K-9
K-9 is the Doctors faithful robotic dog and is the closest thing that he has had to a pet. The Doctor has had many companions throughout the years -both alien and human- but none of those have endeared themselves to the Doctor as much as K-9 has. K-9 is a robotic assistant armed with a weapon for self-defense which is located in his nose, is capable of data analysis, and is able to speak, often using his familiar catchphrase “Affirmative master!” when asked a question by the Doctor. Being a computer he was very useful at communicating with other machines, something the Doctor used quite often to get out of messes.
K-9 MK I
K-9 came about as a gift from Professor Marius in the episode Swarm, after adjusting to his new owners he called the Doctor “Master” and Leela “Mistress”. It became obvious that over time he was extremely protective of and attached to Leela. He proved himself useful often in missions of infiltration or sabotage, sometimes on his own or along with Leela. Although he was a big part in the missions and adventures the Doctor and Leela would take, the most important part played by K-9 MK I was in the defense of Gallifrey. When the Vardans threatened invasion, the Doctor had to come up with an elaborate ruse to fool everyone. The only one he trusted with his plan and to help out was K-9. In the end when Leela decided to stay on Gallifrey K-9 asked to stay with her.
K-9 MK II
The Doctor was sad to see K-9 go but he had already built a K-9 MK II, which he had kept in a box in the TARDIS. The Doctor made many modifications to this model, including reducing K-9’s firepower so that he could only stun people and not kill them. He also made sure that this K-9 would answer to a dog whistle. These improvements helped in tracking down the 6 segments of the Time Key. However during this search is the first time of two that K-9 ever addresses the Doctor as “Doctor” and not “Master”! The cause of this is because the evil Shadow had reprogrammed him, thankfully he was able to be repaired. K-9 MK II developed a battery problem when he went to fetch a beach ball thrown in the ocean by the Doctor’s companion Romana, and this caused numerous problems and in the end K-9 MK II had to remain in E-Space where he would be cured.
K-9 MK III
When the fourth Doctor’s previous companion Sarah Jane Smith went to stay with her Aunt Lavina she found a strange box waiting for her. The gift had been in the attic for quite a few years awaiting its owner. K-9 MK III was made with the latest technology. It had a tri-stat bus driver, a universal asynchronous transmitter and receiver, as well as a holographic memory. After helping his new mistress in a couple of adventures he began to suffer breakdowns. However Sarah Jane knew that if she tried to get her robot dog repaired, the world would be exposed to his advanced technology which could disturb the time line. So she stored him away.
K9 MK III part 2
We see K9 MK III again when Sarah Jane met the Doctor once more, this time in his tenth incarnation. The Doctor was able to fix K-9 which was great timing because K-9 was the key to defeating the Krillitanes. In an act of honor and loyalty K-9 used his laser to blow up a drum of Krillitane oil, there fore killing all the Krillitanes but destroying himself as well.
K9 MK IV
Knowing Sarah Jane was heartbroken by K-9’s sacrifice the Doctor built K-9 MK IV, which she discovered after saying goodbye to the Doctor and the TARDIS dematerialized. The fourth K-9 model told Sarah Jane that even though he was rebuilt he retained the previous model’s memories. The Doctor, once again, gave K-9 some upgrades, fitting him with omni-flexible hyperlink capabilities so that he could upgrade himself when needed. Yet again K-9 proves his dedication to protecting his mistress and her planet when he had to live in space in close proximity to a black hole created by Switzerland in order to stabilize it. He could sometimes communicate with his mistress by using a space-link and could sometimes visit for brief periods. The black hole was eventually stabilized by the Doctor and was able to go back to earth to continue helping Sarah Jane and her adopted son Luke.
Links to building K-9
http://izzy-k9.blogspot.com/2011/02/k-9-head-take-3-day-7.htmlhttp://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9103
http://astromechbuilder.com/mechloader/v/R7Dude/K9/?g2_page=2
Buying a K-9
http://www.thisplanetearth.co.uk/http://www.mutantmouldings.co.uk/
Cosplaying as K-9
Time to get creative and use your imagination to be a human cosplaying as a robot dog! It can be done!
Written by Sparkles.
Last Updated 10-01-2015
