Summary
As much as I’d love to see the TARDIS materialize on the starship Enterprise, I disagree with Russell T Davies' assertion that aStar TrekandDoctor Whocrossover “must” happen. TheDoctor Whoshowrunner’s comments came during theStar Trek X Doctor Whopanel atSan Diego Comic-Con2024. Davies' Comic-Con statement is his latest attempt to bring the worlds ofDoctor WhoandStar Trektogether on-screen.20 years ago, when RTD was making plans forhisDoctor Whorevival, andStar Trek: Enterprisewas still on TV, he wanted the two shows to cross over.
Russell T Davies returned to this idea when storylining David Tennant’s finalDoctor Whospecials in 2009, but quickly abandoned the idea.Russell T Davies' unmadeStar Trekcrossoveris clearly an ambition that he’s still keen to realizein 2024.The sly joke in “Space Babies” thatDoctor WhoandStar Trektake place in the same universewas RTD’s first step to making this dream a reality. However, Davies' assertion that it “must” happen suggests that aStar TrekandDoctor Whocrossover is a non-negotiable inevitability, rather than merely something it would be fun to see.
Star Trek & Doctor Who Crossover Is Happening - But Not How You Expect
Star Trek and Doctor Who’s upcoming crossover was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con, but it probably wasn’t the crossover that fans were expecting.
RTD Says A Star Trek Doctor Who Crossover “Must” Happen But I Disagree
Saying Doctor Who and Star Trek “must” get together doesn’t answer “why”.
During theStar Trek X Doctorpanel at Comic-Con, RTD responded to an audience question about a potentialStar TrekandDoctor Whocrossover episode by saying:
“We would love to bring you a crossover episode and the way we can make that happen is the fans. The fans continue to make crossover art, and stories and continue to ask and push to bring these two universes together. Because we must get together. It must happen.”
Doctor Whofans are used to Russell T Davies' tendency to make hyperbolic and exacting statements like that, but it frames aStar Trekcrossover as an exercise in fan service. Fan art, like the gorgeous Comic-Con exclusive poster by Dusty Abell below, is great, but it also doesn’t have to sustain 60 minutes of television drama.
For all Russell T Davies' talk about howDoctor WhoandStar Trek"must" get together, he’s notably vague onwhythey should. It’s clear that RTD is a fan ofStar Trek, andTrekwriters likeStar Trek: Prodigy’sHageman Brothers are clearlyDoctor Whofans. However, it’s not enough to put TV’s two biggest sci-fi franchises together because the fanswant it, even if those fans are screenwriters themselves. Whilea show of support for the idea on social media will be vital in selling the crossover to the BBC, Disney, and Paramount, there also needs to be a very good story reason whyDoctorWhoandStar Trekare crossing over.
A Star Trek Doctor Who Crossover Needs A Great Story
AStar TrekandDoctor Whocrossover should not be taken lightly, and needs a great story to anchor it. Russell T Davies' fondness for the Borg (viaGizmodo) feels demonstrative of his lack of imagination when it comes to bringing the TARDIS aboard the starship Enterprise. Firstly, the Borg are incredibly over-exposed inStar Trek. They’re also so similar toDoctor Who’s Cybermenthatthe Collective’s “resistance is futile” catchphrase is the same as the Cybermen’s own “resistance is useless” assertion from Patrick Troughton’s 1967 serial “The Tomb of the Cybermen”.
A much better story would be to pair up the Doctor and Starfleet to face a threat that demonstrates their very different approaches.
Secondly, the Doctor and the crew of the starship Enterprise already faced the Cybermen and the Borg in aMatt SmitheraStar Trekcrossover comic,Assimilation². A much better story would be to pair up the Doctor and Starfleet to face a threat that demonstrates their very different approaches. Whether this is a threat to the fabric of time or reality, or a terrifying new alien villain would be up to the writers to decide. The Doctor’s lonely god persona and quixotic nature makes him more like John de Lancie’s Q than one of Starfleet’s officers, which would create a fantastic dynamic in any potentialStar TrekandDoctor Whocrossover.
