Liberation (TV story)

Liberation was the second episode of Series 1 of K9 and resolved the issue of the surviving Jixen and Dauntless Prison shown in the first episode.

Synopsis
Having been tagged by Jixen slime, Starkey is in hiding from The Department and the Jixen Warrior who survived K9’s blast. Jorjie tells Starkey that the Department is imprisoning Aliens and K9 flies off to investigate. Jorjies’s mother is Department inspector June Turner and there is a confrontation as the youngsters and K9 try to help release the innocent aliens. The Jixen have a battle with their sworn enemies, the Merons, who have infiltrated the Department. Starkey confronts the Jixen with dire consequences!

Plot
At the mansion, Gryffen is watching a recording of his wife and children. Darius doesn't like Starkey staying, but K9 insists that he must or the Jixen will find him and tear him limb from limb. Starkey asks why can't he just get the Jixen before it gets him. K9 explains that the odds aren't in his favour. Starkey becomes alert when someone knocks at the door. Darius explains that enemies normally burst through the door. Jorjie arrives and talks to the others about travelling through time via the Space-Time Manipulator. Darius argues that its too dangerous and anything could come through. Suddenly the STM activates and sends a couple of Black rats through, scaring Darius. K9 informs Gryffen that the Jixen is alive and on the move.

Some time later, when K9 detects what direction the Jixen is heading in, Gryffen asks what would it find of interest in that area. Starkey says it must be heading for the Department's prison. Gryffen asks about the prison. Jorjie explains that the Department keeps captured aliens there and they are given no rights and inhumane treatment. Starkey replies that people are, too. Jorjie says it isn't fair and no-one knows what they're doing to the prisoners. Darius asks why the Jixen would go to an alien prison; he suggests Starkey give himself up. K9 says only one word, Meron, which Darius hears as 'moron'. Jorjie corrects him and asks what it means. Gryffen explains it's an enemy of the Jixen and highly dangerous. Starkey decides that they should go to the prison and get the Jixen before it gets him. K9 says that isn't a good idea as the last thing they'd want would be to get caught in is battle between the Merons and the Jixen. Whole planets have been wiped out.

Jorjie is called by her mother. Gryffen asks K9 to go to the prison and track the Jixen. K9 says he will, but with great discomfort. While Darius is with Mariah, Starkey says that they should be helping K9 find the Jixen. Darius says that K9 can look after himself and that Gryffen said no way. Starkey accuses him of being "chicken" as he is scared of a little rat. He asks Darius what he actually does for Gryffen. Darius says that he protects Gryffen from idiots like Starkey. Starkey tells him that Jorjie would go with him. Darius asks what he gets out of this. Starkey asks what he wants. Darius agrees but only with the promise that Starkey will leave and not come back after they stop the Jixen. Darius and Starkey get into Mariah and go for a drive. Gryffen tracks K9 through the monitor and tells him to be careful he's not detected. He suggests that K9 back off. While moving towards the prison, K9 is detected by the Department. Starkey is angry that instead of driving right to the prison Darius parked Mariah so far away they have to walk a mile. Darius explains that you don't park at the front door when you're trying to sneak in the back door. K9 enters the Department exclusion zone and Inspector Drake orders that it is excluded. K9 is attacked by the Department's defense robots which disable him and he falls in a dustbin that Starkey and Darius walk by.

Gryffen is shocked to see K9 disabled in the dustbin. Starkey and Darius climb down a ladder where they meet a locked door which Starkey tries to unlock. Starkey argues with Darius that the tunnels could take them anywhere as they go on forever. Darius says it's better than Starkey's idea which was nothing. Starkey decides to not waste any more of his time. Darius wishes him good luck on getting out as he walks into a brick wall which breaks; Darius has stumbled upon the entrance to the building. They spot two scientists taking a sample from an alien on the other side of the corridor as they are apprehended by the CCPCs. Starkey contacts K9 with his dog whistle, Gryffen detects this as a sign that he is in trouble and asks K9 to wake up. As Starkey and Darius see the alien prisoners, Gryffen begs K9 to respond. As they look at the alien prisoners, Starkey notes that there's a lot they don't know about the Department.

They are met by Thorne, the governor of the prison, who throws them in a cell with an alien called Mr Wiffy. Darius complains that he can't keep them in here with no charges. June comes in and says he can. She is surprised to see Starkey, "The boy who everyone is looking for". She says they're not to be harmed. Thorne asserts his authority as governor, but she challenges his with the authority of a Department inspector in charge of alien threats. As she suggests he searches his prisoners before he "blabs his face off", she takes Darius's communications device and contacts Gryffen, who demands to know why the Department is imprisoning aliens. She says they need to be catalogued to look out for others of their species and if the species commit a crime, they'll know what they are looking for. Gryffen contends the aliens are innocent but she argues that they can't be allowed to wander around London. Gryffen says they should be sent back home. She says they have tried, but insists it's the only way and closes contact.

June warns Starkey that he will be returned to Virtual detention where his sentence will be reset to day one plus an extra six months for escaping unless he tells her where she can find K9. She says if he does, they will both be released. Darius agrees but Starkey refuses to tell her. She leaves them until the guards arrive to bring him to virutal detention. Gryffen waits for K9 to wake up. When he thinks of his family he tells K9 that if he survives and they don't he'll never forgive himself. He'll never get past that he wasn't there for them. When K9 doesn't respond, Gryffen has a thought, he creates a sound that K9 is familiar with, dropping a ball over and over again. K9 reactivates. He explains that his living metal frame required down time to repair from the Department's weaponry and his combat conditioning shielding has now done its job, K9 starts to make his way to Dauntless prison.

Darius tries to convince Starkey to give K9 up. He warns Darius that if the Jixen is here, he's trapped and done for. Suddenly, Jorjie arrives. On being asked how she found them, she says she tracked Mariah's autodrive and followed here and then followed the sound of bickering through through the tunnels. Jorjie asks how can she get them out. Starkey says there is no way, but Darius gives her a keycard for the keypad up the corridor. Darius explains to Starkey that in his little performance with Mr Wiffy, he picked Thorne's pocket. Jorjie unlocks all the cells in the corridor. All CCPC units are ordered to the cells. K9 goes through the prison, scanning for the Jixen. As the kids and the aliens run, Starkey looks behind to see if they are being followed when he is attacked by the Jixen.

The Jixen corners him but K9 shoots the it. However, he has used up allhis power and his energy levels don't have time to reboot. He recommends "rapid movement in the opposite direction of the Xenomorph": run. Starkey and K9 lure the Jixen to the cells. Starkey puts his jacket (which contains the Jixen tracking slime) in a cell which the Jixen finds. Starkey then locks the cell. As they taunt the Jixen, one of the scientists walks in. He morphs into his true Meron form and attacks K9. As he advances on Starkey, the Jixen emits a loud scream which makes the Meron retreat. In Thorne's office, June is shocked to hear the Jixen's scream. Thorne locks the door, saying it's best they stay here. June spots Starkey and K9 on a camera and  suggests they go and capture him. Thorne refuses, saying they don't know what's going on down there. K9 isn't in good shape. Saying his immunity levels are down to 19%, he reroutes energy reserves to critical systems. K9 tells Starkey to leave him. K9 can't go as his power levels are critical. Starkey tells him to try.

June grabs Thorne's locking device and promises he'll never darken the prison's doors again and he's finished. Thorne vows revenge one day. Starkey and K9 meet up with the others and Darius manages to unlock the door, but they are met by June, who tells them they are blocked by a force field and orders the aliens to return to their cells. Darius calls her a monster. She says that the system works but Starkey argues she's imprisoning innocent aliens. She says she's doing this for the future, so their children's children will be safe. Starkey asks about her children, she says any child of hers isn't his business. Jorjie then reveals to her that she helped the aliens. June is shocked to see Jorjie here, just as Jorjie is to find she works for the Department. The Jixen arrives and attacks Starkey and June. K9 tries to fight it but exhausts his firepower. June gives Jorjie the force field device and tells her to arm it to self-destruct. Darius grabs it and June tells him to attach it to the Jixen. When the Jixen advances on him he throws it to Starkey, who manages to attach it to the Jixen, killing it. Jorjie and Darius agree they make quite a team. K9 calls the assessment logical, amusing the kids. Starkey then faints.

That night, Starkey wakes up in Gryffen's House. He calls for K9 and Gryffen shows him that the robot dog been waiting by his side. Starkey asks K9 how he got away from June. Darius explains that all the aliens did was leaked to the media, and the prison is being shut down. K9 confirms to Gryffen that the Jixen is gone. As one problem is solved another one presents itself. Gryffen reports bad news about the rats as they multiply every ten seconds. He says he knows that the machine needs more work before he tampers with it. As Starkey then gets up, Gryffen asks where he's going. Starkey says he has a job to do and he had an deal with Darius. Jorjie's gone home and the Jixen's dead. Starkey thanks K9 for saving him from "termination" before he leaves. Later, Starkey hacks into the display board terminal again but is met by two CCPCs. K9 moves to protect him and they both run away.

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
 * Thorne - Jared Robinsen
 * Department Field Officer 1 - Rob Horton
 * Department Field Officer 2 - Michael Thompson
 * CCPC - Josh Norbido
 * CCPC - Jason McNamara
 * CCPC - Michael Donnet
 * CCPC - Edgen Bekafigo
 * CCPC - Tyler Rostedt
 * Meron 1 - Rob Horton
 * Meron 2 - Michael Thompson
 * Jixen - Janardan Kewin
 * Lochnessy Alien - Simon Preston-Barnes
 * Mr. Wiffy - Noel Sheridan
 * Mr. Wiffy - Paul Tams
 * Geisha Alien - Leah Tilney
 * Geisha Alien - Sam Tromans
 * Alien - George Pikusa
 * Alien - Jessica Field
 * Alien - Nick Burgess
 * Alien - Amy Verwayen
 * Alien - Hayley McFarlane
 * Alien - Vince Holland
 * Alien - Billy Shannon
 * Alien - Cathey Burgess

Production crew

 * Writers - Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause
 * Directors - David Caesar, David Napier
 * 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 - Russell Maggs
 * Casting - Faith Martin and associates
 * Episodic casting - Lisa Maloney
 * Drama/Dialogue coach - Peter Kent
 * Story Producer - Victoria Madden
 * Script Editor - Victoria Madden, Anthony Morris
 * Script Adaption - Michaeley O'Brien
 * Production Accountant - Pru Donovan
 * 1st Assistant Director - Peter McLennan, Wade Savage
 * 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
 * Sound Mix - Ben Vlad
 * K9 Theme Music Recorded - Supersonic
 * The Postworks - Bob Blasdall
 * Marshalls and Dent Lawyers - Shaun Miller, Bryce Menzies
 * Completion Guarantor - First Australian Completion Bond Company Pty Ltd
 * Executive producer Network Ten Australia - Cherrie Bottger
 * Head of Children's Drama Network Ten - Cherrie Bottger

Food and Beverages

 * Darius complains that Starkey ate all the Biscuits.
 * The particular box of biscuits is of a brand called "Best".
 * Darius mentions that he likes Italian food.
 * When K9 is disabled by Dauntless Prison's defences, he falls into a dustbin. Some of the rubbish contained in it is baked beans.



Species

 * K9 states the Mermaids of Gorgol XIII can eat dinner through their Nostrils.
 * The Jixen and Merons have been at war for hundreds of years.
 * Many aliens have been imprisoned in Dauntless Prison including a foul-smelling creature known as Mr. Wiffy, an alien resembling an Axon (DW: The Claws of Axos) and an alien resembling Zephon. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan)

History

 * Jorjie thinks about using the STM to travel to the Dark Ages or London 2010.

Earth creatures

 * Darius mentions dinosaurs as an example of a dangerous creature that could come through the STM; however when it activates it only sends a couple of black rats.

Technology

 * Dauntless Prison is protected by hovering robots which resemble Orange spheres.

Story notes

 * Although it was reported Liberation would air on 4 April on Disney XD, The Korven was broadcast instead of the reported rebroadcast of Regeneration and The Bounty Hunter aired in Liberation's place. Liberation wouldn't be broadcast for six months until it finally aired on Disney XD on 9 October.
 * K9 recomends "rapid movement in the opposite direction of the xenomorph", a reference to the Alien film franchise, whose titular aliens are known as xenomorphs.

Ratings
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Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * When Thorne throws Darius into the cell with the alien he calls "Mr. Wiffy", Darius' reply of "You're not wrong" is obviously dubbed, as his mouth doesn't move when he says it.



Continuity

 * An alien resembling Zephon (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan), or possibly the early stage of the Krynoids (DW: The Seeds of Doom), is seen as one of the prisoners. Another alien resembles an Axon. (DW: The Claws of Axos)
 * In Dauntless Prison, a prison corridor door is labelled D84.
 * Jorjie considers the possibility using the Space-Time Manipulator to have Time-Travel adventures. Time-Travel adventures are the main feature of Doctor Who.

Home video releases

 * This episode is featured in the Series One complete boxset which is due to be released in Australia in 29 September 2010, UK release is unknown.
 * This episode is featured in a "vanilla" DVD called The Bounty Hunter along with Regeneration, The Korven, The Bounty Hunter, Sirens of Ceres and Fear Itself, which is due to be released in Australia in 29 September 2010, UK release is unknown.