K9 (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	Philippa Coulthard Keegan Joyce Daniel Webber Robert Moloney
Voices of	John Leeson
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

K9 is an exciting science-fiction adventure TV show. It stars the famous robot dog named K9 from the classic series Doctor Who. The show mixes real actors with amazing computer animation.

It was made for young people aged 11 to 15. Only one series of the show was created. It was filmed in Brisbane, Australia. Both Australia and the United Kingdom helped pay for it. The show first aired in 2009 and 2010. You could watch it on Network Ten in Australia. In the UK, it was shown on Disney XD and later on Channel 5. Other Disney XD channels in Europe also broadcast it.

How the Show Was Made

Early Ideas for K9's Own Show

Bob Baker, who helped create K9, always wanted a TV show just for the robot dog. Back in 1997, a magazine called Doctor Who Magazine announced his plans. Baker and producer Paul Tams were working on a four-part pilot. It was called The Adventures of K9 at the time. They hoped to film it with a big budget. The BBC even seemed interested in showing it.

However, it was hard to get enough money. So, the show stayed in "development hell" for many years. This means it was planned but kept getting delayed.

An early poster for the show, when it was called K9 Adventures

New Plans and Changes

In 2006, a company called Jetix Europe joined forces with Baker and Tams. They planned a 26-episode series. It was then called K9 Adventures and was going to be set in space. This news came out when K9 returned to Doctor Who. That episode was called "School Reunion".

By 2007, the show was renamed K-9. The main setting was changed to a spacecraft called the Platte. It was an old ship used for space travel. Early ideas for characters included Slocum, a "space gypsy," and Djinn, a smart computer. But these ideas were changed before filming began in Australia.

Making the Series

Each episode of K-9 is about 25 minutes long. Stewart & Wall Entertainment made the show for Disney XD and Network Ten. They worked with Park Entertainment, a company in London. Bob Baker was in charge of the project. Australian writers Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong helped develop the show's ideas. They worked with Baker and Paul Tams.

Krause and Armstrong wrote most of the episodes. Another writer from Queensland, Jim Noble, wrote four episodes. Penny Wall and Richard Stewart were the producers. Grant Bradley and Jim Howell were executive producers.

The BBC decided not to be involved in making the K9 series. They said they were already working on other Doctor Who spin-off shows. Because of legal rights, characters like the Doctor from Doctor Who cannot appear in K-9.

Filming and Release

In July 2007, the Australian Film Finance Corporation approved money for the series. Network Ten also bought the rights to show it early. The Pacific Film and Television Commission (now Screen Queensland) also helped with money.

The first series was filmed from December 3, 2008, to May 8, 2009. It was shot in Brisbane, Australia. They filmed in different places around the city. They also built a set in a warehouse in South Brisbane.

A special logo for the series was released in February 2009. It looked a bit like the original K9 font. A short video (trailer) was made to promote the show in April 2009. This trailer was made early, so the music and K9's voice were not the final ones. A second trailer came out in October 2009.

What the Show is About

K-9 takes place in London in the near future. The main characters are 14-year-olds Starkey and Jorjie. They meet Professor Gryffen, who is doing experiments with a Space-Time Manipulator. Darius, who is 15, helps the Professor.

In the first episode, K9 Mark I follows a bad alien called a Jixen. The Jixen comes through a space-time portal. This portal was created by the Professor's experiments. K9 saves the Londoners. To protect them, K9 has to blow himself up. But he tells Starkey how to rebuild him. He comes back as a new, more advanced K9 who can fly!

K9 and his human friends then become the first line of defense. They protect Earth from alien threats from space and other times. The Brisbane Times newspaper said the show is set in London in the year 2050. Professor Gryffen works for a secret government group called "The Department."

The new K9 looks a bit different from the one in Doctor Who. This is because Bob Baker owns the character K9. But the BBC owns the original design of K9.

Links to Doctor Who

This show was not made by the BBC. So, it cannot directly mention Doctor Who because of legal rights. However, Bob Baker and Paul Tams have said that this K9 is the original K9 Mark I. This K9 first appeared in Doctor Who in 1977. He 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, improved form that can fly. He explains that most of his memory was lost. So, he cannot remember his past.

The show started in Australia on April 3, 2010. This was the same day Doctor Whos "The Eleventh Hour" aired. That episode introduced Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Some people thought this timing was a way to use Doctor Whos popularity to help the new K9 show.

Episodes

Meet the Cast

Main Characters

• John Leeson is the voice of K9.
• Philippa Coulthard, who was 16, plays Jorjie Turner. Jorjie is a rebellious 15-year-old whose mom works for the secret "Department."
• Keegan Joyce, who was 20, plays Starkey. Starkey is a 14-year-old orphan who likes to rebel.
• Daniel Webber, who was 21, plays Darius Pike. Darius is an assistant to Professor Gryffen.
• Robert Moloney, a Canadian actor, plays Professor Gryffen.

Other Important Characters

• Robyn Moore plays Jorjie's mother, June Turner.
• Connor Van Vuuren played Inspector Drake.
• Jared Robinsen later replaced him as Inspector Thorne.

Where and When K9 Aired

The first episode of K9 was shown as a special preview. It aired on Halloween 2009 on Disney XD in the UK and Ireland.

The full series later aired on Network Ten in Australia. It was also shown on Disney XD in the UK & Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, Italy, and the Netherlands. Disney Channel CEE broadcast it in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Later, the show was shown 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 airing the series on December 25, 2012. They showed the entire first season in a marathon that day.

Home Releases

You can buy K9 on DVD and Blu-ray. Here's a list of some releases:

K9 Merchandise

There are also other items related to the K9 show.

• The Complete Book of K-9 is a non-fiction book. It tells the story of K9 through all his different versions. It covers his appearances in Doctor Who, K-9 & Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K-9.
• The K-9 Storybook was planned for release in 2013. It was going to have behind-the-scenes info, short stories, and comic strips.
• You can also find K-9 Mark 2 figurines for sale.
• In 2019, Obverse Books published a guide to Doctor Who spin-offs. This book, by Finn Clark, also covers the K9 TV series.

Awards and Recognition

The K9 series and its creators received some awards.

• In 2009, Shayne Armstrong and SP Krause won an award. They received the John Hinde Award for Science-Fiction. This was 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 SP Krause were finalists for the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards. This was for their script for the episode "Regeneration."
• In 2010, Tony O'Loughlan won two bronze awards. He was the Director of Photography for the show. He won for his work on the episodes Angel of the North and The Eclipse of the Korven.
• David Napier was the VFX Director and directed four episodes. He was nominated for 'Best Direction in Children's Television' in 2010. This was for episode 26, 'Eclipse of the Korven'.

Future Plans for K9

The creators of the show had plans for a second series. A new design for K9 was even going to be shown in 2013. Bob Baker said in 2014 that he and Paul Tams were trying to get another series going.

Paul Tams later mentioned a new series called K9 Adventures. This would be a reboot, meaning a fresh start for the show. However, in April 2016, Bob Baker said 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 K9: TimeQuake. This movie was planned for cinemas in 2017. It was going to feature K9 fighting a classic Doctor Who villain named Omega. The movie didn't happen as planned. But in September 2018, it was announced that a "new multi-million dollar series" was being developed. This was before the movie's release.

In December 2020, an anthology called 'Megabytes' was released. It featured K9 and was hinted to be a step towards TimeQuake. When Bob Baker passed away in November 2021, a statement was released. It said that Bob had finished scripts for a new K9 film and TV series. These projects would continue to honor his work.

See also

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