Angel of the North (TV story)

Angel of the North was the twenty-third episode of K9. It was written by Bob Baker, and directed by James Bogle.

Synopsis
Gryffen is taken by Thorne to the crash site of a Fallen Angel, the spaceship that the space-time manipulator was found in. In the frozen wastes of his native Canada, Gryffen faces his own demons and again, the dreaded Korven. K9 and Starkey try to rescue Gryffen from this most evil of alien menaces. Gryffen finds the STM's missing dimensional stabiliser unit which he needs to control it properly. With it comes a mystery!

Plot
Somewhere in the frozen wastes of Canada, a technician calls a Department inspector. He can't get a piece of machinery open. It won't budge. While the inspector is on his way, the technician reaches through some slime and experiences a strange distortion. He looks up and screams.

At Gryffen's house, Gryffen is at the STM when the distortion happens. He asks K9 what's going on. K9 says he's finding it difficult to keep still. He asks if 48 north by 120 means anything to Gryffen. Gryffen says that's where the Fallen Angel crashed. Something is happening there to affect the STM and K9. All this time the ship has been quiet. It's as if something has awakened or some element has been activated.

Gryffen decides it is the temporal stabiliser, the missing element and the reason he hasn't mastered the STM. He tries to conquer his agoraphobia. He takes a few steps outside, but when his fingertips let go of the door, he stumbles and rushes back inside. Darius comes and helps him up, shocked he tried to go outside. Gryffen agrees it was ridiculous.

Later, Gryffen contacts June and tells her he needs to get to the Fallen Angel. He believes the temporal stabiliser is still there and if he gets it, he can to get the STM working accurately. He was thinking about the travelsuit she once told him about. She says it is still experimental and it's a very hazardous journey. Thorne, who is working behind June, leaves. Later, he tells Lomax about the conversation and is ordered to assist Gryffen in every way possible. Thorne brings Gryffen the virtual reality encasement suit. He says he and June have agreed to assist Gryffen on his trip. The suit will help him with his phobia. He assures Gryffen it's perfectly safe and has passed the highest security tests. K9 is not confident.

Gryffen puts on the suit. Thorne will be travelling with him and a small security team. He'll personally see Gryffen is safe and sound. Thorne smiles at K9 and Darius, making Darius suspicious. As they leave the house, Gryffen panics and protests as two CCPCs pull him out. K9 wakes Starkey and the three argue about the matter. June arrives, asking where Gryffen is. She is told the situation.

Thorne, Gryffen and the CCPCs arrive at the crash site, where Gryffen admires a piece of wreckage. Back at Gryffen's house, Jorjie has arrived. She asks about Gryffen and Thorne's trip. K9 isn't entirely sure but has an uneasy feeling about it. He decides to travel there.

Gryffen finds a helmet. Thorne tells him to get on with his work. Gryffen finds the stabiliser in a puddle of slime. After retrieving the stabiliser, Thorne tells Gryffen to bring it and they'll go back home. As Thorne and the CCPCs leave, Gryffen spots something of interest: empty pods. Thorne says there is nothing in them. Gryffen says the "nothings" have escaped. Whatever they are, they are loose in the tunnels.

K9 tells the team he will need them all to operate the STM. Starkey, Darius and Jorjie finish setting all the instruments and powering it up. Starkey tells Jorjie to hold the instrument he's on. He goes downstairs and jumps through the STM portal after K9. They are transported to Canada. K9 says that they only have 2 hours before the portal closes behind them. Starkey spots the crash site and they move towards it. The CCPCs roughly take Gryffen away from the pods. He drops the stabiliser. As they take Gryffen out, Gryffen demands to know what was in the pods. Thorne says it's not for him to question. He's a scientist, paid to do whatever scientists do. Thorne orders a Canadian CCPC to get a squadron and scour the tunnels.

K9 and Starkey arrive at the base. They go through the tunnels, to be met by a Korven. He takes aim, but is shot by K9 before he can fire. Gryffen tells Thorne he doesn't have the stabiliser. He must have dropped it when the CCPCs manhandled him. They meet Starkey and K9, who tell Gryffen about the Korven. Gryffen realises the Korven was in the pods and that the ship and the STM are Korven technology. K9 notes there are over a hundred Korven in the area. Thorne decides they should all leave. Gryffen tells K9 and Starkey they have to go back for the stabiliser. When they return to the site, K9 gives Gryffen and Starkey a diversion by flying around the CCPCs, making animal sounds. Gryffen grabs the stabiliser, but is met by a CCPC. He throws it to Starkey. K9 and Starkey leave as the CCPCs chase Gryffen. He runs down a corridor, where he meets a Korven. It fires at him, but misses. Gryffen spots a door and goes outside. The Korven and the CCPCs start a battle.

With only minutes left, Starkey asks K9 where Gryffen is. K9 says that he went outside, which surprises Starkey. K9 shows Starkey the way out of the tunnels where they meet Gryffen at the transportation spot and head home. Thorne asks the CCPC where Gryffen is and is told he is outside. When Thorne asks about the stabiliser, the CCPC tells him that Starkey had it which causes Thorne to grin knowingly.

As Gryffen goes to the STM, K9 strongly advises against activating it with that device. The Korven are more dangerous than the Jixen, more dangerous than any alien he has encountered and could have only come to Earth to further their aggression. They want to rule time and space. If they had the missing piece, they may allow the Korven to enter. Gryffen finds that K9's enhancement code appears on his screen when he brings the stabiliser near his console. Starkey asks what K9's enhancement code is doing in Korven technology. K9 has no answers. Gryffen says that until they find out, the stabiliser is out of operation. The team are happy that K9 is stuck on Earth with them for a long time.

Cast

 * Professor Alistair Gryffen - Robert Moloney
 * Starkey - Keegan Joyce
 * Jorjie Turner - Philippa Coulthard
 * Darius Pike - Daniel Webber
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson
 * June Turner - Robyn Moore
 * Thorne - Jared Robinsen
 * Lomax - Peter Kent uncredited on UK version
 * Canadian Department Inspector 1 - Craig Lee
 * Canadian Department Inspector 2 - Emma Gibbs
 * Korven - Matthew Reimer
 * CCPC - Josh Norbido, Jason McNamara, Eugen Bekafigo, Manuel Savoie, Tyler Rostedt

''Robert Moloney, Keegan Joyce, Philippa Coulthard, Daniel Webber and John Leeson are all credited in the opening of the episode and not the closing credits. With the exception of Leeson's credit, they are credited only by their name and not with their respective character's name attached.''

Crew

 * Writer - Bob Baker
 * Director - James Bogle
 * Producers - Penny Wall, Richard Stewart, Simon Barnes
 * Executive producers - Jim Howell, Grant Bradley, Steve Robbins
 * Associate producers - Bob Baker, Paul Tams
 * Supervising producer - Dale Bradley
 * Co-Executive producers - Mark Blythe, Sam Tromans
 * Line producer - Pam Collis
 * VFX Director - David Napier
 * Series Production Designer - Jon Dowding
 * Episodic Designer - Adam Head
 * 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 - Patrick Stewart
 * 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

Worldbuilding

 * K9 says that the Korven are even more dangerous than the Jixen.

Story notes

 * After Mind Snap, which was co-written by Paul Tams, this episode is K9 co-creator Bob Baker's first solo script for the series and his first solo Doctor Who related TV story since Nightmare of Eden in 1979.
 * Unlike other episodes, where at the start the credits for the main cast, writer and director are in the bottom centre, the credits are located at the middle right.

Ratings
to be added

Myths
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Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * Gryffen previously received a component for the STM that the Department took from the fallen angel. (TV: Regeneration)

Home video releases
This episode is featured in the following DVD sets:
 * Series One complete box set, released in Australia on 29 September 2010.
 * K9: Series 1: Volume 2, containing episodes 13–26, released in the UK and US on 18 April 2011. ,
 * K9: Ultimate Collectors Edition, containing the full first series, was released in the UK on 11 June 2012.