The new show comes about thanks to a bizarre rights situation that sees creator Bob Baker co-own the character but not the way the character looks - hence his redesign. We're not convinced by the trailer, but much more worrying is the description from Park Entertainment, who're making the show:

K9 is a children's sci-fi/adventure series combining comedy, action and suspense - "X Files" meets "Men in Black" with a zany dash of "Ghostbusters".

"Zany dash of 'Ghostbusters'"? Really?

Don't take our word for it, though; watch the trailer and judge for yourself.

K9 Promo [Park Entertainment]

BEST:

Spot, Data's Orange Tabby Cat from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Who: Data's number 1 friend that didn't wear a Devo-esque visor on his face.
Why he's awesome: He's probably one of the only cats in the universe that has an infinitely advanced AI at his beck and call.
Bonus points: Anything that pisses Riker off is a big plus in my book.

Willis the Bouncer from Robert Heinlein's Red Planet
Who: A sound mimicking furry ball that every kid should have as a friend.
Why he's awesome: In a 1960's era future, when a dog just won't cut it, the only way to really impress the kids at school is with an alien that doubles as a soccer ball. And here's a clip from the Fox miniseries adaptation.

R2D2, Star Wars
Who: The yin to C3PO's (annoying) yang that brings logic and light to any situation through a series of flickering lights and bleeps.
Why he's awesome: He's a moving trashcan that manages to be more likeable than most of the Star Wars palz extended cast.

Porthos, Captain Archer's Beagle from Enterprise
Who: Easily one of the more tolerable characters on Enterprise. Mostly because he didn't talk.
Why he's awesome: He's a beagle! How can beagles not be cute? Also, I feel like after the unfortunate Scotty related transporter incident, he deserves a nice memorial.

Ampersand, Y the Last man
Who: The world's ending, every man is dead, you're an aspiring escape artist pining away for your lost girlfriend and you're all alone. What do you do? Have crazy monkey antics with your favorite jungle friend with a punctuation mark as a name.
Why he's awesome: Not to spoil too much, but he may or may not be humanity's key to getting the XY's back in action.

Lockjaw
Who: Marvel's own alien bulldog and member of the non-human branch of the Avengers.
Why he's awesome: He's super strong, can eat anything and once latched onto the Thing.

Dog the Robot from Half Life 2
Who: Alyx Vance's No.1 go to robotic buddy who helps when your path is blocked by other dimensional beings or just wants to play fetch with your grav gun.
Why he's awesome: He's a giant robot with the personality of a dog. Do you need more?

Pen Pen, from Neon Genesis Evangelion
Who: A genetically altered super smart penguin that lives with Misato Katsuragi during the Angel apocalypse.
Why he's awesome: While the series has moments of intense despair and darkness, you can always count on jerky, anime humor involving naked people and penguins to brighten your day.

K-9 from Doctor Who
Who: Dr Who's multi-generational robotic canine companion.
Why he's awesome: He's gotten a series of spinoff stories and was even parodied on South Park.

Nibbler from Futurama
Who: Nibbler is part of an ancient race of Nibblonians who protect the universe from giant glowing brains that make everyone stupid. Er, Stupid-er.
Why he's awesome: He can eat about 1,000 times his body mass to, uh, produce dark matter.

Gaspode, from Terry Prachett's Discworld series
Who: A talking dog with human intelligence that attempts to bring "Hollywood" to Discworld.
Why he's awesome: He's an endless source of snarky remarks and regularly uses his speech to manipulate humans when he needs food.

CJ-7
Who: A puff ball with a body that guaranteed to produce family friendly fun times.
Why he's awesome: CJ-7 can help you repair torn relationships with certain parental figures and bring people back from the dead.

Einstein, Doc Brown's dog from Back to the Future
Who: You might be under the impression that a certain Family Ties alum might be the Doc's best time traveling friend in this series, but you'd be wrong. This adorable little terrier follows Doc whenever her goes.
Why he's awesome: As long as you ignore the craptacular animated television series, Einstein is always cute, helpful and never obnoxious.

Ein, Cowboy Bebop
Who: A super brained corgie that gets stranded on the Bebop.
Why he's awesome: Although they never really get into it in the series, Ein is a "data dog" that possesses super intelligence that allows him to answer phones and steer cars.

Bubastis, Ozymandias' lynx from Watchmen
Who: When you're a super genius David Bowie impersonator with the world at your fingertips what do you do next? You create a genetically engineered psychedelic colored lynx as a companion.
Why he's awesome: He takes one for the team for the sake of furthering an evil plan for his master.

Gizmo, Gremlins
Who: The main furry faced protagonist of the Gremlins series.
Why he's awesome: While I'm pretty much a fan of all the gremlins, I can't deny the greatness that is Gizmo channeling his inner Rambo.

Seymour from Futurama
Who: Seymour is a part of one of the most tear jerking episodes of Futurama involving Fry recounting the story of the most loyal dog that ever lived.
Why he's awesome: Did you see the last scene? He's the most loyal dog that ever lived! Also, we can rest easy knowing that alternate timeline Fry gave Seymour a great life.

Bronx from Gargoyles
Who: Bronx is the dog version of the Manhattan gargoyle clan. During the whole series you only see one other gargoyle beast, but unlike Budeka, Bronx gets a whole episode devoted to him befriending an Amish kid.
Why he's awesome: Gargoyles are already pretty high on the cool supercreatures scale, but add a dog personality to the mix, and you've got gold.

Roach from WALL-E
Who: They weren't lying when they said that after the world ended there would be nothing left but cockroaches. Fortunately, the end of the world also gave them charming personalities!
Why he's awesome: Making me want a roach as a pet is an epic win in my book.

Kevin and Dug from Up
Who: Kevin is a rare, brilliantly colored giant bird that Carl and Russell accidentally find in Paradise Falls. Dug is sweet golden retriever with a collar that allows him to talk.
Why they're awesome: It takes a lot to make slapstick giant birds funny, but Pixar does a magnificent job. And Dug? He's exactly what I imagine an actual talking dog to sound like. SQUIRREL!

WORST:

Tribbles from Star Trek
Who: Fuzzy, purring little meat pets that take over the original Enterprise.
Why they suck: Pets rocks were bad enough, why would they think that a massively multiplying furry pet rock would be better?

ALF
Who: Alien puppet that takes over a really lame sitcom in the 80's. If ever you want to torture someone without the use of waterboarding, show them and episode of ALF… or Small Wonder.
Why he sucks: Look me straight in the eye and tell me you didn't scream in horror when you saw that clip.

Snarf, Thundercats
Who: A fat alien cat that ends every sentence with an annoying "snarf!" sound.
Why he sucks: Is he a lizard or a cat? I'm going to go with meth induced demonic lovechild.

Teddy from A.I.
Who: An animatronic intelligent Teddy Rucksbin from the future that accompanies David in a search for the Blue Fairy.
Why he sucks: Ok, now I understand that some people might take issue with Teddy's position on the worst list but he's a toy that's alive. That's pretty much the worst nightmare of most 8-year-old kids. And me.

Slimer from Ghostbusters
Who: A green ghost that terrorizes the Ghostbusters team by covering everything in slime.
Why he sucks: For those of us born in the mid 80's and watched the Ghostbusters cartoon first, we expected to see cool ghost antics when we finally saw the movie. Instead, we were greeted with a grotesque blob that was pretty evil.

Div-x from Penny Arcade
Who: You might remember the Sony Dix-X player, an ahead of its time technical marvel.
Why he sucks: According to Penny Arcade Comics, he's a foul-mouthed drunk that's teetering on the edge of killing us all.

Pets from Children of Men
Who: When the world's gone infertile, people turn to animals to provide comfort in the end of humanity.
Why they suck: I have nothing against the animals in Children of Men, personally, but seeing all the dogs, cats and birds cluttering people's homes can be an ominous image.

Selacious Crumb from Star Wars
Who: He's a little fox-lizard thing that hangs out with Jabba the Hut and laughs at all his lame jokes.
Why he sucks: Everybody hates the skinny jerk in the corner with the stupid laugh.

Gleek from Superfriends
Who: The alien monkey pet of the Wondertwins.
Why he sucks: Usually if he was featured in Superfriends, you could count on him popping out to end the episode on a lame joke.

Independence Day Dog from Independence Day
Who: If you're like me then you probably laughed at the idea of a ball of flame chasing a golden retriever down a tunnel.
Why he sucks: Was it really necessary to have a slow motion explosion behind a dog? And wouldn't all that heat ultimately cook them all in that storage locker?
Then Again:...he's immune to explosions. And that's pretty cool. Dodging fire like that, he's like a canine Neo. Maybe he should have been best?

Space Buddies
Why they suck: I'll just point you in the direction of this.

Queequeg, X-files
Who: A Pomeranian adopted by Dana Scully and eaten shortly after by the legendary Big Blue.
Why he sucks: He was found snacking on his previous owner.

Krypto
Who: Superman's dog. Enough said.
Why he sucks: I hate pet versions of superheroes. Also, why does he need a cape?

Muffit from the original Battlestar Gallactica
Who: Caprica used to have a variety of tracker dogs but sadly, none of them survived the Cylon attack. Instead a group robotic dogs are created to replace them.
Why he sucks: Is he an ewok? A fuzzy, metallic gremlin on meth? You decide.

MAD Cat from Inspector Gadget
Who: Dr. Claw's chortling fat feline.
Why he sucks: He's the quintessential evil cat meant to taunt the hero. Plus Dr. Claw regularly beat the crap out of him and he seemed to be ok with that.

Frank the Dog from Men in Black
Who: An alien stool pigeon using the guise of a small pug.
Why he sucks: He made me remember "Who Let the Dogs Out" existed.

Gir, Invader Zim
Who: Invader Zim's mentally disturbed robot helper that was given to him as either a joke or sabotage. Probably both.
Why he sucks: Yeah, yeah Gir is really cute, but he's amoral, evil and would gladly watch you die a fiery death while bursting into a fit of giggles.

Astro, The Jetsons
Who: The Scooby Doo knockoff of the 21st century.
Why he sucks: It might have worked with the Scooby Gang, but there's only room for one charismatic dog with a speech impediment ‘round these parts.

Lamar, Half Life 2
Who: The neutered headcrab that resides in Dr. Isaac Kleiner's laboratory.
Why he sucks: Crabs are rarely a good thing. Head crabs are a double whammy of bad.

Joshua from Dark Angel
Who: A transgenic dog-man with an affinity for painting and crappy comedic timing.
Why he sucks: There was only one good thing that came out of season two of Dark Angel and that rhymes with Smensen Shackles.

Honorable Mention: Blarp from the Lost in Space remake.

Note: according to the Youtube video, this version, released for the MIP television fair, is not final and some of the effects - including K-9's voice - may change.

Thor:

Not only is Kenneth Branagh pumped up to direct the Thunder God's saga, but he's also thinking about ways Thor connects to fellow Marvel heroes Iron Man and the Avengers, so his movie will properly tie in to the other Marvel films, according to Marvel's Joe Quesada. [MTV via Cinemablend]

Knowing:

You may have thought Nicolas Cage's main adversary in this movie was random scary number strings, or weird staring albinos, but according to Reuters, he's actually up against Mother Nature. [Reuters]

Also, a review in the Daily Herald gives away a ton of plot points. Nic Cage is John Koestler, an MIT professor who's still grieving for his recently departed wife, and who says things like, "Life is just a series of random acts and chemical mistakes." After his son Caleb gets a page of numbers from a 1959 time capsule, Koestler realizes it predicts every major disaster since 1959. "The numbers are the key to everything!" he says. A plane crash and subway disaster confirm it.

Meanwhile, little Caleb is receiving weird messages on his hearing aid from weird looking blond men who stand around the house looking like Matrix wannabes. Also hearing from the albinos is Abby, the grand-daughter of the girl who wrote down those numbers in 1959. Just when you think the movie is turning into a Biblical prophecy story, it darts into a different genre, which is foreshadowed by the fact that it's super hot for October, and there are weird flares on the surface of the sun. "How am I supposed to stop the end of the world?" shouts Koestler. But at least he gets religion, starts believing in the afterlife, and reconnects with his estranged pastor father. [Daily Herald]

The Thing:

Ronald D. Moore offers another smidgen of info about how his movie will connect up with the John Carpenter film. "We're telling the story of the Norwegian camp that found the Thing before the Kurt Russell group did, so it's very buried in the continuity [and] it's supposed to be the other story that you saw part of." [IGN]

Dollhouse:

More reports that Friday's episode is mind-bogglingly awesome and will restore your excitement about this series. Also, Joss Whedon spills some details. Like, the series' big love story is between Victor and Sierra, despite their mind-wiped status. Even for brain-erased Actives, it turns out love conquers all. Except it's never quite that simple. Meanwhile, we won't exactly find out in season one why Paul Ballard is so obsessed with the Dollhouse, but we will delve into his backstory a bit, before seeing him go forward. His obsession will become even more painful and disturbing. Also, Paul's cute manicotti-making neighbor is at the center of Friday's most disturbing scene.

As for Boyd, Echo's handler, he cares about Echo more than his job requires, and their relationship is going to have to shift. Meanwhile, in Friday's episode, a crime goes down inside the Dollhouse, and it's suddenly handy to have an ex-cop around. And finally, expect a lot more Amy Acker in the next few episodes as we discover how she came to "this fabulous career." [E! Online]

And remember how we said episode eight was about Echo, Victor and Sierra remembering who they are and mounting an escape attempt? Here are some pics. Including some shirtless Tahmoh. Rejoice! [SpoilerTV]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Here's the official synopsis for the season finale:

Born to Run: Fate is changed forever on the explosive season finale episode! The Connors come face-to-face with Weaver in a confrontation that shakes John to the core and changes his reality. Nothing will be the same.

And here are two awesome clips from tomorrow night's episode. Dude! [Fox]

Battlestar Galactica:

A few more snippets about "The Plan," the Cylon-centric TV movie which Edward James Olmos directed. Apparently, a big chunk of it takes place before the attacks. We follow the Cylons, especially Cavil, and find out why they did what they did. [E! Online]

K-9:

Exactlly how silly will the Doctor's tin-dog former companion look in his new series? Really, really silly, judging from these promo images released for an international television content convention. [Wired]

Lost:

Radzinsky will be in next week's episode, then miss the following two, and then he'll be in the final five episodes of the season. And he's got a really great character arc to play out. [Doc Arzt]

And here are some new pics from episode 5x10, "He's Our You." [SpoilersLost]

Smallville:

Here's a new trailer for the next three episodes, including our first glimpse of Lois in her superhero identity as Stiletto. [EW]

Also, John Schneider, Annette O'Toole and John Glover will be back for the flashback episode that deals with Davis' backstory. (The one with young Lex, I guess.) [EW]

Heroes:

Here are some promo pics from episode 3x21, "Into Asylum," showing Peter and Angela Petrelli holeing up in a church. Also, sources say Baby Matt is the heroes' "salvation," and he'll somehow cause Hiro to stop time once more. [The ODI]

Also, despite your fondest wishes, Claire will be back in season four, for sure. [EW]

Chuck:

Here's what happens in episode 2x20, "Chuck Vs. The First Kill":

After Chuck's father Steve (guest star Scott Bakula) is kidnapped by Fulcrum, Chuck learns the only chance he has to find him is by putting his trust and life into the hands of the person he trusts the least-his ex-girlfriend Jill Roberts (guest star Jordana Brewster). Meanwhile, the Buy More team tries to sabotage Emmett's (guest star Tony Hale) corporate evaluation.

[SpoilerTV]

Reaper:

Here's a ton of pics from episode 2x05, "I Want My Baby Back" and 2x06, "Underbelly". [Reapersite and SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alasdair Wilkins.

The show, now filming in Australia, has released a ton of new information about this new version of K-9. Including an explanation for why he no longer looks like the original version on television. Co-creator and series writer Bob Baker (who also wrote the Wallace And Gromit films) fielded fans' questions on his official forum, and he said that when we first see K-9, he'll look identical to the version which the Doctor left on his home planet, Gallifrey, with his companion Leela. Also, the voice won't come from original voice artist John Leeson, but will have the same speech patterns.

So how does K-9 go from looking like his 1970s incarnation to getting all spiffed up? Here's the synopsis that Park Entertainment released:

K9 is a children's sci-fi/adventure series combining comedy, action and suspense "X Files" meets "Men in Black" with a zany dash of "Ghostbusters". K9 mixes live action characters with stunning visual-effects.

London, in the future: STARKEY (14) orphan and rebel ultimately plans to bring down the system but for the time being he is prepared to simply slip through the cracks. While evading the police he takes refuge in a large detached house, now the residence of reclusive scientist, Professor GRYFFEN. He is followed by JORJIE (14) an adventurous girl who partly admires Starkey's dissident stance, but mostly wants to share whatever excitement is afoot.

Inside the dilapidated mansion, they see Gryffen absorbed in an experiment with a strange piece of alien technology, a Space Time Manipulator (S/TM). DARIUS (15) an artful dodger who, among his many occupations, runs errands for Gryffen, confronts the pair, but at that moment a portal opens and through the hole torn in the fabric of space/time burst two reptilian warrior JIXEN. The Jixen attack Starkey. The teenager is saved from certain death by a small dog-like robot, K9 Mark I, who follows the Jixen through the portal and places himself between the monsters and boy.

In the ensuing battle, the only way K9 can defeat the Jixen is to blow himself and them to pieces. One surviving Jixen limps out of the mansion. Before expiring, K9 is able to give instructions that allow Starkey to initiate a regeneration program. A new, more sophisticated and futuristically designed K9 is regenerated.

K9 and Starkey, with the assistance of Jorjie, Darius and Gryffen, become the earth's front line defence against dangers threatening from anywhere and anytime in the galaxy. They will have a lot of fun, action, adventure, and some scares along the way, saving the earth from alien creatures, monsters and more than a few human threats.

And Baker said K-9 will meet "a menagerie of super monster 'uglies'" in the course of the first 26 half-hour episodes.

Meanwhile, production site Metal Mutt released a partial list of episode titles. The first two episodes are "Feast Of The Merons" parts one and two. Episode four is "The Last Oak Tree In England." Episode six is "Sirens Of Ceres". Episode seven is "Dreameaters." Episode eight is "Devil's Den." Nine is "Jaws Of Orthrus." Episode ten is "Oroborus." Episode eleven is "Alien Avatar." Episode 12 is "The Curse Of Anubis." And episode 13 is "The Fall Of The House Of Gryffen."

And there's a gallery of some of the locations they're using on the series, including some ominous tunnels, an old gun turret, some mediaeval steps and lots of countryside that K-9 will have to navigate somehow. More images are over at Metal Mutt.

Top K-9 image from Wired. K-9 News [Outpost Gallifrey]

After a couple of appearances in the kid-centric Who spin-off already - and a cameo in "Journey's End," the fourth season finale of Who itself - K-9 will be appearing in a larger role when Sarah Jane returns later this year, according to producer Nikki Smith:

We've already got ten scripts at first draft stage, and I can now announce that K-9 is going to make a return to Sarah Jane's attic. He's been locked away in that safe, saving the world from a Black Hole, for far too long now... Right now, we estimate he'll appear in approximately six of the 12 episodes [of the new season].

With this sort of attention, it feels like there's only one way for K-9's star to keep rising: He has to become the new companion for the fifth season of Doctor Who. After all, we need a tin dog to replace the definitely-not-returning Mickey.

K-9 rejoins 'Sarah Jane Adventures' [Digital Spy]

Producer Paul Tams, told the Doctor Who News Page that the show's eighth episode is set to complete filming at the end of the week, in Australia.

And he cleared up the thorny issue of how the show fits in with the continuity of the original series. Because the BBC isn't involved in making the spin-off, aimed at kids, it can't feature any characters or concepts from Doctor Who other than K9 himself. But there will be tons of easter eggs and clues aimed at longtime fans, says Tams. Also, Tams offered a solution to the thorny issue of how K9 can be off in space fighting monsters when he's supposed to be on Earth hanging out with journalist Sarah-Jane Smith. This version of K9 is "the original, you might say" — in other words, it's the first model of K9, either before he ever met the Doctor, or after the Doctor dropped him off on his home world of Gallifrey. (In which case K9 somehow got separated from Leela. And yes, I know the show probably won't ever go into any detail about this.)

Tams also mentioned a few other details: the show will have 26 half-hour episodes. It'll be a mixture of live-action and CG effects, and K9 himself will be a mixture of an actual model and a CG creation. And he'll look sleek and cool, but will be recognizeably K9 — and he'll look like way better than the images that have leaked out so far, including the two posters above. But he'll be recognizeably K9. And there will be tons of new alien races, including one race called the Jixen.

Bob Baker, who co-created K9 and also co-wrote all the Wallace And Gromit films, is co-producing the show and working on the scripts. The official website for the show's production company, Park Films, includes some details on the show's set up and supporting cast:

An old Prairie class spacecraft is drifting towards distant stars. She is The “ Platte ” once used for the colonisation of Asteroids.

On board are:-
SLOCUM - mid-thirties, rugged, taciturn who thinks of himself as a dealer in valuable commodities - others would say he just collects junk! He is a loner – a space gypsy! It's the only way he knows. He's in no hurry to get anywhere and he stays well off the beaten track.

DJINN - a V997 (F), an overactive computer module in the shape of an attractive young woman. She was programmed by the ship's previous owners to provide stimulating conversation. Something that SLOCUM would happily change if only he had knowledge of her operating codes!

Together they discover an apparently abandoned battle cruiser. Whereupon they meet K-9!

The show will air later this year on Australia's Ten Network, but there's insufficient data on airings in the rest of the world.

Meet Piella Bakewell, Wallace's new (gasp!) girlfriend. She looks sort of cute, in a bleach-blonde Marge Simpson way. And I bet she's pretty good at baking pies. Here's the plot synopsis for the new W+G, which returns to the half-hour format that launched our heroes:

Wallace and Gromit have a brand new business. The conversion of 62 West Wallaby Street is complete and impressive, the whole house is now a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms. Huge mixing bowls are all over the place and everything is covered with a layer of flour. On the roof is a ‘Wallace patent-pending’ old-fashioned windmill. The transformation is perfect.

Although business is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that 12 local bakers have ‘disappeared’ this year – but Wallace isn’t worried. He’s too distracted and ‘dough-eyed’ in love with local beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell, to be of much help.

While they enjoy being the ‘Toast of the Town’, Gromit, with his master’s life in jeopardy, must be the sleuth and solve the escalating murder mystery - in what quickly becomes a ‘Matter of Loaf and Death’.

Once again, the new Wallace and Gromit is co-written by Bob Baker, who wrote many of the weirdest Doctor Who episodes in the 1970s (and created K-9 the robot dog.) I wonder what scifi elements, besides those robot arms, we'll see this time around. Past installments have included cyber-pants, a moon rocket, a bizarre rabbit-capturing device... and the dreaded Were-Rabbit! [Wallace And Gromit, via Cinema Gaslight]

I totally want a cute robot that comes and picks up after me when I've crashed out drunk on the floor of my floating space-forest. Right after the scene of Bruce Dern collapsing, the robots take him to the surgery and give him really good drugs through a nose/mouth mask, while they patch him up. And they become his robo-poker buddies. So it's totally sad that one of the three robots gets whooshed out to space before Bruce gets around to naming them Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Silent Running was supposed to be sort of a follow-up to 2001: A Space Odyssey and shares the same slow contemplative pace and majestic visuals. (Its director, Douglas Trumbull, was special effects supervisor on 2001.)

But really, it's only remembered for Huey, Dewey and Louie now. There had been funny robots before Silent, like Robbie from Forbidden Planet, and vaguely cool robots, like Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. But nobody had the technology to make little robots, or even robots that didn't look like a guy in a suit. What was the miracle advancement that allowed Silent Running to solve this problem? Amputees. Four bilateral amputees took turns playing the four "sweet-tempered" robots. With Wall-E, Huey and Dewey's time has finally come.. which is sort of fitting, since Silent Running takes place in the distant year of 2008.