britain and Australia. It's all about the amazing robot dog, K9, who first appeared in the famous show Doctor Who. The series mixes computer animation with real actors, making it exciting to watch. This show was created for young people aged 11 to 15. Only one season of the show was made in Brisbane, Australia. It received money for its production from both Australia and the United Kingdom. The series first aired in 2009 and 2010 on Network Ten in Australia. In the UK, it was shown on Disney XD and other Disney XD channels across Europe.

Making the K-9 TV Show

Each episode of K-9 is about 25 minutes long. It was made for Disney XD and Network Ten by Stewart & Wall Entertainment. They worked with a company called Park Entertainment, based in London. The whole project was looked after by Bob Baker, one of K9's original creators. The idea for the TV series was developed by Australian writers Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong, along with Bob Baker and Paul Tams. Krause and Armstrong wrote most of the episodes. Four episodes were written by Jim Noble, a writer from Queensland.

Penny Wall and Richard Stewart from Stewart & Wall Entertainment Pty Ltd produced the series. Simon Barnes from Park Entertainment also helped produce it. Grant Bradley and Jim Howell were the executive producers. The BBC decided not to be involved in making the K9 series. This was because they were already working on many other spin-off shows. They felt that a K9 series might be "an extension too far." Also, characters owned by the BBC, like the Doctor, could not appear in the series. This was due to legal rights.

In July 2007, the Australian Film Finance Corporation approved money for the series. The show was also sold to Network Ten before it was even finished. The Pacific Film and Television Commission (now called Screen Queensland) also gave more money. The first season was filmed from December 3, 2008, to May 8, 2009. The series was made in Brisbane, Australia. They filmed in different places around the city and on a special set built in a warehouse. A logo for the series was released in February 2009. It looked a bit like the original K9 font. A short video to promote the series was released in April 2009. This video was made early on, so the music, titles, and K9's voice were not the final ones. A second, updated video was released in October 2009.

Story and Characters

The K-9 series takes place in London in the near future. The main characters are 14-year-old Starkey and Jorjie. They live with Professor Gryffen, a scientist who is experimenting with a "Space-Time Manipulator." There's also 15-year-old Darius, who helps Professor Gryffen.

In the first episode, the original K9 Mark I robot dog follows some bad reptilian warriors called Jixen. These Jixen come through a space-time portal created by the professor's experiments. K9 saves the Londoners, but he has to self-destruct to protect them. Before he explodes, K9 tells Starkey how to rebuild him into a new, more advanced form. K9 and the human friends then become the first line of defense. They protect Earth from alien threats from space and other times. The Brisbane Times newspaper reported that the series is set in London in the year 2050. Professor Gryffen works for a secret government group called "The Department." The new K9 looks different from the one in Doctor Who. This is because even though Bob Baker owns the character rights to K9, the BBC owns the original design.

K-9's Link to Doctor Who

Since this show was not made by the BBC, it couldn't directly mention Doctor Who due to legal reasons. However, Bob Baker and Paul Tams confirmed that this K9 is the original K9 Mark I. This K9 appeared in Doctor Who from 1977 to 1978. This version of K9 was last seen with Leela on Gallifrey.

In the first episode of K-9, the robot dog gets damaged. He then "regenerates" into a new, more advanced form that can even fly! He explains that most of his memory was lost during this change. So, he can't remember much about himself or his past adventures. The show was launched in Australia on April 3, the same day Doctor Whos "The Eleventh Hour" episode aired. That Doctor Who episode introduced Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Some people thought this timing was a way to use Doctor Whos popularity to make people interested in the new K9 show.

Episodes

Meet the Cast

John Leeson returned to voice K9, just like he did in Doctor Who.

• Philippa Coulthard, who was 16, played Jorjie Turner. Jorjie is a rebellious 15-year-old whose mom works for the mysterious "Department."
• Keegan Joyce, 20, played Starkey, a 14-year-old rebel who is an orphan.
• Daniel Webber, 21, played Darius Pike, who helps Professor Gryffen.
• Robert Moloney, a Canadian actor, played Professor Gryffen.
• Other important actors included Robyn Moore as Jorjie's mom, June Turner.
• Connor Van Vuuren played Inspector Drake, who was later replaced by Jared Robinsen as Inspector Thorne.

Where K-9 Was Shown

The first episode of K-9 was shown as a special preview on Halloween 2009. It aired on the satellite channel Disney XD in the UK and Ireland. The full series later aired on Network Ten in Australia. It also aired on Disney XD in the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, Italy, and the Netherlands. Disney Channel CEE showed it in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Later, the show was broadcast in many other countries. This included Channel 5 in the UK and Cartoon Network in New Zealand. In the UK, Channel 5 showed the first season from December 2010 to April 2011. The US channel Syfy started showing the series on December 25, 2012. They even showed the entire first season in a marathon that lasted all day!

DVD and Blu-ray Releases

You can buy the K-9 series on DVD. Here's a list of some of the releases:

K-9 Merchandise

There are also books about K9! The Complete Book of K-9 is a non-fiction book that tells the story of all four K9 models. It covers his appearances in Doctor Who, K-9 & Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and the K-9 TV show. Another book, The K-9 Storybook, was planned for 2013. It was supposed to have behind-the-scenes info, short stories, comic strips, and other fun stuff from the live-action series. You could also buy K-9 Mark 2 figurines. In 2019, Obverse Books published a guide to Doctor Who spin-offs, which included the K9 TV series.

Awards for K-9

The K-9 series won some awards!

• In 2009, Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause, who wrote and developed the series, won the John Hinde Award for Science-Fiction. They won this award at the Australian Writers Guild AWGIES for their script for the episode "The Fall of the House of Gryffen." This episode was also nominated for Best Children's Television that year.
• Also in 2009, Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause were finalists for the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards. This was for their script for the episode "Regeneration."
• In 2010, Tony O'Loughlan, the show's Director of Photography, won two bronze awards. He received these at the Queensland and Northern Territory Cinematographer Awards for his work on the episodes Angel of the North and The Eclipse of the Korven.
• David Napier, who was the VFX Director and directed four episodes, was nominated for 'Best Direction in Children's Television' at the 2010 Australian Directors Guild Awards. This was for episode 26, 'Eclipse of the Korven'.

Future Plans for K-9

The creators of the show said that a second season was being planned. A new design for K9 for season 2 was supposed to be shown in July 2013. In 2014, Bob Baker mentioned that he and Paul Tams were trying to get another series started. Paul Tams later said that they were waiting for a long production deal to finish. After that, they planned to bring back the series with a reboot called K9 Adventures. However, in April 2016, Bob Baker stated that the TV series would not continue. Instead, they would focus on a movie called TimeQuake.

On October 24, 2015, Bob Baker and Paul Tams announced the movie K9: TimeQuake. It was planned for cinemas in 2017. The movie would feature the robot dog fighting against the classic Doctor Who villain Omega in deep space. This movie has no connection to the TV series. As of 2018, no actors had been announced for the film. On September 9, 2018, it was announced on the official K9 Facebook page that a "new multi-million dollar series" was being developed. This was happening with a "major US/UK company" before the movie's release. The film is planned to be set in space, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. Omega is still expected to be in it. The idea of including other classic characters like the Axons has not been ruled out. More information was promised for early 2019, but no further updates have been given since then.

Images for kids

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  K9 title card

• K9 (TV series) on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki

See also

In Spanish: K-9 (serie de televisión) para niños