Doctor Who: Ranking Every Spin-Off From Worst To Best
From K-9 and Company to Class.
A recent rumour about Doctor Who's latest spin-off Class says that the show has been canned by the BBC after just one eight-episode series. Assuming that there is some truth in the report, then it is a shame that this particular corner of the Whoniverse didn't take off. On the plus side, Class is not the first Doctor Who spin-off, and it pretty damn sure won't be the last.
Naturally for a show that spans the entire cosmos and the whole of history, Doctor Who has provided enough spin-off ideas to fill a TARDIS. Starting back in 1981, there have been a stream of TV series, animated mini-series and audio adventures that shine a light on someone else other than the Time Lord for a change, or at least take the Whoniverse in a different direction.
For the ranking of every Doctor Who spin-off that you are about to read, I'm counting every fictional spin-off series. So that means the behind-the-scenes tie-in shows, such as Doctor Who Confidential, are exempt. For Big Finish audios, meanwhile, I'm only looking at spin-offs that feature TV characters - otherwise we would be here all day listing the audio company's massive universe of series.
They're all stories in the end, but not all of them are good ones.
15. K-9
Ah, K-9, the forgotten Doctor Who spin-off. Back in 2009, K-9's creator Bob Baker - also the writer of Wallace and Gromit - used his copyright of the character to launch the tin dog into his own solo series. The only Whoniverse show not endorsed by the BBC, the Austrailian-produced K-9 aired on Disney XD for a solitary season of 26 episodes.
The trouble with K-9 is that its tenuous link to its parent series is clear at all times. It has none of the wit, humour and adult-friendliness of, say, The Sarah Jane Adventures and as such is just a mediocre Disney series meant to divert kids' attentions for 20 minutes. And that's not to mention the cartoony redesign of the character that did not go down well with fans. Seek this one out for the sake of completion if you must, but it isn't recommended.