| The following article is written from an In Universe perspective. |
K-9 - occasionally written as K9 or K•9 was the designation given to a series of intelligent dog-like robots who served as companions of Professor Marius, the Fourth Doctor, Leela, Romana, Sarah Jane Smith, The Eleventh Doctor, the Rogue, Will Adams and Kendara.
K-9 Mark I, II and III addressed whoever was directing them as “Master,” or Mistress” depending on the gender, and used the formal “affirmative” and ”negative,” rather than “yes” or “no”. They were programmed to be loyal and logical. With a penchant for taking orders literally, almost to a fault. Their striped collars mimicked the Fourth Doctor's trademark scarf.
Biography
Mark I
Creation
When he first met Leela, Professor Marius said only that he "had K9 made up" — not that he "created" or "designed" the unit — because weight restrictions did not allow him to bring his real dog from Earth into space. (DW: The Invisible Enemy)
Meeting the Doctor and Leela
In the year 5000 AD, K9 aided Marius in scanning the Fourth Doctor for the Swarm inside him. He later fought off the humans infected by the Swarm on Bi-Al and on Titan Base, saving the Doctor and Leela's lives on several occasions.
Marius offered K9 to the Fourth Doctor to travel in the TARDIS as the same weight restrictions made him unable to take Mark I back to Earth with him. (DW: The Invisible Enemy)
On the TARDIS
Shortly after being taken aboard the TARDIS, K9 was damaged. The Doctor sought to repair him and kept referring to him as an "it", much to Leela's chagrin. His repair work got interrupted by the Doctor and Leela being intercepted to Fetch Priory via a Relative Continuum Displacement Zone. (DW: Image of the Fendahl)
K9 was repaired and often played chess against the Doctor, frequently winning. When the TARDIS landed on Pluto, K9 became caught up in affairs and assisted the Doctor and Leela in taking down the Collector and The Company. He led the assault on the Correction Centre to rescue the Doctor and became an integral part in the eventual uprising. (DW: The Sun Makers)
When the TARDIS landed on the R1C, K9 was plugged into the failing systems of the ship in order to reboot it. He helped the Doctor and the Minyans uncover a conspiracy by the Oracle to rule over the Minyans as a god. He participated in the defeat of the Oracle. (DW: Underworld)
K9 participated in the Doctor's plan to put the Vardans in a time loop. In order to effect this, the Doctor had himself inducted as Lord President on Gallifrey. He had K9 destroy the transduction barrier, allowing the Vardans to travel along wavelengths and partially materialise on the planet. When the Vardans, and the Sontarans who followed them, were defeated, Leela chose to stay behind, having fallen in love with Andred. K9 chose to stay with his "mistress" to look after her. She asked him if the Doctor would be lonely without them, but he could only reply that there was "insufficient data", which saddened both. (DW: The Invasion of Time)
On Gallifrey
To be added. (DW: Lungbarrow)
Leela and K9 joined the Rogue and the Rani on their covert intelligence mission to the Bannermen's homeworld in order to discover if they had any plans that might endanger Gallifrey. K9 helped fight off several Bannermen as the group escaped. (PAN: The Dice Has Been Cast)
Aiding the Eleventh Doctor
To be added. (DW: Lord President of Gallifrey)
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To be added. (DW: Forgotten in Time)
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To be added. (DW: The Resistance)
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To be added. (DW: Evolution of the Matrix)
To be added. (DW: Return to Earth)
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During Franc's presidency
To be added. (DW: The Winner's Protector)
To be added. (DW: May Fortune Favour the Bold)
To be added. (DW: Behind the Looking Glass)
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To be added. (DW: Demons of the Past)
To be added. (DW: The Noble Sacrifice)
To be added. (DW: May the Truth Be Damned)
To be added. (DW: The Confrontation of the Wicked)
Dealing with the Master
K9 along with Leela and the rest of Gallifrey headed down into a bunker after reports surfaced of time disruptions. After heading into the presidential suite with the Doctor, the Rogue and the Rani, who soon fell unconscious, K9 soon lost all power. When he awoke, K9 and Leela found themselves on some farmland in what appeared to be Hull in 1923. Leela eventually discovered that she and K9 were in a simulation created by the Master. K9 along with Leela, the Rogue and the Rani were held prisoner on the Master's ship while the Doctor was forced to collect the Sash of Rassilon. K9 and the others attempted to fight the Sisterhood of Karn, but they were defeated and trapped in a forcefield.
K9 and the others were eventually teleported on to a ship piloted by the Doctor. They helped him battle the Master's ship.
Later on K9 and Leela arrived at the Outsiders village and saw the Doctor being killed after losing a mind-bending contest against the Master. K9 then witnessed the regenerations of both the Doctor and the Master. K9, Leela and her fellow Outsiders attended the Doctor's final speach as Lord President. (MOV: Doctor Who: Revelation)
War with the Bannermen
K9 met Will Adams in the Outsiders village. (PAN: Period of Adjustment)
K9, Leela and Presta attempted to save Will from being abducted by the Bannermen but failed. They informed the Rogue about what had happened. (PAN: War is Only as Good as Your Leader)
K9, Leela and the Rani joined in the mission to rescue Will. Leela, the Rogue, the Rani and Will battled Arrex and his high command. After defeating them, Leela and the others escaped with Will and returned to Gallifrey. (PAN: Nature's Gift)
K9 was reunited with Kendara when she arrived at the Outsiders village. (PAN: Gallifreyan Equity)
K9, Leela, Presta, Kendera, Ohila, Orthena and the Rani joined the Rogue's defence force. Leela aided the others in preparing for the arrival of the Bannermen. (PAN: The Death of Peace)
K9 took part in the battle against the Bannermen army. (PAN: The Birth of War)
K9, Leela, Will, Kendera and the Outsiders worked with the Union worlds to develop a cure for a virus that the Bannermen had created which infected the Time Lords and caused all of their regenerations to meld into one. K9 helped Leela capture Arrex. (PAN: Operation: Regeneration)
K9 attended Will's inauguration into the Time Lord Academy. (PAN: How Little Does Wisdom Rule the Universe?)
K9, Leela, Presta and Ohila helped to rescue Will from the Bannermen. (PAN: Adams and the Bannermen)
A threat to Time Lord Society
K9 served as part of the defence when a trial was held to discover what had really happened to Quilly, a member of the Yvacnosci. During this he met Lizzie Clarke. (DW: Inquisition)
Gregori returns
Leela took K9, Will and Kendera on the maiden voyage of the Starship Batalion. During the trip Leela encountered another ship that she soon discovered belonged to Gregori. After returning to Gallifrey K9 met the new incarnation of Gregori and his assistant Cordale. (MOV: Doctor Who: Vengeance; PAN: Vengeance Part I, Vengeance Part II)
A new threat emerges
When a virus released by the Vex caused all the personality copies of all living Time Lords to escape from the Matrix, Leela and Kendera were shocked when Andred's Matrix copy ended up transplanted inside Gregori, partially bringing Andred back to life. K9 helped Will and the others in finding a cure, but was saddened when Andred's personality copy returned to the Matrix. (PAN: Maybe It's Imaginary)
Mark II
After K9 Mark I decided to stay on Gallifrey with Leela, the Fourth Doctor already had Mark II (or at least its components) prepared and in storage in his TARDIS. (DW: The Invasion of Time)
Quest for the Key to Time
This version of K9 accompanied the Doctor and Romana I on their quest to locate the segments of the Key to Time. The Doctor used a dog whistle to alert K9 and to summon him. (DW: The Ribos Operation)
K9 killed pirates who were attacking other planets from their own, Zanak. He also fought the Pirate Captain's robot bird. (DW: The Pirate Planet)
K9 helped apprehend the Cessair of Diplos and helped Romana find the Doctor on the Megara ship. (DW: The Stones of Blood)
On Tara, K9 disabled several guards in the employ of Count Grendel of Gracht. He travelled in a boat with the Doctor in a passage under the Count's castle, cutting a way through with his blaster. The Doctor left K9 in the boat as he went to foil the Count's plot. (DW: The Androids of Tara)
When the TARDIS landed on Delta III, the swampy terrain made it impossible for K9 to accompany the Doctor and Romana. He remained in the TARDIS. (DW: The Power of Kroll)
While searching for the sixth segment, they landed on the planet Atrios. K9 was tricked into entering a scrap metal furnace, but the Doctor rescued him before he was melted. K9 transmatted to the planet Zeos. K9 told the super-computer Mentalis it was good to talk with someone who was not as illogical or unpredictable as a flesh-and-blood being. K9 again transmatted, arriving on the third planet. He was turned by the Shadow to do his bidding, but the Doctor was able to remove the control matrix implanted by the Shadow, restoring him to his former self. (DW: The Armageddon Factor)
Further adventures
In 1896, K9 attempted to change time slightly but events remained unchanged, just as the Doctor expected. He helped rescue Romana (DW: The Sands of Time)
The Doctor was contacted by his Tenth incarnation and summoned to Gallifrey where K9 met the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth And Ninth Doctors. After the Keeper explained that there were time distortions throughout time and space. (MOV: Doctor Who)
While making repairs to K9's brain circuit, the Doctor found that K9 had contracted laryngitis and could not speak. K9 was left in the TARDIS while the Doctor and Romana II battled the Daleks and Davros. (DW: Destiny of the Daleks) Later he remained patiently in the TARDIS while the Doctor and Romana visited Paris. (DW: City of Death)
After his voice returned, K9 sounded different for some time. On Chloris, K9 attacked some Wolfweeds and the soldiers of Lady Adrasta. The Wolfweeds swarmed about him and entwined him in fibres. He was taken by Adrasta, as metal was valuable. (DW: The Creature from the Pit)
When two ships, the Empress and the Hecate, collided in space and the Mandrels were released, K9 helped fight them off with laser beams. He also assisted in uncovering a drug smuggling conspiracy by Tryst. (DW: Nightmare of Eden)
K9 and the Doctor investigated the planet of Skonnos, where the Nimon were planning to invade. He helped stop them by navigating the Doctor through complex tunnels to escape and informed the Doctor of the history of the Skonnan Empire. Soldeed incapacitated him and send him off to examination. (DW: The Horns of Nimon)
Whilst on a beach in Brighton, K9 went into the water and had his circuits damaged. (DW: The Leisure Hive) The Doctor and Romana were trying to repair him when they were caught in a time loop caused by Meglos. Upon being repaired, K9 tried to find the Doctor and Romana, only to shut down in the forests of Tigella. He was eventually able to help defeat Meglos. (DW: Meglos)
The Doctor ordered K9 to install the coordinates to Gallifrey in his circuits. When the TARDIS became trapped in E-Space, K9 helped defeat a group of Marshmen that had risen from the swamp to attack the Alzarians. (DW: Full Circle)
In E-Space, K9 led the attack on the castle of the Three Who Rule. He shot many of the guards, doing most of the work. The Doctor made Ivo apologise to K9 for doubting him. (DW: State of Decay)
Damaged by the time winds, K9 Mark II could not cross back into N-Space with the Doctor, and decided to stay at the Gateway with Romana, to help her free the remaining Tharils from slavery. (DW: Warriors' Gate)
On Gallifrey
To be added. (DW: Lungbarrow)
Mark III
Adventures with Sarah and Brendan
The Doctor left K9 Mark III for Sarah Jane Smith in 1978 at the only address he had for her: the home she had shared with her aunt, Dr Lavinia Smith, on Hill View Road in South Croydon. He left a message with K9: he was to inform Sarah Jane that he was a gift from the Doctor and to "give Sarah Jane Smith my fondest love, tell her I shall remember her always." (DW: The Hand of Fear; K9: A Girl's Best Friend) Sarah Jane had already moved out of her aunt's home by that time and was travelling extensively. Unaware of its contents, Lavinia stored the shipping crate in her attic until 1979. By then, she had purchased a manor house in Moreton Harwood and relocated there. She had the crate moved to the drawing room in anticipation of Sarah Jane's Christmas visit in 1981, coinciding with her own departure for a lecture in the United States. Sarah Jane and her aunt's ward Brendan Richards discovered and opened the crate on 18 December 1981. Two days later, K9 helped Sarah Jane defeat Moreton Harwood's Hecate Cult. (K9: A Girl's Best Friend)
Further journeys with Sarah
Circa 1983, K9 Mark III "lived" with Sarah Jane in a semi-detached house; their gate bore a "beware of dog" sign. On one occasion, he warned her of impending danger somehow involving the Doctor. Sarah Jane dismissed his warning, and declined to either stay home or take him with her. As a result, he did not accompany her as she was abducted to the Death Zone on Gallifrey. (DW: The Five Doctors)
Personality
Mark I
K9 Mark I was often left behind in the TARDIS and so he saw journeying out as a treat. (DW: The Sun Makers) Despite his claims that he was not programmed to feel emotion, he did show a capacity for feeling. He sulked when Leela insulted him, and would only talk to her again after she apologised.
The Doctor described him as overbearing, arrogant and insufferable, after K9 told him there was only a 1% chance of the Doctor having a better explanation for something than him.
Andred claimed "If [he] had a dog like [K9] in [his] unit, [he'd] make him a sergeant". (DW: The Invasion of Time)
Mark II
K9 Mark II was faithful to the Doctor and called him "Master" — calling him "Doctor" only once, and this was when under the control of the Shadow. (DW: The Armageddon Factor) He corrected the Doctor when necessary. (DW: The Ribos Operation) He was happy at the prospect of going on holiday (DW: The Ribos Operation) and to have a conversation with the super-computer Mentalis, declaring it better than talking to unpredictable life forms. K9 branded optimism illogical, bordering on insanity. (DW: The Armageddon Factor) He declared that he didn't feel anything nor did he find it necessary to do so. (DW: Warriors' Gate)
K9 had no problem with killing those who threatened him, such as Count Grendel's men or the guards of the Three Who Rule. (DW: The Androids of Tara, State of Decay) He only killed in self-defence, as his programming dictated. (DW: The Creature from the Pit)
The Doctor and K9 were fond of each other, as the Doctor described K9 as his "best friend" and when they were due to be destroyed in the TARDIS — which they actually survived — the Doctor placed a first place ribbon onto K9, and K9 thanked him. (DW: The Horns of Nimon)
The Doctor said that K9 had saved his life lots of times. (DW: Nightmare of Eden)
Skills
Mark II
After K9 Mark I was left behind with Leela on Gallifrey, the Doctor built an improved K9 Mark II. Gone was the product of Marius' 5000 AD technology. This new K9 was a product of the Doctor's own technology and values. The gun was now only capable of stunning — not killing — and K9 now responded to a dog-whistle. K9 also featured a vast memory-bank, seemingly a mixture of the Mark I model, the Doctor's own memory and knowledge, and that of the TARDIS. (DW: The Invasion of Time)
Physical Appearance
The mechanics of K9 included rotating ear-probes, telescopic "eye" probe, extendable nose, flashing lights on the top and the "eye" panel, waggling tail antennae, and ticker-tape tongue. The head could also move up and down. The shell was painted in gold/grey metallic. There was a monitorscreen on his left flank, though K9 rarely used this during his travels with the Fourth Doctor. Around K9's neck was a tartan collar, from which hung a silver disk. (DW: The Invisible Enemy)
Other Information
- K9 Mark I was the first in a seven-year run of non-human televised companions who inhabited the TARDIS, ending with the departure of Turlough in 1984. Others included K9 Mark II, Romana I, Romana II, Adric, Nyssa and, nominally, Kamelion.
- The numbers appended to K9's "marks" have narrative origin — unlike, say, Romana I, which is actually a fan assumption. The Invasion of Time ends with the Doctor pushing a box labelled "K9 MII" into the console room, which implies that the model that stayed with Leela on Gallifrey was "K9 MI".
Behind the scenes
- In an early draft of The Invisible Enemy, K9 was called FIDO, for "Phenomenal Indication Data Observation". (INFO: The Invisible Enemy)
- The original K9 model was designed by visual effects designer Tony Harding. One early concept was to have a small actor in a large Doberman-shaped costume; however, Graham Williams vetoed this, saying that the robot should not look like a person in a costume. The eventual design was closely based on Harding's third concept sketch. (DCOM: The Invisible Enemy)