K-9

K-9
Logo from the title sequence
Format	Science Fiction Comedy
Created by	Bob Baker Paul Tams[1]
Theme music composer	Christopher Elves[2]
Country of origin	Australia  United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	Grant Bradley Jim Howell
Producer(s)	Penny Wall Richard Stewart Simon Barnes
Running time	30 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	Network Ten (Australia) Disney XD (UK & Ireland)
Picture format	HDTV
Original airing	31 October 2009[3]
Chronology
Related shows	Doctor Who K-9 and Company The Sarah Jane Adventures

K-9 is a British/Australian 26-part comedy/adventure series focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K-9 from the television show Doctor Who, achieved by mixing computer animation and live action.^[4] The first episode aired on 31 October 2009 on Disney XD in the UK and Ireland. The full series is due for broadcast beginning in early 2010 on Network Ten in Australia and on Disney XD in the UK and Ireland.^[5]

Production and development

Each episode of K-9 is 30 minutes long, made for Disney XD (formerly Jetix) and Network Ten by Stewart & Wall Entertainment, in association with London-based distribution outfit Park Entertainment.^[6] The project is being overseen by K-9's co-creator Bob Baker.^[7][8] The television series concept was developed by Australian writers Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong, in association with Baker and Paul Tams.^[2] Baker, Krause and Armstrong are the primary writers for the series; four episodes were written by Queensland writer Jim Noble.^[2][9][10] The series is produced by Penny Wall and Richard Stewart of Stewart & Wall Entertainment Pty Ltd, and Simon Barnes of Park Entertainment.^[9] Grant Bradley of Daybreak Pacific and Jim Howell serve as executive producers.^[6]

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 K-9 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."^[11] BBC-owned characters like the Doctor will not appear in the series, due to rights considerations.^[12] A broadcast date for the series has not been officially announced, but it is expected to air in early 2010.^[13]

In July 2007 it was confirmed that the Australian Film Finance Corporation had approved funding for the series, and that the programme had been pre-sold to Network Ten.^[9] The Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) (subsequently renamed Screen Queensland) also provided additional financing.^[2]

Despite earlier reports that filming would begin in 2008 or earlier in 2009, the first series was shot between 3 December 2008 and 8 May 2009.^[13][14][15]

The title of the project has changed over the years. Newspaper reports and Jetix press releases in 2006 and 2007 referred to the series as K9 Adventures.^{[4][7][8][12]} However, reports from the Australian Film Finance Corporation and PFTC in 2007 and 2008 referred to the series simply as K9.^[9][2][14] Limelight International Media Entertainment has referred to the project as The K9 Missions.^[15] Series co-creator Paul Tams has confirmed that the title is simply K-9.^[1]

The series is produced in Brisbane, Australia, shooting on location around the city and on a set built in a South Brisbane warehouse.^[5][2]

A logo for the series was released on February 27, bearing some similarities to the original font seen on the casing of K-9.^[16]

A trailer produced to promote the series at MIPTV was released on 2 April 2009. As it was made early on in production, the music, titles, and voice of K-9 were not the final ones used in the programme.^[17] A second trailer was released on 1 October 2009.^[18]

Concept

Promotional Poster from early development

According to pre-production plans by Park Entertainment, the programme would (prior to re-tooling) be set in outer space, and Jetix was planning a range of interactive toys to accompany the series. A promotional blurb on Park Entertainment's website said that the main setting would be the Platte, "an old Prairie-class spacecraft" once used for asteroid colonization. In addition to K-9, the characters would include Slocum, a thirty something "space gypsy" and Djinn, "an overactive computer module in the shape of an attractive young woman".^[19]

After production started, the Park Entertainment website was updated to say that the series was 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 an "artful dodger" 15-year-old Darius who runs errands for Gryffen. K-9 Mark I follows the villainous reptilian warrior Jixen who come through a space-time portal created by the professor's experiments and saves the Londoners. While protecting them, K-9 is forced to self-destruct, but is able to give Starkey instructions to rebuild and regenerate himself into a more advanced form. K-9 and the humans then form the front line defence against alien menaces from outer space and other times.^[20] 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".^[5]

The design of K-9 is noticeably different from that seen in Doctor Who because although Bob Baker owns the character rights to K-9, the original character design is owned by the BBC.

Episodes

K-9 hovering as seen in the MIPTV trailer

26 episodes have been commissioned. The first episode, titled "Regeneration", was broadcast on UK channel Disney XD on 31 October 2009, intended as a prelude to the series broadcast in early 2010.

Casting

John Leeson reprises his role as the voice of K9.^[23] Brisbane native Philippa Coulthard plays Jorjie, a rebellious 14-year-old whose mother works for the mysterious "Department".^[5] 19-year-old Keegan Joyce plays Starkey, a 14-year-old orphan rebel; and 20-year-old Daniel Webber plays Darius, an assistant to Professor Gryffen, who is played by Canadian character actor Robert Moloney.^[13]

The guest cast includes Remi Broadway, who has been cast as Robin Hood in episode 4.^[24]

Broadcast

Country / Region	Network(s)	Premiere
United Kingdom	Disney XD (UK & Ireland)	31 October 2009
Australia	Network Ten	Early 2010

Connections to the Doctor Who universe

As this is not a BBC production, direct references to Doctor Who are not possible for rights reasons. However, Baker and Tams have confirmed that this K-9 is the original K-9 Mark I, who appeared in Doctor Who from The Invisible Enemy (1977) to The Invasion of Time (1978).^[13] 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.^[13]

References

External links

• K-9 at the Internet Movie Database
• MIPTV trailer