User:SOTO/Forum Archive/The Panopticon/@comment-4028641-20151031040623/@comment-1789834-20170114234148

Well I refined my opinion, and my opinion is that the "regeneration" or "rebuilding" of models makes no difference. They're different models, just as different versions of the Doctor exist. Therefore they deserve their own articles. K9 Mark III was present during The Five Doctors but was not present during The Lost Boy, as it was Mark IV. Those two models may seem similar but nothing was stopping the Tenth Doctor completely upgrading the inner workings of K9 to make him more efficient.

The method we have at the moment makes more sense than merging any articles together. Especially merging K9 Mark I and 2. That would be very silly as there is no in-universe verification that it is K9 Mark I that "regenerated" in Regeneration. All we have is a subtle hint and behind the scenes statements. Just like the separate Doctor articles with their little infobox to link them up, the current K9 method works perfectly. And I think it should stay that way.

Merging K9 would make rare visitors confused. If a Nu-Whovian wanted to read up on K9's role in SJA, they don't want the bumpf about Marks I, II and 2. Then you have the BBV K9... do we lump that with Mark I? We shouldn't because "K9 and the Mistress" should not be linked up with "K9 Mark I and Romana II" because that would be going against all the rules of the Wiki.

Then there's the Tenth Doctor's personal K9 seen in a comic sketch. It hasn't been numbered but officially, it should be K9 Mark V. These problems are why we should never have approached this subject in the first place. :)