Line #61 Series/K9


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/k9_dvd_promo_5923.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Who's a good dog?]]
3
4	''K9'' (2009-2010) is a ''Series/DoctorWho'' spin-off based on everyone's favourite robot dog, who fell through spacetime to end up in eccentric Professor Alistair Gryffen's laboratory/mansion in mid-21st-century UsefulNotes/{{London}}. Sacrificing himself to save the humans from something that followed him through the portal, K9 regenerates into an updated design... but with no memory of how he got to Gryffen's lab. He's quickly introduced to Gryffen, a physicist researching space-time manipulation (with an eye towards resurrecting his lost wife and children); Gryffen's petulant assistant, Darius Pike; rebellious middle-class scion Jorjie Turner (pronounced "Georgie"); and teen dissident Starkey, with whom K9 forms a bond.
5
6	26 episodes of the first series have aired, with no sign of a second season.
7
8	Though contemporary to both ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' and ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', this series was not as firmly tied to its parent show due to not being produced by the Creator/{{BBC}}.
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10	----
11	!!''K9'' has examples of:
12	* AlienInvasion: Doesn't happen as much as you may think here.
13	** The Korven are established as having tried and failed to invade Earth in the year 2480.
14	** The Anubians attempt to enslave humanity in the latest of a long line of conquests.
15	** The finale has the Korven using their TimeMachine to attempt an invasion of Earth in the near-future/present day.
16	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Every alien that appears speaks English with two exceptions, though K9 has a translator for those two.
17	** The Medes in #12, "Alien Avatar"
18	** The Aeolians in the next episode, "Aeolian".
19	* AllThereInTheManual: The show's setting of 2050 is never stated on-screen and is only gleamed from publicity material.
20	* BigBrotherIsWatching: ''K9'' is set in a [[{{Dystopia}} dystopic]] future London where [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance]] is ubiquitous and the populace is explicitly told to accept it "for your own good".
21	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The Oroborus and the Centuripede.
22	* {{BFG}}: June uses one in the finale to take out a pair of [=CCPC=]s in "The Eclipse of the Korven".
23	* BirthdayEpisode: "Taphony and the Time Loop" has the celebration of Professor Gryffen's 38th birthday.
24	* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: In "The Custodians", a MisplacedKindergartenTeacher is demanding ten million credits to shut down his mind-control once it proves to have horrific side-effects that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the Department don't like]]:
25	-->'''Inspector Thorne:''' You're blackmailing me?\
26	'''John:''' That's a very non-wonderful word, Inspector. But yes, I am.
27	* BountyHunter: In "The Bounty Hunter", logically enough.
28	* TheBusCameBack: According to WordOfGod, the version of K9 featured in the series was the same version who appeared on ''Series/DoctorWho'' in the 1978 story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", who at the conclusion of that story stayed behind on Gallifrey. The parent series replaced him with K9 Mark II. A Mark III and IV were later introduced but up until this series, Mark I never returned. It also reveals that, somehow, K9 Mark I was rebuilt after ''being blown up'' in the Gallifrey audio series.
29	* CannotSpitItOut: Darius likes Jorjie. Jorjie likes Starkey. Neither manages to tell the object of their affection, though [[spoiler: Jorjie and Starkey almost kiss in the final episode. They're interrupted.]]
30	* ClipShow: In #22, "Mind Snap", K9 manages to get his memory erased, so Starkey and Gryffen have to prompt him to remember their adventures. Oddly, he retrieves files of things that happened a) while he was somewhere else, b) while he was blown up, and c) in someone else's dreams! Discounting brief flashbacks, this is the first time in the history of the ''Doctor Who'' franchise that producers have had to resort to this trope.
31	* ConMan: Darius is a mild example. So far we've seen him buy the wrong parts for Starkey and charge him anyway, find a way out of the city despite being under surveillance, stall two aliens bent on his destruction, and nick - ''pick'' - some food for Gryffen.
32	* ContinuityCameo: In "Liberation", Dauntless Prison has what appears to be an [[Series/DoctorWho Axon and Zephon]] as inmates.
33	* ContinuityNod: In "Curse of Anubis", the Anubians' holy book features illustrations depicting their attacks on the [[Series/DoctorWho Mandrels, Alpha Centauri and the Sea Devils]].
34	* {{Cyberspace}}: Exists, but we haven't seen it extensively used. It ''is'' used as punishment. And it can be fairly mild, or almost impossible to endure. Thorne uses Darius's father to blackmail him, by promising an easier time in the VR prisons. Starkey, who was in and out of facilities growing up, says they 'mess with your head'.
35	%% ZCE * DreamWithinADream: In "Dream-Eaters".
36	* {{Dystopia}}: Future London looks clean and safe, but not very comfortable.
37	* {{Expy}}:
38	** Professor Gryffen is arguably one for the Doctor, both being chatty scientist who provides the most help to the crew. Most likely intentional as the actual Doctor couldn't be used. Interestingly [[Characters/DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor the Seventh Doctor]] was referred to as "Professor" by Ace.
39	** Darius draws some inspiration from both [[Series/{{TheSarahJaneAdventures}} Clyde Langer]] and [[Series/{{Torchwood}} Owen Harper]].
40	** [[spoiler: The Korven are this for the Daleks, being a fearsome alien race intent on destroying humanity and conquering the universe, though they are not as strong as the Daleks.]]
41	* {{Hikikomori}}: Prof. Gryffen, who hasn't been outside in ten years.
42	* HollywoodHacking: Starkey and Jorjie.
43	* HybridMonster: In the finale, Thorne presents Trojan, a supersoldier created from DNA of every species encountered by the Department, with Thorne namedropping the Jixen, Anubians and Meron. This becomes Trojan's downfall when K9 uses the Jixen battle shriek to cause Trojan's Jixen and Meron DNA to fight each other.
44	* IceQueen: June is initially presented as an antagonist--but she loves her daughter, Jorjie, and is trying to protect her. She can still be fairly cold, though.
45	* IdenticalGrandson: In "The Cambridge Spy", Jorjie, Starkey and K9 meet Darius's great-grandfather, William Pike, who looks exactly like him. They also meet Agent Barker who is identical to Thorne, who does not appear in this episode, but Jorjie [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this to Starkey.
46	-->'''Jorjie''': Does he remind you of someone?
47	* InconsistentSpelling: Averted within this series in particular; the tin dog is consistently K9, not K-9.
48	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: After regenerating, K9 doesn't remember the Doctor, nor the majority of the adventures he had with him.
49	* LivingADoubleLife: June Turner, who's always told her daughter Jorjie that she has a boring IT job. She's really head of alien threats at the secretive Department.
50	* MindPrison: A popular punishment for dissidents in this setting, apparently involving solitary confinement in a BlankWhiteVoid.
51	* {{Mooks}}: The [=CCPCs=].
52	* MonsterClown: Darius's nightmare in "Dream-Eaters" is about these.
53	* MyBelovedSmother: June is ''always'' checking up on Jorjie, practically OnceAnEpisode.
54	* MyNaymeIs: One of the main characters is named "Jorjie".
55	* TheNthDoctor: Producer Bob Baker decided to take a leaf out of the parent show's book and had K9, just like his master, sacrifice himself then regenerate into a brand new model. However, he's quick to point out that this is still K9 Mark One, just in a new body.
56	* NotThatKindOfDoctor: As Gryffen points out twice in The Custodians, he's "not a doctor-doctor." Since the issue was a virtual reality helmet that was turning children into aliens, he was able to help anyway.
57	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Filmed in Australia. Set in London. Mostly child actors. The results...vary. Darius tends not to bother, which is odd since we know his family's been in London for at least a hundred years.
58	%%* PoliceBrutality
59	* ProtagonistTitle
60	* ReverseThePolarity: In "The Jaws of Orthrus" and "Black Hunger".
61	* RippleEffectProofMemory: Perhaps due to his extensive travels through time, K9 is the only one of the gang who remembers Taphony after she passes through the STM.
62	%%* SecretPolice: The Department.
63	* ShoutOut: When Professor Gryffen tries to access K9's memory, The first few notes of [[ThemeTune the Doctor Who theme plays]] after he tries to access the memory banks. Neither Gryffen nor K9 have a clue about the song's origins.
64	** In "Curse of Anubis", the Anubians' holy book depicts their befriending then subjugating a green-skinned alien race who bear a remarkable resemblence to the [[ComicStrip/DanDare the Mekon]].
65	* SinisterSurveillance: All of future London, but especially the Department.
66	* TemptingFate: In "The Cambridge Spy", Jorjie and Starkey are stuck in 1963 and Darius [[spoiler:has vanished because they've changed the past]]. Gryffen: 'It couldn't possibly get any worse!' Cue June arriving to check up on Jorjie...
67	* TheUnfavorite: Darius. In the seventh episode Starkey is told he's the the closest thing to a son Gryffen has. Darius, who's been looking after Gryffen for two years, is standing right there. Jorjie also prefers Starkey over Darius. There's also the fact that as far as we've seen, Darius sleeps in his car. Granted, that might be because he's insanely protective of her, but it still seems unfair when Starkey gets a bedroom. And a bed.
68	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: This series takes place in the year 2050, roughly 40 years ahead of its airdate. Though it's an UnmasquedWorld with advances in virtual reality and robotics, and a looming {{Dystopia}}, architecture and clothing appear much the same.
69	* TwoTeacherSchool:
70	** Apart from the Department Mooks, we only ever see June - head of the Alien Threat department - and Drake, later replaced by Thorne, ostensibly head of non-alien related security issues. Both Drake and Thorne frequently stepped outside their duties, usually in some kind of attempt to catch/destroy/enslave K9. They had an offscreen boss, Lomax, who was mostly used as a threat by June to get Drake or Thorne to back down.
71	** Lomax made a few appearances throughout the series, as a silhouetted government official conferring with either Drake, Thorne or June with a distorted voice. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that he is a Korven, and the mastermind behind their planned invasion of Earth.]]
72	* TheUnmasquedWorld: By this time in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' universe, the existence of aliens is well-known and accepted. Jorjie's mum is head of the alien threats division of [[SecretPolice The Department]].
73	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: In one episode, a CCPC that has been implanted with human genetics escapes from the Department labratories, who try to find him and have him destroyed. K9 and the gang find him which, ensues a dilemma whether or not they take out his genetic implants and replace them with standard CCPC hardware.
74	* WholePlotReference: A small team led by a former companion of the Doctor, tasked with looking after a phenomenon from which entities from across space and time fall through, but which travelling through from this end is far more difficult. [[Series/{{Torchwood}} Where have we heard this one before?]]
75	* ZombieApocalypse: In "Dream-Eaters", an incorporeal alien race called the Bodach sends the whole of London (bar the team, although June is the Avatar and Darius falls eventually) asleep and into an army of sleep walkers.

Context Series / K9