User:WhatGuy/K-9 (2010 film)

Please do not use {{Infobox television film}} directly. See the documentation for available templates. K-9 is a 2010 science fiction/action television film focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K-9 from the television show Doctor Who, achieved by mixing computer animation and live action. The first part of the film aired on 31 October 2009 on satellite channel Disney XD in the UK and Ireland. It became a pilot for the K-9 As of May 2010, the full series is airing on Network Ten in Australia and on Disney XD in the UK and Ireland. It was split into the three parts: "Regeneration", "Liberation" and "The Korven".

Plot

Two men arrive at the home and lab of Professor Alistair Gryffen with a case. After providing the case, containing a piece of technology from a "fallen angel" (a downed alien craft) they inform him that The Department wants a full report within 24 hours.

Elsewhere, Starkey, a teenage boy, is near an outdoor public display board terminal and is hacking in to post a dissident message against the government. As he finishes Jorjie Turner, a teenage girl, arrives to yet again propose working together. Starkey refuses, but when the robot police arrive, the pair run off together. They find themselves in a back alley with police just around both ends. In desperation they try a number of doors until they find one unlocked.

Once inside, they find the lab of Professor Gryffen. They hide in the shadows and watch as Gryffen begins an experiment with his STM (Space-Time Manipulator). As they prepare to leave Starkey kicks the power plug from the wall and the machines goes haywire. Instead of bringing back the professor's lost family, four Jixen warriors arrive through the STM's beam. As Gryffen and the two teens attempt to escape the creatures, Starkey is hit with their "Jixen slim" projectile secretions. As Jorjie and Gryffen turn to aid Starkey a fifth being comes through the beam. This time its a dog like robot who tells the humans that his power is running low and that he must self destruct in order to destroy the 4 creatures. As the team leaves the building, an explosion rocks the room and looking back they see the parts of the robot dog thrown across the floor.

As they look around Starkey picks up a object that is still active. Shortly Darius, Gryffen's assistant arrives and sees the damage. Hearing the name "Stark Reality" (a name Starkey goes by) quietly calls the CCPCs (robot police) while Starkey apologizes to the professor. Just then the object that Starkey has found begins to pulse and float into the air. Soon the parts of the robot dog are reintegrated and refashioned into a new, more futuristic, design. The robot introduces himself as K-9 and begins to recalibrate his systems, including his new flight system.

Just as the new K-9 exits the building for a flight test, the CCPCs arrive and place Starkey under arrest, telling him of a sentence of 6 months inn VR (virtual reality) detention. As everyone begins to exit the lab, a lone surviving Jixen warrior is seen sneaking off into the shadows.

As Professor Gryffen works with K-9, K-9 informs the Professor that his memory has been scrambled and that he does not remember who he is. He also tells Gryffen that the "Jixen slime" from the Jixen is used to mark their enemies for later tracking. As such, any other Jixen that ever smell Starkey will recognize him as their enemy. Asking about the STM, Gryffen tells K-9 that it was reconstructed from parts found in "Fallen Angels", a spacecraft that has landed on Earth.

Meanwhile Starkey is in a room wearing VR goggles. He sees a white room with nothing to do. Suddenly Jorjie appears, having used her own goggles and her hacking skills to communicate with him. From the system she shows him images of aliens that have been locked up, and are being experimented on, in a secret Department facility. She tells Starkey that the reason she wanted to work together with him was to expose this facility to the public. Starkey points out that he is already in detention and can't help her.

Soon alarms go off in the facility and the Jixen enters the corridor leading to Starkey's cell. The alarms trigger the end of the VR session and Starkey turns to see the Jixen enter his cell. After being sprayed a second time with the Jixen's "slime", a CCPC enters and is attacked by the Jixen. This gives Starkey enough time to exit the cell and escape.

Back at Gryffen's lab, Darius is fixing Mariah, Gryffen's antique car. As Darius and Gryffen talk about K-9 and how should let him stay with them, then Starkey enters the lab. Covered with "Jixen slime", K-9's repairing systems identify Starkey to be a Jixen warrior. Only Gryffen's protestations and Starkey repeating some of the first words he said to K-9, cause K-9 to stop.

As that crisis is averted June Turner, Gryffen's primary contact with the Department, and Jorjie's mother, arrives to talk about the explosion in the lab, a robot "dog" that was seen in the vicinity near the time of the explosion, and to ask if Gryffen has seen Starkey since his escape. While Starkey and K-9 hide behind a bank of cabinets, June makes it clear that capturing the robot "dog" is a priority of the Department and that she expects Gryffen to find him and bring him in for study.

After Jane leaves, Starkey tells Darius that no one has ever stuck up for him like Gryffen has, and Darius agrees that the professor is a great guy. Starkey also thanks Darius for not turning him in. Darius tells Starkey that there will be other times. As Jorjie enters K-9 tells her about nearly "neutralizing" Starkey, and to apologize K-9 gives Starkey a special whistle that will call K-9 wherever Starkey is.

At the mansion Gryffen is watching a recording of his wife and children. Darius doesn't like Starkey staying but K-9 insists that he must because the Jixen will find him very soon. Jorjie turns up and talks to the others about travelling through time via the STM, Darius argues that its too dangerous and anything could come through. Suddenly the STM activates and a couple of Black rats come through, scaring Darius. K-9 informs Gryffen that the Jixen is on the loose heading for the Department's alien prison which holds a Meron, the Jixen's sworn enemy. Starkey suggests going to the prison to defeat the Jixen but K-9 says its too dangerous. Gryffen asks K-9 to go to the prison and find the Jixen. While Darius is with Mariah, Starkey asks him to come with him to help K-9, Darius agrees but only with the promise that Starkey will leave. While moving towards the Prison K-9 is seen by the Department security cameras. K-9 is attacked by the Department's defense robots which stops him and he falls in a dustbin that Starkey and Darius walk by.

Starkey and Darius make it to the prison, only to be apprehended by the CCPCs. They are met by Inspector Thorne, the governor of the prison who throws them in a cell with an alien. June comes in and takes Darius's communications device and contacts Gryffen who wants to know why the Department is holding aliens. She says they need to be catalogued to look out for others of their species, Gryffen says that if the aliens are innocent they wont cause any harm but she insists it's the only way. She offers to release Starkey if he can give K-9 to her but he refuses. Back at the mansion Gryffen is tracking K-9 and manages to reactivate him by making the sound of a ball. K-9 then makes his way to the prison. Jorjie sees Starkey and Darius in their cell, Darius gives her a card he took from Thorne so she can free them and the other aliens. The CCPCs are sent to stop them. While all the prisoners make their way out Starkey is cornered by the Jixen but is saved by K-9. The others go to a locked door which Darius tries to unlock.

To stop the Jixen, Starkey puts his jacket; which contains the Jixen tracking slime; in a cell which the Jixen then finds. Starkey then locks the cell, a Department officer walks in who reveals his true Meron form and attacks K-9. As he attacks Starkey the Jixen makes a loud scream which makes the Meron retreat. Thorne and June go to a locked room to hide from the Jixen but when June spots K-9 on a camera she suggests they go and capture him, Thorne refuses but she unlocks the door and leaves anyway. Starkey and K-9 meet up with the others and they all manage to escape but are met by June who tells them they are blocked by a forcefield, Jorjie then reveals to her that she helped the aliens. The Jixen arrives and attacks Starkey and June, K-9 tries to fight it but exhausts his firepower. June gives Jorjie the forcefield device and tells her to attach it to the Jixen. Starkey manages to and it kills the Jixen.

Later, Starkey is hacking into the display board terminal again but is met by two CCPCs, K-9 moves to protect him and they both run away.

K-9 and Starkey are hiding from The Department's surveillance, K-9 wonders when Gryffen will fix the STM so he can go home. Back at the mansion Gryffen is at work on the STM hoping to use it's time-travel abilities and rests to have lunch with Darius. Unknown to them the STM sends out an alien creature. When Gryffen complains that its cold, Darius goes to warm the room up. While he does this the alien sneaks up on Gryffen and when Darius turns around he is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile June and Jorjie are going back from shopping, June then leaves to go to work. Back at the mansion Darius is searching for the professor.

Starkey is eating with K-9 when Jorjie meets them. They are contacted by Darius who alerts them of Gryffen's disappearance. When K-9 detects Phosphane gas in the last known place the Professor was seen. When they receive a message through the STM by a Human soldier from the year 2618 who informs them of the Korven threat. He reveals the Korven are after a group of scientists who created a system to cool the Earth in 2050, they go to search for the professor. The Korven take the professor to their hideout where they prepare to extract his brainwaves, but K-9 and his friends are on the Korven's trail. They split up, the Korven began the leeching process. While Starkey and K-9 observe another Korven kidnaps Starkey and K-9 flees to Jorjie and Darius. They manage to find the professor and the Korven, who is completely still (to focus all attention on leeching the professor). Darius destroys the Korven's backpack, gaining its attention. K-9 shoots the Korven which makes K-9 confused. When it regains conciousness and attacks Starkey convinces K-9 to use his Photon beam which destroys them Korven.

Back at the mansion Gryffen manages to alter Starkey's Department encryption code, so Starkey is no longer on the run and offers the mansion as a place for Starkey to stay.

Cast

• John Leeson as the voice of K-9
• Philippa Coulthard as Jodie Turner
• Keegan Joyce as Starkey
• Daniel Webber as Darius Pike
• Robert Moloney as Professor Gryffen
• Robyn Moore as June Turner
• Sophia Emberson-Bain as Vibecka
• Connor Van Vurren as Inspector Drake
• Jared Robinsen as Inspector Thorne
• Andrew Wallace as The Meron
• Terrence Wallace as The Korven

Casting

John Leeson reprises his role as the voice of K-9. Brisbane native Philippa Coulthard plays Jorjie Turner, a rebellious 14-year-old whose mother works for the mysterious "Department". 19-year-old Keegan Joyce plays Starkey, a 14-year-old orphan rebel; and 20-year-old Daniel Webber plays Darius Pike, an assistant to Professor Gryffen, who is played by Canadian character actor Robert Moloney.

Production

K-9's co-creator, Bob Baker, had long sought to produce a television series starring the metal dog. Indeed, in 1997 Doctor Who Magazine announced that Baker and producer Paul Tams were producing a four-part pilot series provisionally called The Adventures of K9. The magazine stated that the pilot would be filmed that year "on a 'seven-figure' budget", and that the BBC had expressed interest in purchasing the broadcast rights. However, funding proved elusive, and despite persistent rumours, the series remained in "development hell" for many years.

In 2006, Jetix Europe announced that they were "teaming up" with Baker, Tams, and London-based distributor Park Entertainment to develop a 26-part series, then titled K9 Adventures and set in space. This announcement, timed to coincide with K-9's return to Doctor Who in the episode "School Reunion", was picked up in the British media and Doctor Who fan press. In 2007, Park Entertainment revealed that the main setting for the series (by then retitled K9) would be the Platte, "an old Prairie-class spacecraft" once used for asteroid colonization. In addition to K-9, the characters would include Slocum, a thirty-something "space gypsy", and Djinn, "an overactive computer module in the shape of an attractive young woman". This early premise was abandoned before production began in Australia.

Each episode of K-9 is 30 minutes long, made for Disney XD (formerly Jetix) and Network Ten by Stewart & Wall Entertainment, in association with London-based distribution outfit Park Entertainment. The project is being overseen by Baker; the television series concept was developed by Australian writers Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong, in association with Baker and Paul Tams. Baker, Krause and Armstrong are the primary writers for the series; four episodes were written by Queensland writer Jim Noble. The series is produced by Penny Wall and Richard Stewart of Stewart & Wall Entertainment Pty Ltd, and Simon Barnes of Park Entertainment. Grant Bradley of Daybreak Pacific and Jim Howell serve as executive producers. Michael Carrington, head of animation and programme acquisitions for BBC Children's, told Broadcast that the BBC had declined the opportunity to be involved in the production of a K-9 series, saying, "As the BBC is already committed to a number of spin-off projects, we concluded that a K9 series may simply be an extension too far." BBC-owned characters like the Doctor will not appear in the series, due to rights considerations. A broadcast date for the series has not been officially announced, but it is expected to air in early 2010. In July 2007, it was confirmed that the Australian Film Finance Corporation had approved funding for the series, and that the programme had been pre-sold to Network Ten. The Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) (subsequently renamed Screen Queensland) also provided additional financing. The first series was shot between 3 December 2008 and 8 May 2009. The series is produced in Brisbane, Australia, shooting on location around the city and on a set built in a South Brisbane warehouse. A logo for the series was released on February 27, bearing some similarities to the original font seen on the casing of K-9. A trailer produced to promote the series at MIPTV was released on 2 April 2009. As it was made early in production, the music, titles, and voice of K-9 were not the final ones used in the programme. A second trailer was released on 1 October 2009.