Story: K-9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend
Written By: Terence Dudley
Length: 50 Minutes
Year: 1981
So in 1981, John Nathan Turner decided it was time for Doctor Who to finally get a spin-off. Cash in on its success, and what better way than with a tin dog he loved so much, he made sure he was actually written out of the original show (actually I think it was the amount of complaints he received about dropping K-9 that he thought this would work). 'K-9 and Company' was born. And then, some could argue, it died of sudden infant death syndrome.
The show only produced this pilot, which aired after Christmas in 1981, and it's lack of success could easily be led back to one major problem: the theme song. If I were watching television the day this aired, and that theme song started up...I'd go outside or read a book. It is absolutely one of the worst theme songs ever produced. Ian Levine composed the theme song, which is aggravating and electronic and far too 80s, and considering another song he helped write and produce was 'Doctor In Distress', I will have to assume that he has little to no talent at actually composing music. Apparently he is somewhat successful as a record producer, so I'll assume that that, and being a loud mouth Doctor Who fan are his specialties...not composing.
The actual pilot itself is decent, it gives us some plot contrivances that puts K-9 in the possession of Sarah Jane Smith...as they never actually traveled together before, so the Doctor sends her K-9 as a gift. That works in a way because for those unfamiliar with the character we get an introduction to him through Sarah Jane. The story itself is sort of a mediocre Doctor Who story, but it is actually somewhat better than many stories of 'Doctor Who' in the 1980s.
I wouldn't say you need to see this pilot, as it serves no real purpose other than how Sarah Jane came to have K-9, as she still has him in her appearances post-1981. But it is interesting beyond that, as an interesting what if. I'm glad it didn't get picked up, it didn't seem like a brilliant show, and I wouldn't have been able to handle that theme song...but it ultimately led (years later) to what would later be 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' and the Australian show 'K-9' (which I've currently seen very little of and doubt I'll ever truly get around to reviewing it on here.
So an interesting little pilot that is available with the Doctor Who DVD range. You could easily think of this as just apart of The Sarah Jane Adventures really.
NEXT TIME: Bubble Shock!
Written By: Terence Dudley
Length: 50 Minutes
Year: 1981
So in 1981, John Nathan Turner decided it was time for Doctor Who to finally get a spin-off. Cash in on its success, and what better way than with a tin dog he loved so much, he made sure he was actually written out of the original show (actually I think it was the amount of complaints he received about dropping K-9 that he thought this would work). 'K-9 and Company' was born. And then, some could argue, it died of sudden infant death syndrome.
The actual pilot itself is decent, it gives us some plot contrivances that puts K-9 in the possession of Sarah Jane Smith...as they never actually traveled together before, so the Doctor sends her K-9 as a gift. That works in a way because for those unfamiliar with the character we get an introduction to him through Sarah Jane. The story itself is sort of a mediocre Doctor Who story, but it is actually somewhat better than many stories of 'Doctor Who' in the 1980s.
I wouldn't say you need to see this pilot, as it serves no real purpose other than how Sarah Jane came to have K-9, as she still has him in her appearances post-1981. But it is interesting beyond that, as an interesting what if. I'm glad it didn't get picked up, it didn't seem like a brilliant show, and I wouldn't have been able to handle that theme song...but it ultimately led (years later) to what would later be 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' and the Australian show 'K-9' (which I've currently seen very little of and doubt I'll ever truly get around to reviewing it on here.
So an interesting little pilot that is available with the Doctor Who DVD range. You could easily think of this as just apart of The Sarah Jane Adventures really.
NEXT TIME: Bubble Shock!
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