K9: The Custodians

This story begins where most second episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures do - with the world getting taken over and turned into zombies.

Another trait of that series was that part one was usually a darn sight better than part two. The producers of K9 seem to have used their own sensors to detect this difference, and in this instance duly not bothered with part one at all.

Does that make sense? Well it really depends upon whether your ten-second oil break is as half-empty as mine. :)

Anyway, in this story, the instrument of world-zombification is as original as a popular computer game that's never been mentioned before.

Right in the opening scene we see Jorjie putting a headset on, and it simultaneously putting her on. Darius doesn't fare much better. Within further minutes 20 million children around the world are falling silent and developing alien skin, if what the characters say is to be believed.


But meanwhile, back at 'the Department'… It's taken a long time for this to finally sink into this viewer, but, well, remember that office they had that looked like the interior of a bus? Well, ha ha, it turns out, that it actually is the interior of a bus! Ding-ding! Even the frosted window, a device previously used to conceal the all-powerful Lomax's identity, is in this episode instead used to hide the humble driver. We never get to see the outside of the vehicle, so in your face all those reviewers who called this show just a cynical toy marketing ploy!

I probably should have realised that this was a bus earlier, but in fairness, we just haven't seen the outside of it yet.

There's a brief scene on location when June, Starkey and K9 head up the steps of Green Room Entertainment - the evil company behind the game. As usual, my thought processes went something along the lines of "Where is that? Oh, it's in Australia. No, it's set in London! So where is that in London? Oh, no, they don't know either, so neither can I place this. Ever."

Up until now, with the invasion having already made such huge headway, this story has looked to be something of an epic, however once the three acquaintances enter the game company, the production's true agenda emerges. This is another cheapy episode, playing out almost entirely on the same sets as usual.


The genius way in which they get away with this yet again is to make all the rooms inside the company completely black, blue, green or white. This is highly effective. There are a few props in there, but nothing that you couldn't rustle up in a hurry.

The Custodians is also another episode that doesn't quite know how to end, however given that those ones with a definite conclusion increasingly involve K9 laughing, I can't really complain.

This has been episode #19 of 26. At present, K9 has been a series that hasn't really gone anywhere. Here's hoping that it boldy trundles forwards on the fourth and final fantabulous disc in this box set. (which you might not have noticed that I'm quite enjoying)