K9 AND COMPANY - A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND, by Terence Dudley. For many years, investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith traveled through space and time with her best friend - a Time Lord known as the Doctor. But all good things must come to an end, and they were forced to part. Sarah returned to Earth and her career, but before they went their separate ways, she made the Doctor promise not to forget her... Sarah is looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas with her Aunt Lavinia in the sleepy village of Morton Harewood. But when she arrives, she finds her aunt is missing, and a surprise present from an old friend is waiting to be opened. Sarah and her aunt's ward, Brendan, are soon caught up in the affairs of a mysterious cult who practice the black arts, and are preparing for a human sacrifice. But they have the Doctor's gift to aid them －a robot dog who answers to the name of K-9...

Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner didn't like K-9. The robot dog was an innovation that his predecessor, Graham Williams, had introduced to the series, and it was still hugely popular with Doctor Who's younger viewers. But on Nathan-Turner's first day on location as producer on Doctor Who, filming scenes for the story The Leisure Hive, the mechanical K-9 prop had broken down and proved to be so impractical on Brighton beach, that it had nearly jeopardised what was supposed to have been a fairly routine shoot. The K-9 prop was refurbished - at some cost - for the next Doctor Who story in production, State of Decay, and although a small improvement in performance was noticeable, Nathan Turner decided that this particular dog had had its day, and gave instructions for K-9 to be written out of Doctor Who. When the news broke in the nation's tabloid press in June 1980, Nathan-Turner was not prepared for the backlash his decision would generate. The Sun newspaper even began a 'Save K-9' campaign amongst its readers. Although K-9's popularity was never in doubt, Nathan-Turner felt that Doctor Who would work better without the robot dog, both in terms of narrative, and ability to maximise studio and location recording facilities and time. Armed with the unexpected publicity his decision had generated, Nathan-Turner suggested to his BBC bosses that K-9 may warrant a life beyond Doctor Who, in a series of his own. The idea was taken seriously, and a pilot episode planned out. But what should K-9's continuing adventures take? An contemporary Earth-based setting for K-9 was selected, not least because of cost considerations. From a fictional standpoint, the question of which K-9 would feature in the series was also considered. K-9 Mk I had left with Leela in The Invasion of Time［1978], while K9 Mk ll had departed with Romana in Warriors Gate (1981]. In the end, neither would return; instead, K9 Mk lll would be given his introduction. As far as John Nathan-Turner was concerned, there was only one choice as to K9's co-star. Elisabeth Sladen had appeared in Doctor Who as companion Sarah Jane Smith alongside Jon Pertwee's and Tom Baker's Doctors between 1973 and 1976. By 1980, Sarah Jane's popularity as a companion was still incredibly strong, and Nathan-Turner had briefly tried to persuade Sladen to return to Doctor Who in time to wave goodbye to Tom Baker's Doctor, and ease in the tenure of Doctor number five. Sladen had declined the offer, but it had begun a dialogue between the actress and the production office, which resulted in a counter offer to Sladen to return as Sarah Jane Smith in a Doctor-less series. Sladen accepted, and the pilot project geared into full life, firstly titled Sarah and K-9, and then the more familiar K-9 and Company. Although ratings for the pilot episode were strong, a change in management at the BBC meant that a full series was never comissioned. Viewers would have to wait 25 years to see Sarah and K-9 in action together again, in the revived Doctor Who's second series episode School Reunion. This reappearance finally led to Sladen being given her own spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, with K-9 himself putting in occasional guest appearances.

Commentary by Elisabeth Sladen [Sarah Jane), John Leeson (K-9], Linda Polan [Juno Baker] and Eric Saward [Script Editor). The K-9 Files Cast and crew look back at the making of K-9 and Company, plus K-g's subsequent life in books and comic strips is examined. K-9-A Dog's Tale - K-9 himself answers a selection of questions about his life and career. Pebble Mill at One - K-9's appearance on the 1981 Christmas show. Trails and Continuities - A selection of off-air continuities announcements for the various BBC transmissions of this story. The Adventures of K-9 - Adobe PDF versions of the four K9 books for younger children {PDF DVD-ROM] The K-9 Annual 1983 [PDF DVD-ROM]. Radio Times Billings Listings from Radio Times[PDF DVD-ROM]. Photo Gallery Production Information Subtitles - Coming Soon - Digitally remastered picture and sound quality.


COMMENTARY: by Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson, Linda Polan and Eric Saward. Elisabeth Sladen joined Doctor Who as journalist Sarah Jane Smith alongside Jon Pertwee's Doctor in the story The Time Warrior (1973/4] and remained in the series for the next three-and-a-half years. She has also appeared in Some Mothers Do'Ave'Em, Z Cars, Take My Wife and Gulliver in Lilliput. In 1981, she returned to role of Sarah for the Doctor Who spin-off pilot K-9 and Company, although a full series was never commissioned. She also returned as Sarah for the show's 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors (1983), and more recently alongside David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the story School Reunion (2006]. Sarah Jane Smith would finally get her own series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, on BBC1 in 2007. John Leeson has provided the voice of K-9 in Doctor Who since 1977, when he first appeared as the indomitable robot dog in The Invisible Enemy, through to Season 18's Warriors'Gate (1981] －though he was on hiatus during Season 17 when K-9 was voiced by actor David Brierley. Leeson returned as K-9 in the 1981 spin-off K-9 and Company with popular companion Sarah Jane Smith. As well as stage work, John has appeared in many television shows, including Blake's 7, Dad's Army, 'Allo 'Allo!, Bugs, Vanity Fair and Rainbow. K-9's popularity proved durable and John returned to voice him for new Doctor Who in the episode School Reunion [2006] and its subsequent spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures [2007 onwards]. Linda Polan's sultry voice has made her a mainstay of British TV drama since the late 1970s. Her TV credits stretch from Z Cars and Angels, though to Dangerfield and Juliet Bravo. After appearing as Juno Baker in K-9 and Company, she was re-united with Elisabeth Sladen in the BBC's 1982 adaptation of Gulliver in Lilliput, which was helmed by ex-Doctor Who producer Barry Letts. She can also be famously seen as Mrs Ploppy in the Blackadder episode, Head. Eric Saward first began writing for radio in the 1970s,which lead to him submitting a story to the Doctor Who production office which was eventually made as The Visitation in 1982. On the strength of this story, he was offered the role of script editor on the series. When the idea for K-9 and Company came up,as the resident Doctor Who script editor he was first choice to duplicate the role on the proposed spin-off. He was immediately required to write another story, which saw the return of the Cybermen in Earthshock. He remained script editor on Doctor Who up until the 1986 story The Trial of a Time Lord, he wrote the stories Resurrection of the Daleks (1984] and Revelation of the Daleks (1985], and also penned the radio story Slipback in 1986. After leaving the programme, he returned to freelance writing.