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Bob Baker never claimed that K9 would be anything more than a children's show. Ten years ago a clip of test shots for an earlier, computer generated cartoon version made an appearance at a Dr.Who convention. The audience sat there embarassed, watching as their favourite metal mutt appeared on screen in a show clearly aimed at five year-olds.
I'm pleased to say that the final, broadcast version of K9 won't elicit a sense of embarassment as the proposed cartoon version did, but this is clearly a show aimed squarely at children. Based on this first episode I expect K9 will be a hit with kids up to the age of ten, but interest will likely diminish as they enter their preteen phase.
The biggest problem with Regeneration is the overly busy script. In only 23 minutes a significant amount of world building takes place, as well as the introduction of five main characters, all of whom have complex backstories. As a result the script is too rushed to develop an adequate sense of drama and engage the audience in this world and its characters, let alone develop a decent storyline, and the ending leaves too many plot threads hanging. As the credits rolled, I sat there thinking, "Is that it?!!"
The acting is is generally adequate but unremarkable, and the Australian actors’ British accents are unconvincing to say the least.
Despite these shortcomings K9 is a slick production as the musical score, direction, set design and visual effects are of a high standard. The only gripe I have in this regard is with the alien Jixen, which are clearly actors lumbering around in unconvincing rubber suits and could have come straight from Power Rangers.
The world building is handled quite well, as we're introduced to a dystopic future where the government exploits fear of aliens to mimpose draconian laws which keep the population under strict control. This is pertinent theme in the post September 11, 2001 world and one that I look forward to seeing explored in more detail as the series progresses, along with the backstories of all the characters, which at first glance appear quite interesting.
Professor Gryffen fulfils the Doctorish role in the same way Sarah Jane does in The Sarah Jane Adventures, however he also has a tragic backstory involving his family. Gryffen's assistant Darius fulfils the role of the anti-hero and there's a love-hate relationship between Starkey and Jorgie, both teenagers out to expose the government but with very different backgrounds. The pitifully brief introductions to these characters really stops this episode from creating enough dramatic gravity to make the viewer want to see more, which is a shame because the scant backstory and character development is actually quite interesting.
K9 himself almost feels out of place and awkward amongst the human characters but it's clear the writers are trying to make him an actual character and not merely a get out of jail free card.
K9 appears briefly in his original Dr. Who design, but after self destructing in order to destroy several Jixen his remains then "regenerate" into the newer version. Due to the fact that Bob Baker only owns the rights to K9 and not the Doctor, TARDIS etc this is an unofficial spin-off, and unlike in Sarah Jane there won't be any crossover or mention of The Doctor. Nevertheless this is clearly meant to be set in the same fictional universe as Dr. Who and it's up to the fans to speculate as to how it fits in.
The world building is handled quite well, as we're introduced to a dystopic future where the government exploits fear of aliens to mimpose draconian laws which keep the population under strict control. This is pertinent theme in the post September 11, 2001 world and one that I look forward to seeing explored in more detail as the series progresses, along with the backstories of all the characters, which at first glance appear quite interesting.
Professor Gryffen fulfils the Doctorish role in the same way Sarah Jane does in The Sarah Jane Adventures, however he also has a tragic backstory involving his family. Gryffen's assistant Darius fulfils the role of the anti-hero and there's a love-hate relationship between Starkey and Jorgie, both teenagers out to expose the government but with very different backgrounds. The pitifully brief introductions to these characters really stops this episode from creating enough dramatic gravity to make the viewer want to see more, which is a shame because the scant backstory and character development is actually quite interesting.
K9 himself almost feels out of place and awkward amongst the human characters but it's clear the writers are trying to make him an actual character and not merely a get out of jail free card.
Regeneration is a difficult episode to rate, because as an after school/Saturday morning TV show it's a cut above much of the dross served up in the children's timeslot and deserves 4/5.
But compared to Rose or Invasion of the Bane this really is a poor pilot episode and I can't give it more than 2/5.
I hope the series improves, as there's clearly much potential to be realised and K9 has plenty of appeal as a children's show.
