The Fall of the House of Gryffen (TV story)

 was the seventh episode of the first series of K9. It was significant for providing details about the circumstances under which Alistair Gryffen had lost his wife and two children, an event that had hitherto only been teased in the first episode.

Synopsis
Darius, Starkey and Jorjie spend a very spooky night at the Gryffen mansion. June gives Jorjie permission to stay until a violent storm passes. Gryffen has been working on the Space-Time Manipulator and a bolt of energy starts up the machine and brings spectres from Gryffen's past materialising in the mansion causing mayhem. K9 sees the ghosts for what they really are and the group have to convince Gryffen before the youngsters life forces are drained away so that the alien beings can take psychical form.

Plot
As a storm rages, Darius and K9 play chess against Starkey and Jorjie. When Starkey wins, Darius insists he was handicapped and can't believe he lost with a "non-Human" on his team while K9 argues that he lost because he was unintelligent. Darius complains that he can't play with the storm raging. Jorjie suddenly receives a call from her mother who informs her she will get a carrier to pick her up, Gryffen suggests that Jorjie stays due to the storm. As Jorjie hangs up something shatters upstairs, Gryffen tells Starkey to go look up there. The lights flicker and the STM activates, as Starkey goes to a window lightning flashes and he sees a boy for a split second which shocks him. He goes back to the others and tells Gryffen about what he saw, Gryffen is shocked by this and asks Starkey what the boy looked like. Starkey says he was a "skinny blonde boy around 7 or 8", Gryffen runs off to look.

The others doubt what Starkey saw, Jorjie suggests Starkey's mind is playing tricks on him while K9 jokes about how unlikely it would be to spot a boy outside the window 30 feet high. Jorjie wonders why Gryffen ran off, Starkey suggests they do something else other than beating Darius at chess. As Gryffen watches an old family recording, the kids share spooky stories. Starkey and Jorjie question Darius about what's wrong with Gryffen as Darius has been his friend for a while. Gryffen walks in and updates them on the storm, saying the storm is intensifying over the channel. As he leaves Jorjie repeats the question, he tells them that years ago Gryffen and his family went on holiday and they were taken from him.

As the storm grows louder Jorjie predicts her mother will be calling again which she does, much to her annoyance. As Drake asks who she's talking to she hangs up, surprising Jorjie as that's her "trick". They then hear some scary giggling, and Starkey suggests they investigate; Darius (who is obviously frightened) is the last to get up. As they leave he closes the door, the giggling is heard again as the STM powers up. Gryffen suddenly hears a voice calling his name, as Starkey, Jorjie and K9 look around the spot the boy along with an equally odd looking girl as well. K9 scans them and finds no signs of life: they are "non-corporeal entities". They suddenly disappear, K9 tells Starkey and Jorjie to go while he stands guard.

They spot the girl who runs and then the boy who also runs away both giggling. As Jorjie searches Darius suddenly appears, startling her. As Starkey and K9 search, Starkey asks why K9 stays when he could go through the STM and to some random place. K9 tells him that he stays the same reason he does as they are both needed. Starkey spots the boy again (who runs away), K9 detects nothing. As Darius and Jorjie head on Darius holds Jorjie's hand which he remarks as "tiny" and "freezing", she then reveals she's not holding his hand and Darius then sees he has some strange slime on his hand.

As Starkey tries to find the boy a mysterious hand grabs him, it turns out to be Darius (with Jorjie) scaring him. They find the recording of Gryffen's family, K9 gets annoyed at them ignoring him. Starkey and Jorjie recognise Gryffen's son and daughter as the children they saw Darius doesn't believe it, revealing that they are Gryffen's children, Jacob and Mina. He says its the last video taken of them, as the storm strikes again K9 tells the kids to stop being so scared at the flashes. Darius then recognises the voice of Eleanor, Gryffen's wife.

They then find the children, Darius recognises them and is shocked by them. K9 realises they only exist as light; Starkey reasons that if they are dead then they can't harm him. The children then charge up energy and fire it on Starkey, Darius and Jorjie, knocking them unconscious. K9 then fires on them but his photon beam has no effect, it merely passes through them. K9 thinks they can only affect carbon-based life but they manage to disrupt his circuits, knocking him out as well.

Eleanor suddenly appears to Gryffen, she says he cannot touch her as she is too fragile. She tells him his children must complete a task before they join them to make him eternally happy, shocking Gryffen. Darius and Jorjie are trapped on tables near the STM which is absorbing energy, as Darius calls out for K9 he wakes up locked in a closet with Starkey. He tries to unlock the door with his "Jimmy Key" (which is covered in slime), he fails. K9 tells Starkey he needs to power his photon burst before he tries to blow through the door. Darius and Jorjie call out to Gryffen, he tries to remember Starkey and K9 as his memories of them are being erased.

Gryffen goes into the STM room and tells the children to stop playing to him, when Jorjie and Darius call him he asks who they are. They find out that Gryffen is in a trance, they try to wake him up. K9 suggests to Starkey that in all his attempts to retrieve them he warps Space-time into their shapes, he then blasts the door. They go to the STM room, K9 tells Starkey to go round the STM vortex as he distracts the children. Darius and Jorjie try to snap Gryffen out of it, but he is convinced by Eleanor.

K9's energy is depleted and he his disabled by the children, Starkey tries to stop Darius and Jorjie from being pulled into the vortex. K9 reactivates and warns Gryffen they are merely "echoes" of his family and Jorjie tells him that for them to fully materialize they must absorb life force. K9 tells Starkey to get to Gryffen as he is the closest thing he has to a son, Eleanor trys to silence him but he persists. Darius and Jorjie try to help Starkey convice him as well.

Starkey tells Gryffen that his family wouldn't want to harm people. This convinces Gryffen to see what they are. Eleanor refuses to accept this, but as the storm passes, she realises she and the children aren't wanted and they leave. Jorjie then immediately receives a call from June who says she will pick her up. When Starkey asks Gryffen if he will be okay he replies that he will be as he was, the team manage to cheer themselves up by joking around.

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
 * Eleanor Gryffen - Sarah McIntosh
 * Mina Gryffen - Rachel Everett
 * Jacob Gryffen - Joshua McIvor

Production crew

 * Writer - Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause
 * Director - Daniel Nettheim
 * 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 - 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

Story notes

 * For an as-yet unknown reason, instead of airing on 17th April as properly scheduled, Jaws of Orthrus was broadcast instead and this episode eventually aired on 12th June.

Ratings
to be added

Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Story Arc of the loss of Gryffen's family started in the first episode. (K9TV Regeneration)
 * Darius (with K9 on his team) plays chess against Starkey; K9's previous incarnation had experience with this game in DW: The Sunmakers.
 * Gryffen questioning Starkey about the boy he saw is reminiscent of the Tenth Doctor questioning Donna Noble about the woman she saw in DW: Turn Left.
 * The Halloween lamps used by the team to walk through the House (as the lights are flickering) resemble Gravity globes. (DW: The Impossible Planet/The Time of Angels)
 * When Starkey finds his key covered in slime he remarks "Always with the Slime", he was squirted with Jixen tracking slime twice in K9TV: Regeneration.

Home video releases
This episode is featured in the Series One complete boxset.