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{{real world}}
{{TitleTV}}
{{Infobox K9
|image          = AlienAvatar.jpg
|name    = Alien Avatar
|series        = [[K9 (TV series)|K9]]
|season number        = [[Series 1 (K9)|1]]
|main character      = [[K9 Mark 2|K9]], [[Starkey]], [[Jorjie Turner|Jorjie]], [[Darius Pike|Darius]], [[Alistair Gryffen|Professor Gryffen]]
|featuring      = [[June Turner|June]]
|enemy          = [[Drake]]
|setting        = [[London]], [[2050]]
|writer        = [[Graeme Farmer]]
|producer      = [[Penny Wall]], [[Richard Stewart]], [[Simon Barnes]]
|director      = [[Karl Zwicky]]
|broadcast date = [[29 March]] [[2010]]
|format        = 1 x 30 minute episode
|production code= 1.12
|prev= Oroborus (TV story)|Oroborus (TV story)
|next= Aeolian (TV story)|Aeolian (TV story)
}}{{TV stub}}
'''''Alien Avatar''''' was the twelfth episode of [[Series 1 (K9)|Series 1]] of ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]''.
== Synopsis ==
[[Thames|The Thames]] is badly polluted by an [[alien]] chemical. [[K9 Mark 2|K9]] discovers that [[telepathic]] aliens, the [[Mede]]s, are imprisoned by [[Drake]], who is trying to duplicate a missing special key to operate their organic [[starship]]. K9 rescues the Medes. [[June Turner|June]] discovers Drake's plot and helps release their starship.
== Plot ==
As they make their way to the [[River Thames]], Starkey explains [[fishing]] to K9. Two [[CCPC]]s ask them what they are doing. K9 explains fishing to them. Starkey and K9 arrive to find dead [[fish]]. K9 warns him not touch them. He has detected an unknown alien substance. At [[Gryffen Manor]], Jorjie sings along to music and accidentally elbows Darius, who is carrying a pile of books. Gryffen asks him if he was going to sell the books. Darius denies it but Gryffen tells him to take them back to the library. Jorjie starts singing again. Gryffen has to raise his voice to get her attention to tell her to keep it down.
As Darius goes to the library, he sees two aliens appear and vanish. At Gryffen house, Starkey takes readings of the toxin in the dead fish. It is extraterrestrial. Starkey finds a match: the toxin is [[chenium]], a corrosive byproduct of the manufacture of [[Qualon 37]], used in the making of inter-dimensional [[starship]]s. K9 estimates that if it builds up in the food chain, 85% of life in the Thames Valley will die.
In June's office, Drake orders a CCPC to be more persuasive. June tells him she sent her squad to investigate possible alien activity, They were turned back by Drake's unit. Drake is contacted by the CCPC, who tells him the aliens won't stop talking. Drake tells June he won't "upset" her squad again. He has business to attend to. She leaves.
K9 and the team find where the toxin is entering the river. Starkey sees the aliens. They knock him to the ground and disappear. Back at Gryffen's house, K9 looks up the aliens in his file. They are the [[Mede]]s, a species who can project their images as avatars if they cannot physically be present. The team decide to go to the pollution's source. K9 goes through the drains as Darius and Jorjie track him through the streets and Gryffen and Starkey monitor them.
K9's transmission starts to break up. In Drake's office, June finds the missing schematics for a Fallen Angel on his computer. When Drake arrives, she asks him about his interest in the ship. Before he leaves, she warns he best not be in possession of the ship. June goes to Gryffen's house, where she shows him a blueprint of the [[Mede starship]] and the molecular refractor on the top, telling him Drake, not the Department, is exploiting it. The molecular refractor allows the ship to dematerialise and with this he could spy anywhere and not be seen.
The gang spots a factory. Gryffen and June analyse an image of the Mede avatar which cannot be seen in infrared. Starkey insists that Gryffen tell June the situation. Gryffen informs her that Darius, Jorjie and K9 are looking for the source of the pollution in North West 12. June contacts Jorjie and warns her to get out, but she and Darius are caught by CCPCs.
Darius and Jorjie are tied up in the factory, where Drake's men are experimenting with the refractor. K9 sees the Medes' avatars, who tell him to come with them. He replies in their language. They take him to the factory, the source of the pollution, where he sees the workers casting chenium. He finds Darius and Jorjie and frees them. Darius and Jorjie are recaptured. June arrives and the CCPCs take the workers away.
K9 asks Starkey to help him deliver the molecular refractor to the Medes and tells June that Drake had the Medes locked up. K9, Starkey and June gives the Medes the refractor, apologise for what Drake did to them and let them go. The Medes clean up the pollution and repair the damage to K9 before they leave in their ship. After noting the "awesome" day they had, Starkey asks K9 if he wants to go fishing. K9 cheerfully refuses.
== Cast ==
* [[K9 Mark 2]] - [[John Leeson]]
* [[Starkey]] - [[Keegan Joyce]]
* [[Jorjie Turner]] - [[Philippa Coulthard]]
* [[Darius Pike]] - [[Daniel Webber]]
* [[Professor]] [[Alistair Gryffen]] - [[Robert Moloney]]
* [[June Turner]] - [[Robyn Moore]]
* [[Drake]] - [[Connor Van Vuuren]]
* [[Foreman (Alien Avatar)|Foreman]] - [[Brian Bolton]]
* [[Mede 1]] - [[Kristin Rolles]]
* [[Mede 2]] - [[Lani Surverson]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Marcel Baum]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[John Devine]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Timothy Humphries]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Robert Cooney]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Favian Ledesman]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Joshua Norbido]]
* [[CCPC]] - [[Jarrod Grodecki]]
== Production crew ==
* [[Writer]] - [[Graeme Farmer]]
* [[Director]] - [[Karl Zwicky]]
* [[Producer]]s - [[Penny Wall]], [[Richard Stewart]], [[Simon Barnes]]
* [[Executive producer]]s - [[Jim Howell]], [[Grant Bradley]], [[Steve Robbins]]
* [[Associate producer]]s - [[Bob Baker]], [[Paul Tams]]
* Supervising producer - [[Dale Bradley]]
* Co-Executive producer - [[Mark Blythe]]
* With special thanks - [[Sam Tromans]]
* Line producer - [[Pam Collis]]
* VFX Director - [[David Napier]]
* Series [[Production Designer]] - [[Jon Dowding]]
* Episodic Designer - [[Adam Head]]
* [[K9 Mark 2|New K9]] Design by - [[Paul Tams]], [[Alex Kubalsky]]
* Series Director of Photography - [[Ben Nott]]
* Episodic Director of Photography - [[Tony O'Loughlan]]
* Music by - [[Christopher Elves]]
* K9 theme music by - [[Michael Lira]]
* [[Editor]]s - [[Russell Maggs]], [[Strutts Pysros]]
* Casting - [[Faith Martin]] and associates
* Episodic casting - [[Lisa Maloney]]
* Drama/Dialogue coach - [[Peter Kent]]
* Story Producer - [[Greg Walters]]
* Script Adaption - [[Michaeley O'Brien]]
* Production Accountant - [[Pru Donovan]]
* 1st Assistant Director - [[Peter McLennan]]
* Script Supervisor - [[Sue Ketchington]]
* [[Costume Designer]] - [[Joanne Thompson]]
* Makeup Designer - [[Sharon Robbins]]
* Puppeteer - [[David Pawsey]]
* [[Location Manager]] - [[Charles Boyle]]
* Sound Recordist - [[Ian Grant]]
* B Camera Operator - [[Dan Maxwell]]
* Gaffer - [[Steve Monk]]
* Key Grip - [[Billy Harmer]]
* Special thanks to - [[Space Furniture]], [[Shredox]], [[J. Barbour & Sons Ltd]], [[Heath Williams]] at Firefly Lighting, [[Videopro]]
* Safety Supervisor/Stunt Coordinator - [[Danny Baldwin]]
* Transport Manager - [[Alister Ward]]
* Unit Manager - [[Graeme Suhr]]
* Post Production Facility - [[Cutting Edge Australia]]
* Head of Post Production - [[John Lee]]
* Sound Design - [[Warren Pearson]]
== References ==
''to be added''
== Story notes ==
* This episode aired on the same day as the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode ''[[Flesh and Stone]]''.
=== Ratings ===
''to be added''
=== Myths ===
''to be added''
=== Filming locations ===
''to be added''
=== Production errors ===
* While other episodes use [[matte painting]]s to establish [[London]] landmarks, this episode's exteriors aren't really treated in any way. It is blatantly obvious, especially as the characters are at the river side, that they're not anywhere close to the [[Thames]]. Tropical [[tree]]s can be seen on the other side of the river and the wide shots don't reveal any architecture that even slightly resembles London. Much of the action also takes place under a bridge that runs parallel to the river, something that doesn't exist in [[London]]. ''It's forty years into the future, a lot has changed, the climate, the government, the city, everything, time has really taken its toll.''
* When K9 cheerfully refuses Starkey's offer to go fishing at the end of the episode, the lights on his face that go on when he speaks don't flash. ''That's probably because he hadn't had enough time to fully recover from his infection, meaning that he would continue to be plagued by further technical difficulties, which would grow weaker and weaker with each attack before ceasing completely.''
== Continuity ==
{{K9 discontinuity}}
* When June Turner has another jurisdictional dispute with Drake, she threatens to launch a report with [[Lomax (K9)|Lomax]].
* This episode establishes that the reason this K9 unit's language is laced with so much English slang is that the five thousand [[Earth]] movies on his memdrive have influenced his mode of expression.
* This episode ''definitively'' establishes that K9 has some sort of on-board linguistic database, as he talks to the Medes. This point was never particularly clear in his (or his successors') usage in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', since he would have ostensibly had access to [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] [[translation circuit]]. Moreover, he's never been shown to use other languages in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''.
== Home video releases ==
This episode is featured in the following DVD sets:
* Series One complete box set, released in Australia on [[29 September]] [[2010]]. [http://tardis-base.blogspot.com/2010/08/k9-complete-first-series.html]
* A "vanilla" DVD called ''Alien Avatar'', containing ''[[The Fall of the House of Gryffen (TV story)|The Fall of the House of Gryffen]]'', ''[[Jaws of Orthrus (TV story)|Jaws of Orthrus]]'', ''[[Dream-Eaters (TV story)|Dream-Eaters]]'', ''[[Curse of Anubis (TV story)|Curse of Anubis]]'', ''[[Oroborus (TV story)|Oroborus]]'' and ''Alien Avatar'', released in Australia on [[1 December]] [[2010]]. [http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/k9-dvd-complete-series-bounty-hunter/]
* ''K9: Series 1: Volume 1'', containing episodes 1–12, released in the UK on [[31 January]] [[2011]] and in the US on [[30 March]] [[2011]]. [http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/k9-complete-series-1-13-episodes/], [http://www.amazon.com/K9-Series-1-Vol/dp/B004EJ006M/ref=pd_bxgy_mov_img_b]
* ''K9: Ultimate Collectors Edition'', containing the full first series, scheduled for release in the UK on [[11 June]] [[2011]]. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/K9-Complete-Box-Set-DVD/dp/B0076WI3C2/ref=sr_1_4?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1339049905&sr=1-4]
<gallery hideaddbutton="true"  widths="170">
file:Dvd-k9complete.jpg|Complete Boxset<br />(Region 4, Australia)
file:K9 Alien Avatar Australia DVD.jpg|''Alien Avatar''<br />(Region 4, Australia)
file:K9 Series 1 Vol 1 DVD.jpg|Series 1, Volume 1<br />(Region 0, sold in UK and US)
file:K9 Ultimate Collectors Edition DVD.jpg|"Ultimate Collectors Edition"<br />(Region 2, UK)
</gallery>
== External links ==
* [http://www.k9official.com/episodes.html Official ''K9'' site]
{{K9 series 1}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{ImageLinkTV}}


[[Category:K9 television stories]]
[[Category:K9 television stories]]
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