K9 and Company (novelisation)

K9 and Company was Terence Dudley's novelisation of the pilot episode of K9 and Company, A Girl's Best Friend, also written by Dudley. This was the first novelisation based upon a Doctor Who spin-off production, and the last until novelisations based upon The Sarah Jane Adventures (itself a followup to K9 and Company) began to appear in 2007.

Novelisation

 * This novelisation is based on the original television production written by Terence Dudley. It was generally referred to as K9 and Company, though the pilot episode itself was titled A Girl's Best Friend and was first broadcast on 28 December 1981.

Publisher's summary
In the sleepy village of Hazelbury Abbas, the Winter Solstice is fast drawing near. It is a time of deep mystery and ancient evil.

Sarah Jane Smith, journalist and former companion to the Doctor, comes to Hazelbury Abbas to start work on her new book. While there she meets Brendan, the young ward of her Aunt Lavinia.

Suddenly Brendan disappears. Has he been kidnapped by the practitioners of Black Magic who are said to live in the village? Is he to be sacrificed to the goddess Hecate on the Winter Solstice?

But Sarah is not alone in her search for Brendan. Across the unimaginable gulfs of time and space, the Doctor has sent her a very special companion: a robotic dog by the name of K9...

Book Chapters

 * Prologue
 * Chapter 1 - Exit Aunt Lavinia
 * Chapter 2 - Enter Sarah Jane
 * Chapter 3 - An Invitation
 * Chapter 4 - A Gift from the Doctor
 * Chapter 5 - The Black Art
 * Chapter 6 - A Warning
 * Chapter 7 - K9 Blunders
 * Chapter 8 - A Confrontation
 * Chapter 9 - Brendan is Taken
 * Chapter 10 - K9 Goes Undercover
 * Chapter 11 - Human Sacrifice
 * Chapter 12 - Halstock
 * Chapter 13 - Evil Under the Moon
 * Epilogue

Deviations from televised story

 * The story takes place in the village of Hazelbury Abbas while the television story is set in Moreton Harwood.
 * Sarah is far more antagonistic towards and impatient with Brendan than in the television story.
 * Brendan is said to be fourteen years old. His age was never stated in dialogue in A Girl's Best Friend.

Writing and publishing notes

 * to be added

British publication history

 * This title did not appear in hardback and had a single printing of 20,000 copies.
 * It was released priced £1.95 (UK) under the short-lived The Companions of Doctor Who series.

Audiobook
This Target Book was released on 3 December 2015 complete and unabridged by BBC Physical Audio and read by John Leeson.

The cover blurb and thumbnail illustrations were retained in the accompanying booklet with sleevenotes by David J. Howe. Music and sound effects by Simon Power.