K9 (Doctor Who)
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K9, occasionally written K-9, is the name of several fictional
robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
ic canines (
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
s, the name being a pun on the pronunciation of "canine") in the long-running British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', first appearing in 1977. K9 has also been a central character in three of the series' television spin-offs: the one-off '' K-9 and Company'' (1981), '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2007–2011) and '' K9'' (2009–2010). Although not originally intended to be a recurring character in the series, K9 was kept in the show following his first appearance because he was expected to be popular with younger audiences. There have been at least four separate K9 units in the series, with the first two being companions of the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
. Voice actor John Leeson has provided the character's voice in most of his appearances, except during season 17 of ''Doctor Who'', in which David Brierley temporarily did so. The character was created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, to whom rights to the character still belong; consequently, Baker's spin-off series '' K9'', which is not
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
-produced, could not directly reference events or characters from ''Doctor Who'', though it attempted to be a part of that continuity. Within the series' narrative, K9 is a robot dog acquired by ''Doctor Who'''s title character (the Doctor) in the 1977 serial '' The Invisible Enemy''. The first two incarnations of the character travelled alongside the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
(portrayed by
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
) until 1981. In these stories, K9 proved useful for the powerful laser weapon concealed in his nose, his encyclopaedic knowledge and his vast computer intelligence. By 1981, each of the two models of K9 which travelled alongside the Doctor had been left with one of the Doctor's female companions. The character subsequently transitioned into spin-off territory. Producers hoped K9's popularity with children would launch the series ''K-9 and Company'', led by actress Elisabeth Sladen in the role of companion Sarah Jane Smith alongside a new K9. In 2006, K9 reappeared in the revived series of ''Doctor Who''. Although the character's appearances in the 2007 spin-off ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' were hampered by the concurrent development of the ''K9'' spin-off, the character began to appear full-time in both ''K9'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', depicting adventures of the original K9 Mark I and of Mark IV, respectively.


Televised appearances


K9 Mark I

K9, retroactively "K9 Mark I" (Leeson), initially appeared in ''The Invisible Enemy'' (1977) as the creation of Professor Marius (
Frederick Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (29 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany; his family moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to p ...
) in the year 5000. K9 subsequently travelled with the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
(
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
) and Leela (
Louise Jameson Louise Marion Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela (Doctor Who), Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The O ...
) as a companion of the Doctor in his adventures in time and space until ''
The Invasion of Time ''The Invasion of Time'' is the sixth and final serial of the Doctor Who (season 15), 15th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 4 February to 11 ...
'' (1978). In this serial, K9 decides to remain on the Doctor's home planet of
Gallifrey The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their non-linear perception of t ...
with Leela. Immediately afterwards, ''Doctor Who'' would introduce a second incarnation of K9, played by the same prop; the last scene of ''The Invasion of Time'' shows the Doctor unpacking a box labelled "K9 Mk II". Although the first incarnation of K9 does not appear again in televised ''Doctor Who'' media, he is the star of the 2009 ''K9'' television series, in which he undergoes a sort of "regeneration" process from which a new, more sophisticated and futuristic K9 emerges; in the first series of ''K9'', the character is transported to London c. 2050 by Professor Gryffen ( Robert Moloney). Though on regeneration the character loses his memory of his adventures with the Doctor, he assists Gryffen and several teenage companions against a
dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...
regime of "The Department". The upgraded K9 has new specifications, sporting a sophisticated
head-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a ...
, the ability to fly, and more powerful laser weapons.


K9 Mark II

Introduced into the plot in ''The Invasion of Time'', K9 Mark II first actually appears on-screen in '' The Ribos Operation'' (1978). More mobile than his predecessor, Mark II exhibited the ability to sense and warn others of danger. He travels as a companion alongside the Doctor and Romana. Around the time of Romana's regeneration (the transition from actress Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward), the K9 character was explained as suffering from "
laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under 2 weeks. Causes Laryngitis is cat ...
" to accommodate Leeson's departure from the series at the start of the 1979–80 season; for this time, he was portrayed by David Brierley, until Leeson's return for the 1980–81 season. When the Doctor and Romana travel to the parallel universe of E-Space, K9 is severely damaged, in '' Warriors' Gate'' (1981). The damage was such that K9 could only function in E-Space; when Romana decided to stay and forge her own path, the Doctor gave K9 to her. The character makes subsequent appearances in remakes of the unfinished serial '' Shada'', alongside the
Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door p ...
(
Paul McGann Paul John McGann ( ; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...
); the 2003 ''Shada''
audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
and
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...
depict K9 Mark II as having returned to Gallifrey with Romana, now Lady President of the Time Lords, where the Doctor visits them.


K9 Mark III

K9 Mark III first appeared in "A Girl's Best Friend", the 1981 pilot for a series, '' K-9 and Company'', which never materialized beyond the first episode. In this, the character is presented to the Doctor's former companion Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen); together, the two embark on a number of adventures. Only the first of these is depicted on-screen; several are shown in comic book and audio play adaptations, and others are alluded to by the television series. Mark III made a brief appearance alongside Sarah Jane in the ''Doctor Who'' 20th anniversary ninety-minute special " The Five Doctors" (1983), before appearing properly and for the final time in the revived series' episode " School Reunion" in 2006. By the time of that story, Mark III has fallen into disrepair and eventually sacrifices himself to stop a plot by the alien Krillitane and defeat their leader, Lucas Finch (
Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...
). In the episode's conclusion, the Doctor presents Sarah Jane with a new K9 to encourage her to continue investigating alien activity; the Doctor "rebuilt" him after the Mark III's sacrifice, implying that he had the same mind and memories as his predecessor while still being a "brand new model".


K9 Mark IV

After debuting in the final scene of "School Reunion" (2006), K9 Mark IV returned in spin-off series '' The Sarah Jane Adventures''' premiere episode " Invasion of the Bane", where due to licensing issues with creator Bob Baker it is explained that K9 is sealing a black hole and can only communicate briefly and infrequently with Sarah Jane. The character makes a heroic appearance in the first series finale '' The Lost Boy'', to do battle with rogue alien supercomputer Mr Smith (
Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
), demonstrating new CGI
teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...
and hovering features. K9 Mark IV's interfaces include at least one
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...
port. Subsequently, the character appears briefly in the ''Doctor Who'' series four finale " Journey's End" (2008), wherein K9 and Mr Smith assist the Doctor in returning Earth to its proper position. K9 next appears in the comedic Red Nose Day 2009 ''Sarah Jane'' mini-episode " From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love". A deal with the creators of ''K9'' having been struck, K9 Mark IV became a regular character in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' in third series story, '' The Mad Woman in the Attic'' (2009), until the series four premiere '' The Nightmare Man'' (2010), where he accompanies departing series regular, Sarah Jane's adoptive son Luke Smith ( Tommy Knight), to university. He appears again in series four finale, '' Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith''. Though he doesn't appear in the serial, it is mentioned in ''
The Man Who Never Was ''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is b ...
'' (2011) that Luke invented a special dog whistle to summon him with.


Other appearances


Literature

K9's co-creator Dave Martin wrote a series of four children's books entitled ''The Adventures of K9'', published by Sparrow Books in 1980. K9 is travelling on his own in these stories for reasons not explained. In 1985, a series of
gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...
s featuring the
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
were published by Severn House under the title '' Make your own adventure with Doctor Who'' in Britain and ''Find Your Fate – Doctor Who'' in the United States. These books were actually written by scriptwriters for the television series. Martin wrote '' Search for the Doctor'' which takes place in the mid-21st century and features Sarah's K9 (at time of publication assumed to be Mark III, but clearly Mark IV in the light of ''School Reunion'') being reunited with the
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
long after Sarah's death. A short story, "Moving On", in
Virgin Publishing Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...
's '' Decalog 3: Consequences'' anthology and the Big Finish Productions-produced ''Sarah Jane Smith'' audio play ''Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre'' (both written by Peter Anghelides) indicate that K9 Mark III broke down and Sarah was unable to repair it as the replacement circuits would not be invented for several centuries. Another short story, "Tautology", by Glenn Langford (''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
'' #194), suggests that K9 Mark III's
motherboard A motherboard, also called a mainboard, a system board, a logic board, and informally a mobo (see #Nomenclature, "Nomenclature" section), is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It ho ...
will be passed down through Sarah's descendants and eventually end up in the hands of Professor Marius, who will use it to build the first K9, creating an
ontological paradox A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox, is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time travel or other foreknowledge of the future. While the notion of time travel to the future ...
. The
Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British Science fiction on television, science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from th ...
seventh Doctor novel ''
Lungbarrow ''Lungbarrow'' is an original novel written by Marc Platt and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Published in Virgin Books' '' New Adventures'' range, it was the last of that range to feature the ...
'' (written by former Doctor TV series writer Marc Platt) featured K9s Marks I and II meeting for the first time on Gallifrey during the events surrounding the disappearance of the Doctor's entire family house and his living relatives, which also featured many previous established Gallifreyan based characters. The two collaborated towards rescuing the Doctor, then current companion Chris Cwej and the Doctor's lost family. This novel also served as the direct lead-in story to the 1996 ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' telemovie. ''Jealous, Possessive'' by Paul Magrs, the "Scorpio" story in Big Finish's anthology '' Short Trips: Zodiac'' features K9 Mark I and Mark II relaying their exploits to each other, and their veiled put-downs to each other reveal that each considers the other to be the "inferior" version. This attitude is also occasionally hinted at in the way the two units refer to each other in the ''Gallifrey'' audio series. The
Eighth Doctor Adventures The ''Eighth Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes abbreviated as EDA or referred to as the EDAs) are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books impri ...
novel '' Interference: Book Two'' by
Lawrence Miles Lawrence Miles (born 15 March 1972 in Middlesex) is a science fiction author known for his work on original ''Doctor Who'' novels (for both the Virgin New Adventures and BBC Books series) and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox. He is also ...
indicates that the Doctor built a Mark IV model sometime prior to the events of that book, but what happened to this unit is not stated. In the novel '' The Gallifrey Chronicles'' by Lance Parkin, K9 Mark II makes another appearance, having been trapped within the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
since the events of '' The Ancestor Cell''. At the end of ''The Gallifrey Chronicles'' the Doctor sends K9 on a secret mission to Espero, presumably to seek out his former companion, the living TARDIS known as
Compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...
.


Movie

On 24 October 2015, Bob Baker and Paul Tams announced the film ''K9: TimeQuake'' which is destined for cinemas in 2017 and is to feature the robot dog facing off against classic
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
villain
Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...
in deep space. However, this did not happen leaving it unknown when the movie will be released. In 2018 it was confirmed TimeQuake was confirmed to still be in pre-production, with plans for a prequel TV show to establish K9 for modern audiences before the movie. As of May 2024, no further updates have been made.


Audio plays

In the spin-off media, K9 Mark II remained Romana's faithful companion for many years. In the early 2000s, John Leeson and Lalla Ward featured in a series of audio plays produced by BBV as K9 and "The Mistress", detailing these characters' adventures in a parallel universe. As neither Romana nor E-Space could be licensed, the aliases of the Mistress and the "pocket universe" were used instead. When Romana eventually returned to her own universe, she brought K9 Mark II with her (presumably having repaired it) and eventually became Lady President of Gallifrey. K9 Mark II is first seen on Gallifrey in the
Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British Science fiction on television, science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from th ...
novel ''
Lungbarrow ''Lungbarrow'' is an original novel written by Marc Platt and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Published in Virgin Books' '' New Adventures'' range, it was the last of that range to feature the ...
'' by Marc Platt, alongside K9 Mark I, which had remained with Leela. Both K9 Mark I and Mark II appear, voiced by Leeson, in the Big Finish Productions
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...
adventure ''
Zagreus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Zagreus () was a god sometimes identified with an Orphic Dionysus who was dismembered by the Titans and reborn. In the earliest mention of Zagreus, he is paired with Gaia and called the "highest" god, th ...
'' and the ''Gallifrey'' audio series. Leela's K9 (Mark I) was destroyed at the conclusion of the second ''Gallifrey'' series and only Mark II appears in the third series. K9, played again by John Leeson, also featured in the
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
series of Fourth Doctor Adventures – Mark II in Series 2 alongside Mary Tamm ( Romana I), Mark I in Series 4 alongside
Louise Jameson Louise Marion Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela (Doctor Who), Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The O ...
( Leela) and Mark II in Series 5 alongside Lalla Ward (
Romana II Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar (), is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, she is a companion (Doctor ...
)


Online media

In 2003, a
webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...
adaptation of the never-completed '' Shada'' serial was produced for the BBC's Doctor Who website, rewritten as an Eighth Doctor adventure and featuring the post-E-Space versions of Romana II and K9 Mk II. According to the official website for ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' in 2007, the Doctor stored several presents for Sarah inside K9, including a " sonic lipstick" and a watch that scans for alien life.


Video games

K9 appears in the '' Lego Dimensions'' video game. He is part of the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' Level Pack as a rideable vehicle. Archive recordings of John Leeson's performance was used in-game as he was unavailable.


Conceptual history

K9 was the brainchild of writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin. Its purpose was to have a character that could narrate while the miniaturised clones of the Doctor and Leela were inside the Doctor's body during the events of ''The Invisible Enemy''. Martin's own dog had also been recently run over by a car, and K9 was a car-proof tribute to it. K9 was not originally intended to be a companion, but producer Graham Williams liked the concept so much that the decision was made to retain him as a regular character, in order to appeal to the younger members of the audience. The original name for the character was "FIDO" – apparently from "Phenomenal Indication Data Observation" unit – but it was eventually named K9. The initial idea for realising K9 was to use a small actor inside a robotic
Dobermann The Dobermann is a German list of dog breeds, breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, Louis Dobermann, a tax collector.radio-controlled Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely operate a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small h ...
prop, designed by Tony Harding and made by the BBC Visual Effects Department. The Radio Control Model Centre in Harlington Middx owned by Derek Wales was commissioned to build the electronics into the first original basic shell and consequently the centre operated the dog on set for the BBC. The robot suffered from numerous technical problems during its time in the series, often malfunctioning because the radio controls interfered with the cameras and vice versa. On location, K9 also proved unable to traverse uneven terrain, and shots had to be conceived with this in mind. Workarounds included using a concealed piece of twine to pull the character along (this string can be clearly seen in a shot of K9 on Brighton Beach), or laying wooden planks on which it could roll. K9's innards were redesigned twice more over the course of the series, firstly in collaboration with a company called Slough Radio Control. It allowed one of its employees, Nigel Brackley, to be seconded to the series semi-permanently to supervise the prop. Brackley, who went on to a career in the movie industry, controlled K9 for many of its studio appearances. Eventually, there came a point where the dog's inherent liabilities were outweighing his assets, and the internal mechanisms were completely rebuilt by designer Charlie Lumm. The wheels were enlarged and given independent drives for power and better manoeuvrability, and the radio controls were switched from AM to FM signals to resist interference. However, by the time the improved model made his debut in '' State of Decay'', the first story recorded for Season 18, the decision had already been made to write the character out of the series in the adventure '' Warriors' Gate''. K9 was a popular enough character to warrant an attempt to spin him off into his own series. In addition to K9 dolls, there were also talking K9 toys produced by
Palitoy Palitoy was a British toy company. It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence. Its products included Action Man, Action Girl, Action Force, Tiny Tears, Pippa (doll), Pippa, Tressy, Mainli ...
, the speech provided by a miniature record inside the body of the toy. John Leeson provided the voice for K9 in all its appearances, except for Season 17 (which included the unfinished '' Shada'') when it was voiced by David Brierley. When ''Shada'' was remade by
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
, Leeson provided its voice. The practical challenges of working with the K9 prop continued on his return to ''Doctor Who'' in 2006. Producer
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
told '' SFX'' magazine, "Yes, just as we expected, multiple takes when he bumped into a door or veered off to the left. Lis Sladen did warn us, and she was right!" Two different incarnations of K9 appeared regularly in ''Doctor Who'' spin-offs from 2009: Mark IV in the third series of BBC production ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', and a re-vamped Mark I in the
Jetix Europe Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across Europe and Asia, such as Jetix and Jetix Play. History Fox Kids Eu ...
production ''K9''.


''K9'' (2010 spin-off series)

A proposed K9 television series or special had been rumoured since the late 1990s, and images of a redesigned K9 were leaked. However, nothing came of this effort until 2006. On 24 April 2006, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', the '' Daily Star'' and ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' confirmed, following previous rumours, that K9 would be featured in a 26-part children's series, ''K9'', to be written by Bob Baker. The article in ''The Times'' also featured a picture of the redesigned K9 for the animated series. The series will be a blend of live-action and a CGI K9. Each episode was 30 minutes long, made by
Jetix Europe Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across Europe and Asia, such as Jetix and Jetix Play. History Fox Kids Eu ...
and London-based distribution outfit Park Entertainment. According to a report in ''Broadcast'' magazine, the BBC opted out of involvement in order to focus on their own ''Doctor Who'' spin-off, ''
Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...
'', meaning that BBC-owned characters did not appear in the series. On 3 April 2010, the TV series K9 began broadcasting on the Australian Television Network Ten as part of a Saturday morning line-up of children's shows. John Leeson was the voice of K9. The first episode, called "Regeneration", featured the earlier Mark I version of K9. The "older" K9 materialized in London in the future and in the midst of an incident where an alien species is threatening human lives. K9 sacrificed himself in order to save the humans, but one component survived that enabled his self-regeneration into the new unit. The main human cast members include Robert Moloney as Professor Gryffen, Keegan Joyce as Starkey (K9's new "master"), and Daniel Webber as Darius. The first 14 episodes of ''K9'' season 1 were broadcast mid-morning on Channel 5 in December 2010 with the remaining episodes scheduled for January 2011. Trailers for the series appeared on Channel 5 from early December voiced by John Leeson. Originally, it had been planned to split the series in two-halves between the Christmas 2010 and Easter 2011 school holiday schedules.


Cultural influence

In 1990, an unspecified K9 unit appeared with
Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long ...
as the
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...
and
Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...
as
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
in an episode of the children's education programme '' Search Out Science'' entitled ''Search Out Space'', which was included as an extra on the release of the Doctor Who story ''Survival'' by the BBC. Another unspecified K9 unit also appeared in the 1993 charity special ''
Dimensions in Time ''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and the soap opera ''EastEnders.'' The special was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on lo ...
''. In the 1998 computer game ''
Fallout 2 ''Fallout 2'' (also known as ''Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game'') is a 1998 role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Productions. It is a sequel to ''Fallout (video game), Fallout'' (1997), ...
'', the Navarro base has a damaged robot dog known as K9, which uses similar speech mannerisms to the Infobox Doctor Who character. If repaired, the cyberdog is willing to join the character's party as a companion. In the 1999 television series '' Queer as Folk'' (written by future ''Doctor Who'' executive producer
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
), a K9 model is given to the character Vince as a birthday present. The prop used was an original, operated – as occasionally in ''Doctor Who'' – by visual effects assistant Mat Irvine. In the second series of ''
I'm Alan Partridge ''I'm Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster. The first series, broadcast in 1997, has Partridge living in a roadside h ...
'' (2002), the character of
Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is an English comedy character portrayed by Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, he has ap ...
recalls how his purchase of the rights to K9 contributed to his mental breakdown and driving to
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
in his bare feet while gorging on
Toblerone Toblerone ( , ) is a Swiss chocolate brand owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods Inc, Kraft Foods). Until 2022, it was produced exclusively in Bern, Switzerland, when a smaller, limited part of the portfolio began production i ...
. In the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' episode " Go God Go XII" (2006),
Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, ...
, being trapped in the year 2546, has acquired a robot dog called "K-10", a parody of K9. Due to timeline alterations, he is replaced by robot cat "Kit-9" and later robot bird, "Cocka-3". K9 appeared on a special ''Doctor Who''-themed edition of ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...
'' in 2007, but was voted out unanimously at the end of the first round, despite answering his question correctly. This was due to the fact every single player of the team answered correctly and banked the £5,000 target, and that the producers told the contestants to vote him off, just in case he broke down.
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...
(whom K9 addressed as "Mistress") said "I'm so sorry" before declaring him the weakest link. In the final area of the game '' Secret of Evermore'', the main character's dog appears similar to K9 and can fire lasers from its mouth. Engineers at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's
Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...
have dubbed two intelligent mobile robots designed to explore the surface of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
"K-9" and " Gromit". NASA's K-9 is named after both ''Doctor Whos K-9 and
Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a Roman soldier's helmet and skirt. The character has be ...
's pet dog, K-9. Several individuals have built their own personal K9 robots, ranging from radio controlled units like that used on the show to several levels of computerised autonomy. K-9 Mail is a popular e-mail client for the Android operating system, with the name and the logo being a direct reference to the K9 robot. On November 3, 2020, American newspaper the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
used three different coloured K9s circling a ballot box as an animated graphic logo for their coverage of the social media and the 2020 US Presidential Election


See also

* List of Doctor Who robots, List of ''Doctor Who'' robots


References


External links


K9 on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website ("New Series")

K9 on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website ("Classic Series")

K9 being introduced on ''Blue Peter'' in 1977


* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/games/k9/index.shtml A K9 game, on the BBC's official ''Doctor Who'' website {{navboxes, list1= {{K9 stories {{The Sarah Jane Adventures {{Robotic dogs Groups of fictional characters Television characters introduced in 1977 Doctor Who companions Fictional robotic dogs The Sarah Jane Adventures characters Television episodes about robots Fiction set in the 6th millennium Male characters in television simple:Doctor Who companions#K-9