The Cambridge Spy (TV story)

The Cambridge Spy was the sixteenth episode of Series 1 of K9 and featured the first time travel adventure of the show.

Synopsis
A freak accident engages the Space-Time Manipulator and Jorjie is taken back to 23 November 1963. K9 and Starkey follow to rescue her and become embroiled in a spy-ring and a race against time to save Darius from never having existed. Gryffen enlists June's help to bring Jorjie back to their time and save Darius.

Plot
At the mansion, Gryffen works on the space-time manipulator, K9 beats Starkey at chess and Jorjie looks at files from when the mansion was a police station. Jorjie is dressed in 1960s attire and is researching for a history assignment at school. She finds that in 1963 there was a Russian spy ring in the district and the old station was the centre of investigations.

Jorjie puts on VR goggles to do further research at the cyberpedia. The STM produces a ball of green energy. It hits Jorjie. She vanishes. K9 tells Starkey the quantum equaliser maintains the balance between space and time. Jorjie has been sent to a different time. Darius finds a newspaper dated 23 November 1963 with a picture of an arrested cat burglar. He spots Jorjie in the background and shows the team.

In 1963, a constable finds a confused Jorjie. When Jorjie tries to contact Gryffen, the constable takes away her communicator. A boy called William Pike, who looks exactly like Darius, tells the constable he's her brother. The constable takes them both away. Back in 2050, Starkey decides to go after her and K9 joins him. Darius and Gryffen will stay in 2050 to manage the STM.

In 1963, Jorjie figures out William isn't Darius. The constable finds a folder in a car but is interrupted by the arrival of K9 and Starkey. He takes their communicator, but they escape. He finds another man with a communicator, puts him in Jorjie's cell and tells Bill to come with him for interrogation. The man introduces himself to Jorjie as Miles Barrington Smythe. In 2050, Gryffen tells Darius to go through old newspapers looking for Jorjie. Darius spots a story about his grandfather, convicted for treason as one of a Russian spy ring.

In 1963, while the constable looks at the communicator, a man who looks like Thorne arrives. The constable and the man, whom the constable knows as agent Barker from MI6, meet Bill in an interrogation room. The constable leaves and Bill and agent Barker square off. In 2050 Gryffen ascertains the past has been changed and Darius shouldn't exist. Darius fades away just before June arrives for Jorjie. Starkey and K9 lurk near the station, trying to work out a rescue for Jorjie.

Starkey contacts Gryffen, who tells June what happened. He promises to get them back and explains to Starkey they must save Bill or Darius will not exist. K9 and Starkey rescue Jorjie and Miles and go after Bill.

On the way to the interrogation room, K9 creates a distraction by playing an audio clip sounding like a car crash. Miles tells the constable that there has been a large car crash but the constable recognizes him and runs after him clearing the way for K9, Starkey and Jorgie to get to the interrogation room.

In the interrogation room, K9, Jorjie and Starkey arrive to save Bill. Barker threatens to have them all arrested. K9 blasts the wall. Barker allows them to continue. As Starkey tries to contact Gryffen, Miles arrives. Starkey tells Bill to escape, but he refuses to disgrace his family and stays to prove his innocence. Barker insists he's guilty and will go to prison.

K9 decides to look through the document. It's written in Russian and there is a coded message. Based on a basic mathematical equation, the details of a spy network located in this area are revealed. This message is to a spy, instructing him to use his government employee card to access information. As Bill is not a government employee, it can't be him. K9 detects that an explosive has been triggered and shortly after everyone ducks the document explodes. Gryffen contacts Starkey. He has less then a minute. Bill is released and the team get back to their own time.

In 2050, Darius returns to existence and the others come through the STM. Later, K9 ascertains that no significant change to the timeline has occurred. In 1963, Barker meets with Miles (who is a Russian spy) to discuss their close escape. Barker complains that Miles took his time setting the self-destruct and "the mechanical dog" almost revealed his name. Miles hopes the next time he passes material on to Barker, he'll take better care of it. Miles hopes that one day Britain will have a society like communist Russia. They leave the street.

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
 * William Pike - Daniel Webber
 * Barker - Jared Robinsen
 * Constable - Daniel Murphy
 * Miles Barrington Smythe - Corey Robinson

Production crew

 * Writer - Jason Bourque
 * Director - Mark DeFriest
 * 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 producer - Mark Blythe
 * With special thanks - 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 - 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

Story notes

 * Despite the fact Thorne was re-introduced in the previous episode, he does not appear. Instead his great-grandfather does.
 * This episode aired on the same day as the Doctor Who episode Amy's Choice.

Ratings
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Myths
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * Darius says, "What's with all these storms? Another one." Darius previously saw major storms in TV: Aeolian.
 * Jorjie is sent to 23 November, 1963. (The date is on the newspaper.) This is the day the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
 * The 1963 scenes are concurrent with the second of the two days depicted in Remembrance of the Daleks. While Jorjie is at the police station, the Seventh Doctor and Ace are battling Daleks at Coal Hill School. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
 * The 23 November newspaper's front page reports the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald for the murder of American President John F. Kennedy. The Ninth Doctor was present in the crowd watching that assassination. (TV: Rose) 25 years later, the Seventh Doctor asserted that the assassination was prompted by the Nemesis comet (TV: Silver Nemesis)
 * VR goggles first appeared in TV: Regeneration.
 * When William Pike's future is disrupted, Darius is almost erased and starts to fade away. This isn't the first time interference in the timeline in 1963 had caused something like this. Amy Pond almost faded away after the Daleks exterminated humanity. (GAME: City of the Daleks)
 * Barker's betrayal of his nation foreshadows his possible descendant Thorne's betrayal of humanity to the Korven. (TV: The Eclipse of the Korven)


 * This story takes place before TV: Lost Library of Ukko.

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, scheduled for release in the UK on 11 June 2011.