Funny coincidence, writing up this review right around this thing's fortieth birthday. Coming from a world which saw first the successful spinoffs of the Russell T. Davies years and then the Marvel television universe boom, it is acutely strange to see an attempt at a Doctor Who spinoff program at such an early date. I was not entirely sure what to expect from this going in except for a hilarious opening theme.
All things considered, I found this story perfectly harmless Christmas season viewing, but kept asking myself one question over and over again: who was this for?
With Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures, that's a pretty easy question to answer. Torchwood was meant to engage with the older side of Doctor Who's age range, and SJA the younger. What demographic was K-9 and Company supposed to appeal to? It just feels like more Doctor Who. Only, perhaps, less of it.
There are a few noticeable tonal differences. For example, I was kept waiting the whole runtime for the alien face behind the threat of the witch's coven to show itself, only to remain befuddled when it just ended up being a bunch of rural folk in robes. For a show named after a robot dog, there is nary a trace of science fiction to be found.
Aside from a few odd details (like Aunt Lavinia's confounding reappearance and Sarah's inexplicable skill in judo) this story mostly ran in through one of my ears and dribbled out the other. It seems like the sort of television that's best enjoyed the night after Christmas while imperfectly sober. It's not bad, but I can't fault anyone for not greenlighting more of it. Sarah and K-9 will, nevertheless, have another, better shot at this a ways down the road. All the power to them.
That detour done, there is another quick one I wanted to get to before we start to dig into Peter Davison's Doctor Who. Namely, our first Cities Made of Song in a while. See you then.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 14 December 2021.)
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