K9 (Doctor Who) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids K9 |
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| Doctor Who, K-9 and Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K-9 character | |
The original K9 prop from 1977
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| First appearance | The Invisible Enemy (1977) |
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| Affiliation | Fourth Doctor Tenth Doctor Sarah Jane Smith Luke Smith Leela Romana Professor Gryffen |
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K9, sometimes written K-9, is the name of several fictional robot dogs in the long-running British science fiction TV show Doctor Who. He first appeared in 1977. His name is a fun way to say "canine," which means dog!
K9 has also been a main character in three spin-off shows: K-9 and Company (1981), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), and K-9 (2009–2010). Even though he wasn't meant to be a regular character at first, K9 stayed on the show because everyone thought kids would love him.
There have been at least four different K9 robots in the series. The first two were companions who traveled with the Fourth Doctor. The voice actor John Leeson has voiced K9 most of the time. However, David Brierley took over for a short period in 1979–1980. K9 was created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. They still own the rights to the character. This means Baker's spin-off series K9 cannot directly mention events or characters from Doctor Who, even though it tries to fit into the same story world.
In the Doctor Who story, K9 is a robot dog that the Doctor gets in the 1977 episode The Invisible Enemy. The first two versions of K9 traveled with the Fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) until 1981. K9 was super helpful because he had a powerful laser weapon hidden in his nose, knew almost everything, and had a huge computer brain.
By 1981, each of the two K9 models that traveled with the Doctor had been left with one of the Doctor's female companions. K9 then moved into spin-off shows. Producers hoped K9's popularity with children would help launch the show K-9 and Company. This show starred actress Elisabeth Sladen as the companion Sarah Jane Smith with a new K9.
In 2006, K9 returned in the revived Doctor Who series. Later, K9 became a full-time character in both K9 and The Sarah Jane Adventures. These shows featured the original K9 Mark I and Mark IV, respectively.
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K9's TV Adventures
K9 Mark I: The First Robot Dog
The first K9, known as K9 Mark I (voiced by John Leeson), first appeared in The Invisible Enemy (1977). He was created by Professor Marius in the year 5000. K9 then traveled with the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela (Louise Jameson). He was a companion on their adventures through time and space until The Invasion of Time (1978). In this story, K9 decided to stay on the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey, with Leela. Right after this, Doctor Who introduced a second K9, using the same robot prop. The last scene of The Invasion of Time shows the Doctor unpacking a box labeled "K9 Mk II."
Even though the first K9 doesn't appear in Doctor Who TV shows again, he is the star of the 2009 K9 TV series. In this show, he goes through a "regeneration" process. A new, more advanced and futuristic K9 appears. In the first season of K9, the character is transported to London around 2050 by Professor Gryffen. After regenerating, K9 loses his memories of his adventures with the Doctor. However, he helps Gryffen and some teenage friends fight against a bad government called "The Department." This upgraded K9 has cool new features like a head-up display (showing info in his vision), the ability to fly, and even stronger laser weapons.
K9 Mark II: The Doctor's Next Companion
K9 Mark II was introduced in The Invasion of Time and first appeared on screen in The Ribos Operation (1978). This K9 was more mobile than the first one. He could sense danger and warn others. He traveled with the Doctor and Romana.
For a while, K9 was said to have "laryngitis" (a sore throat) to explain why John Leeson wasn't voicing him. During this time, David Brierley voiced K9, until Leeson returned. When the Doctor and Romana traveled to a parallel universe called E-Space, K9 was badly damaged in Warriors' Gate (1981). The damage was so bad that K9 could only work in E-Space. When Romana decided to stay there, the Doctor gave K9 to her.
This K9 later appeared in new versions of the unfinished story Shada, with the Eighth Doctor. In the 2003 Shada audio play and webcast, K9 Mark II returned to Gallifrey with Romana, who was now the Lady President of the Time Lords. The Doctor visited them there.
K9 Mark III: Sarah Jane's Loyal Friend
K9 Mark III first appeared in "A Girl's Best Friend" (1981). This was the pilot episode for a show called K-9 and Company, but only this one episode was made. In this story, K9 is given to the Doctor's old companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Together, they went on many adventures. Only the first one was shown on TV. Others were shown in comic books and audio plays.
Mark III also made a brief appearance with Sarah Jane in the Doctor Who 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors (1983). He then appeared properly for the last time in the revived series' episode "School Reunion" in 2006. By this time, Mark III was old and broken. He bravely sacrificed himself to stop an alien plot and defeat their leader. At the end of the episode, the Doctor gave Sarah Jane a new K9. The Doctor "rebuilt" him, meaning he had the same mind and memories as the old one, but was a brand new model.
K9 Mark IV: The Latest Model
After appearing in the last scene of "School Reunion" (2006), K9 Mark IV returned in The Sarah Jane Adventures. At first, K9 was busy sealing a black hole and could only talk to Sarah Jane for short times. He made a heroic appearance in the first season finale The Lost Boy. He fought against a rogue alien supercomputer, showing off new CGI teleportation and hovering abilities. K9 Mark IV even has a USB port!
Later, K9 Mark IV appeared briefly in the Doctor Who series four finale "Journey's End" (2008). Here, K9 helped the Doctor return Earth to its proper place. K9 then became a regular character in The Sarah Jane Adventures from the third season story The Mad Woman in the Attic (2009). He stayed until the fourth season premiere The Nightmare Man (2010). In this episode, he went with Sarah Jane's adopted son, Luke Smith, to university. He appeared again in the series four finale, Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith.
Other Adventures of K9
K9 in Books
K9's co-creator, Dave Martin, wrote four children's books called The Adventures of K9 in 1980. In these stories, K9 travels on his own.
In 1985, a series of gamebooks featuring the Sixth Doctor were published. Dave Martin wrote one called Search for the Doctor. This story takes place in the mid-21st century and features Sarah Jane's K9 (likely Mark IV) meeting the Sixth Doctor long after Sarah's death.
A short story called "Tautology" suggests that K9 Mark III's main computer board will be passed down through Sarah's family. It eventually ends up with Professor Marius, who uses it to build the first K9. This creates a cool time paradox!
K9 on the Big Screen
In 2015, Bob Baker and Paul Tams announced a movie called K9: TimeQuake. It was planned for 2017 and would feature the robot dog fighting against the classic Doctor Who villain Omega. However, the movie hasn't been released yet. In 2018, it was confirmed that TimeQuake was still being planned. There were also ideas for a TV show to introduce K9 to new audiences before the movie.
K9 in Audio Stories
In spin-off audio stories, K9 Mark II remained Romana's loyal companion for many years. In the early 2000s, John Leeson and Lalla Ward (who played Romana) starred in a series of audio plays. These stories detailed K9 and "The Mistress's" adventures in a parallel universe.
When Romana returned to her own universe, she brought K9 Mark II with her. She eventually became the Lady President of Gallifrey. Both K9 Mark I and Mark II appear, voiced by John Leeson, in the Big Finish Productions audio adventures Zagreus and the Gallifrey audio series. Leela's K9 (Mark I) was destroyed in the second Gallifrey series, so only Mark II appears in the third series.
John Leeson also voiced K9 in the Big Finish Productions series of Fourth Doctor Adventures. Mark II appeared with Mary Tamm (Romana I) and Lalla Ward (Romana II). Mark I appeared with Louise Jameson (Leela).
K9 Online and in Games
In 2003, a webcast version of the unfinished Shada story was made for the BBC's Doctor Who website. It featured the Eighth Doctor, Romana II, and K9 Mark II.
According to The Sarah Jane Adventures website in 2007, the Doctor hid several gifts for Sarah inside K9. These included a "sonic lipstick" and a watch that could find alien life.
K9 appears in the Lego Dimensions video game as part of the Doctor Who Level Pack. Old recordings of John Leeson's voice were used in the game.
How K9 Was Made
K9 was the idea of writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin. They needed a character who could talk and explain things while tiny versions of the Doctor and Leela were inside the Doctor's body in The Invisible Enemy. Dave Martin's own dog had recently been hit by a car, so K9 was a special tribute to his pet.
K9 wasn't supposed to be a regular character. But producer Graham Williams really liked the idea. He decided to keep K9 on the show because he thought younger viewers would love him. The first name for the character was "FIDO," but it was changed to K9.
The original idea for K9 was to have a small actor inside a robot Dobermann costume. But this was rejected. Instead, they used a radio-controlled prop. Tony Harding designed it, and the BBC Visual Effects Department built it. The robot often had technical problems. The radio controls sometimes interfered with the cameras, and vice versa. When filming outside, K9 also had trouble moving on bumpy ground. They had to find ways around this, like pulling him with a hidden string or laying down wooden planks for him to roll on.
K9's inside parts were redesigned twice. The wheels were made bigger and given their own power for better movement. The radio controls were also changed to avoid interference. However, by the time the improved model appeared, the decision had already been made to write K9 out of the series.
K9 was so popular that they tried to give him his own show. There were also talking K9 toys made by Palitoy, with John Leeson's voice. John Leeson voiced K9 in all his appearances, except for one season when David Brierley took over.
When K9 returned to Doctor Who in 2006, the practical challenges of the prop were still there. Producer Russell T Davies said that they needed many takes because K9 would bump into doors or go off course. In 2009, two different K9s appeared regularly in two Doctor Who spin-offs: Mark IV in The Sarah Jane Adventures and a new Mark I in the K9 show.
K9 (2010 Spin-off Series)
Rumors about a K9 TV series had been around since the late 1990s. In 2006, it was confirmed that K9 would star in a 26-episode children's series called K9, written by Bob Baker. The show would mix live-action with a CGI (computer-generated) K9.
Each episode is 30 minutes long. The BBC decided not to be involved so they could focus on their own Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. This means that characters owned by the BBC do not appear in the K9 series.
On April 3, 2010, the K9 TV series started broadcasting in Australia. John Leeson is the voice of K9. The first episode, "Regeneration," featured the earlier Mark I version of K9. The "older" K9 appears in London in the future during an alien attack. K9 sacrifices himself to save humans, but one part survives. This allows him to rebuild himself into the new K9. The main human actors include Robert Moloney as Professor Gryffen, Keegan Joyce as Starkey (K9's new "master"), and Daniel Webber as Darius.
K9's Impact on Culture
K9 has appeared in other shows and games. In 1990, an unspecified K9 unit appeared with the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace in a children's science show. Another K9 appeared in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time.
In the 1998 computer game Fallout 2, there's a damaged robot dog named K9 who talks like the Doctor Who character. If you fix him, he can join your team. In the 1999 TV series Queer as Folk, a K9 model is given as a birthday present.
K9 appeared on a special Doctor Who-themed episode of The Weakest Link in 2007. He was voted off first, even though he answered his question correctly! This was because the producers told the contestants to vote him off, just in case he broke down.
Engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center have named two smart robots designed to explore Mars "K-9" and "Gromit". NASA's K-9 is named after both Doctor Who's K-9 and Marvin the Martian's pet dog, K-9.
Many people have built their own K9 robots. Some are radio-controlled, like the one on the show, while others are more advanced.
On the BBC Glow site, if you type the Konami Code, a picture of K9 will appear. This photo was taken during his appearance on the BBC children's show Blue Peter.
K-9 Mail is a popular email app for Android phones. Its name and logo are a direct reference to the K9 robot.
In 2020, the New York Times newspaper used three different colored K9s circling a ballot box as an animated picture for their coverage of the 2020 US Presidential Election.
Images for kids
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K9 Mark III as he appeared in the 2006 series, showing wear and tear.
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K9 hovering in the MIPTV trailer for the new series
simple:Doctor Who companions#K-9
See also
In Spanish: K-9 (personaje de Doctor Who) para niños
