Trivia / K-9 and Company

• Creator Backlash: Ian Levine, who co-composed the theme tune for the special, angrily complained that it should have been performed by a live orchestra, not synthesized. He later backed down a little on his complaints, admitting he was perhaps naive to expect that considering that none of the Doctor Who theme renditions until that point had been performed orchestrally, and saying that compared to the infamous "Doctor in Distress", it could have turned out a hell of a lot worse.
• Hostility on the Set: According to Ian Sears, John Black was not respected on the set and he was given the nickname "John Grey". Elisabeth Sladen revealed on the DVD Commentary that she found his direction flat and lifeless.
• One-Episode Wonder: Though aired as a one-off special, it was planned to be the first of an ongoing series. A change in management at the BBC prevented this from coming to pass.
• Screwed by the Network: Despite its less-than-stellar reception, the special actually got nearly double the viewing numbers of most of Tom Baker's last season headlining the parent show, and would probably have performed even better if not for a transmitter malfunction resulting in a lot of Lancashire and Merseyside not being able to watch the episode. It never went to a series, however, simply because the new controller of BBC1, Alan Hart (who replaced Bill Cotton, the Controller who approved the pilot) hated the episode and thought the concept was too juvenile for an ongoing series.
• What Could Have Been:
  • John Nathan-Turner's original proposal saw Sarah retiring from journalism to write cooking books in Moreton Harwood (at this point spelt "Morton Harwood"). Aunt Lavinia leaves her ward, Brendan, with Sarah Jane before departing for America. Sarah brings K·9 with her to the village, having discovered his crate while preparing to move. During the subsequent investigations into a black magic cult, however, it would transpire that this K·9 was actually despatched as a trap by the Master. Fortunately, Brendan is able to reprogram K·9 before he can fulfill his sinister mission.
  • It was suggested that Sarah Jane had newly acquired some martial arts skills.
  • In the final scene, K·9 had been scripted as reciting "While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night", but in the event this was replaced by the more secular "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".
• Working Title: Sarah and K9 and One Girl and Her Dog.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Bill Fraser, who played Commander Pollock, was previously General Grugger in "Meglos", but here he has no glorious beard.
  • Colin Jeavons - Damon in "The Underwater Menace".

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