K9 Mark IV

K-9 Mark IIIb served as a replacement for the destroyed K-9 Mark III.

Biography
After Mark III sacrified himself to defeat the Krillitanes, the Doctor left a new model, Mark IIIb, for Sarah Jane Smith, just seconds after he departed in the TARDIS. (DW: School Reunion) Though Sarah Jane didn't find this out right away, the Doctor had also placed some gifts in a panel in K-9's side: sonic lipstick and a wristwatch that could detect alien life. (Sarah Jane Smith website).

A year before Sarah Jane first met Maria Jackson, K-9 Mark IIIb left Sarah Jane in order to stabilize a dangerous artificial black hole in space which had been created in Switzerland. He could only speak with Sarah occasionally via a cabinet with a spacetime link when the orbit of the black hole intersected with that of Earth and did not know when he would complete the job. (SJA: Invasion of the Bane) However, he did step in dramatically in order to save the day at a later date. (SJA: The Lost Boy)

Features and improvements
This K-9 had a shiny metallic blue paint job and a number of improvements over Mark III including an undetectable hyperlink facility. (DW: School Reunion) Later, though, K-9 reverted to his old, dark green color. (SJA: Invasion of the Bane) In episode 2 of The Lost Boy Sarah Jane unleahses K-9 Mark IIIb to battle Mr Smith. Before and after the battle K-9 displays a teleport facility and during the battle he utilises a laser weapon similar to that of the previous generations of K-9. (DW: The Lost Boy)

Behind the Scenes

 * The designation K-9 Mark IIIb never actually appeared in dialogue. Documents packaged with the 1/4 scale Remote Control K-9 toy referred to this model as the Mark IIIb.
 * K-9 Mark IIIb has not, to date, made more than token appearances on The Sarah Jane Adventures because of its conflicting with the rights by Jetix Europe to have him appear in a series of his own, K9. (Jetix has chosen to display the character's name as K9).
 * K-9 Mark IIIb will appear in the Series 4 finale of Doctor Who.