K9 News

On his official forum, K9 creator Bob Baker has revealed more details about the forthcoming K9 TV series. Of K9's appearance, Baker said that he and associate producer Paul Tams are "very pleased with the new look and especialy with his CGI movement."

Baker confirmed that in his first appearance in the series, K9 will look "identical to the one Leela had on Gallifrey", before regenerating into his new form.

Replying to a question about whether John Leeson would be performing K9's voice, Baker said, "There is great debate about the voice, I take your point about using John, but, it being a co-production we have many masters to please, but I'm sure you and all K9 fans will like what we eventually come up with since new K9 is the same character and his speech patterns are the same."

Baker said that K9 will contain "a menagerie of super monster 'uglies'." He also noted that more images from the series will be released soon, probably at MIPTV in Cannes (which will be held from March 30 to April 3 this year). Baker's posting can be read in full at his forum.

The series' premise has changed from earlier plans. Details, from the website of production company Park Entertainment, can be seen by clicking on the spoiler box below.

A partial list of episode titles is also available, at the Metal Mutt production site. Australian actor Remi Broadway will appear as Robin Hood in episode 4, titled "The Last Oak Tree in England".



SPOILER

From the writer of Wallace and Gromit, Bob Baker, comes…

K9 – The Series

GENRE: Comedy
Running Time: 26 x 1/2 hr episodes

PREMISE
Somewhere in the future...

COMING SOON

Originally created for the 1970s DOCTOR WHO series by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, K9 has long been an iconic television character. Now comes a brand new adventure series featuring everyone’s favourite robot dog!

K9 is a children’s sci-fi/adventure series combining comedy, action and suspense "X Files" meets "Men in Black" with a zany dash of "Ghostbusters". K9 mixes live action characters with stunning visual-effects.

London, in the future: STARKEY (14) orphan and rebel ultimately plans to bring down the system but for the time being he is prepared to simply slip through the cracks. While evading the police he takes refuge in a large detached house, now the residence of reclusive scientist, Professor GRYFFEN. He is followed by JORJIE (14) an adventurous girl who partly admires Starkey’s dissident stance, but mostly wants to share whatever excitement is afoot.

Inside the dilapidated mansion, they see Gryffen absorbed in an experiment with a strange piece of alien technology, a Space Time Manipulator (S/TM). DARIUS (15) an artful dodger who, among his many occupations, runs errands for Gryffen, confronts the pair, but at that moment a portal opens and through the hole torn in the fabric of space/time burst two reptilian warrior JIXEN. The Jixen attack Starkey. The teenager is saved from certain death by a small dog-like robot, K9 Mark I, who follows the Jixen through the portal and places himself between the monsters and boy.

In the ensuing battle, the only way K9 can defeat the Jixen is to blow himself and them to pieces. One surviving Jixen limps out of the mansion. Before expiring, K9 is able to give instructions that allow Starkey to initiate a regeneration program. A new, more sophisticated and futuristically designed K9 is regenerated.

K9 and Starkey, with the assistance of Jorjie, Darius and Gryffen, become the earth’s front line defence against dangers threatening from anywhere and anytime in the galaxy. They will have a lot of fun, action, adventure, and some scares along the way, saving the earth from alien creatures, monsters and more than a few human threats

The official website of K9 creator Bob Baker has revealed a new promotional image for the forthcoming series. The image, which can be seen by clicking the thumbnail below, shows the new K9 prop in clearer detail, as well as three characters from the series (presumably "Starkey", "Jorjie" and "Darius", as described in Park Entertainment's summary of the series).

The image appears to have been created for promotional use at MIPTV in Cannes. Earlier reports indicated that K9 will air on Australia's Network Ten and on digital channel Jetix in the UK; Jetix recently announced that it will be rebranded under the name Disney XD later in 2009.