The first two episodes of Doctor Who Season 14 are currently available for Disney+ subscribers and, if you're a Star Trek fan, they're worth a watch. The Season 14 cast has already been a blast to watch, with new star Ncuti Gatwa leading the way. But, on top of that, the British sci-fi series made a deliberate nod to the Trek franchise that has some excited about a potential crossover. Amidst the buzz, Who showrunner Russell T. Davies talked about his steps to make the crossover easier.
A little over a year after Russell T. Davies praised Star Trek: Picard, The Doctor implied that he and Ruby Sunday could visit the Enterprise. During a recent interview, Davies added that he'd be up for a mash-up in a recent interview. And it's a detail that confirms why I was so right to be excited for his DW return in the first place.
Russell T. Davies Changed The Way The Doctor Referred To Star Trek
In "Space Babies," Ruby is astonished at how the TARDIS is able to phase into a ship after traveling through space and then asked if it worked like a "matter transporter on Star Trek." The Doctor laughed at the question and replied, "We gotta visit them one day." It was a quick moment but, for those eagerly awaiting upcoming Trek shows, I'm sure it sent minds racing as to what could be in the works.
As Russell T. Davies noted to Inverse, the moment is more significant than some may realize. While Ruby Sunday's comment would imply that the series exists as a fictional television show in her modern day, The Doctor implies Starfleet and The Federation are real:
The Doctor actually now talks about Star Trek as real. Maybe when the Fourteenth Doctor cast that salt at the edge of the universe, maybe some things became real that were never real before.
Just when it seemed like Doctor Who was destined to crossover with Bluey, Russell T. Davies threw me for a loop with this line. Could a crossover between these shows actually happen? If so, I have my comm badge and Sonic Screwdriver both waiting beside me for the moment it's announced.
Doctor Who And Star Trek Have Crossed Paths Before
Longtime viewers have seen various references to Star Trek in Doctor Who over the decades, and vice versa. Fans of both may also be aware that The Next Generation went on an adventure with Matt Smith's Doctor in the comics, which is a really fun read. It's also been long speculated that Russell T. Davies wanted to have Christopher Eccleston's Doctor do a crossover on Enterprise, but the latter was canceled (with an ending the co-creator regrets) before any progress was ever made.
Russell T. Davies did speak to the reality of that Enterprise crossover in the interview and stated that it was never anything more than an idea he said aloud to himself in his office. It's sad to learn that actual negotiations never took place, but it's still great to hear Davies is interested in making it happen.
Will A Television Crossover Between Doctor Who And Star Trek Ever Happen?
Unfortunately, I think we're in a time at which studios hoarding their intellectual property more than ever before. Gone are the days of Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse meeting up in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and, with Star Trek under the Paramount brand and Doctor Who now a co-production of The BBC and Disney, the odds of all parties coming to the table and agreeing to a crossover feel slim.
Stranger things have happened, though and, with the kookiness that Strange New Worlds gets up to, I don't think it would be a stretch to see The Doctor on their Enterprise. If the legal teams could iron out the rights and such, the process of actually constructing the story would likely be even easier in comparison. I'll keep my fingers crossed, especially given how much of a blast this new era of Doctor Who is. It would be awesome to see two of the oldest TV sci-fi franchises united for one grand adventure.
Star Trek: Discovery currently streams new episodes on Thursdays for Paramount+ subscribers, and Doctor Who debuts its Season 14 episodes on Disney+ on Fridays. With both shows in season at the moment, it's truly a great time to be a geek.
