A Dog's Life

"This unit has been put in a box and abandoned."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2006

Printed in: Doctor Who Files 06

Featuring: K9, Sarah Jane

Synopsis 

K9 Mark III is in the living room of Sarah Jane Smith, left by the Doctor as a gift. Except his functionality is decreasing in efficiency and repairs are getting difficult. Is this the end for K9?

Verdict

A Dog's Life was a decent story to continue my reading through the short stories that conclude each release of the Doctor Who Files. I still can't believe this book has been out for eighteen years and in my possession for what must be at least sixteen without me actually ever completing the adventure at the back. It's crazy, but better late than never! I was really looking forward to this one prior to reading because K9 is a favourite companion of mine. He's obviously very unique as a robot dog and that opens up a great deal of possibility regarding his potential and abilities. I will one day blog the Australian spinoff series featuring him in a funky new design, but for now I was grateful to get this book and have K9 as the focus of the story. It was a little unique in being from the internal perspective of K9. That was good as a means for different in terms of presentation, but it wasn't exactly the most enthralling of story devices if I'm being honest. Sarah Jane didn't exactly seem thrilled to be in conversation with her robot dog! That felt like a bit of a shame given how loveable a character she is and she genuinely does appear to love him on screen in School Reunion and in the Sarah Jane Adventures, but of course this story pre-dates both. Maybe it wasn't always a loving relationship from A Girl's Best Friend onwards with his numerous repairs and impossible technology! I loved that though and each time K9 woke up, years seemed to have passed by which is a bit of a shame to think that he was essentially abandoned for so long. I doubt that was the Doctor's intention when dropping him off for her. I do wonder how contemporary readers and fans that weren't entirely familiar with the Classic era would have enjoyed or even understood this story given its proximity to days gone by, but for me as a hardcore fan it turned into a delight. Sure, the burglary wasn't the most threatening of situations for Sarah Jane considering she wasn't even in at the time, but K9 getting to stun them from within his cardboard box was good. At least he hadn't been thrown out! That would have been a huge shame. I liked the humour that came with Sarah Jane trying to explain to the police officer how she had knocked out two burglars and having her shake K9's actions off was fun, although I must say it wasn't the most believable thing to have her do so and avoid the subject. I'd certainly be asking more questions if I was that police officer! The story was getting borderline depressing as we learned more and more about the depleting systems of K9 and how he essentially only had five minutes remaining of power before a permanent shutdown. That's an unfathomable prospect! It was really nice though for the robot dog to literally get a burst of life at the end as it encountered an unknown humanoid that looked young but had older eyes. And of course that familiar two-hearted beat. The Doctor! That was a fitting moment to reunite K9 with his master who of course would waste no time in repairing the old thing, as seen in School Reunion. I think it's really nice how this is essentially a prequel for K9 to that televised episode and it worked well. Sure, it's a bit simple and easy with some of the internal wording annoying at times, but as a whole I was left feeling happy by the end and really didn't want this to just depict K9's shutdown! Overall, a worthwhile read for sure. 

Rating: 7/10