“Star Trek” and “Doctor Who” are two of the biggest sci-fi franchises of all time, two long-running shows that got their start in the 1960s. Both have legions of fans around the world and have multiple spinoffs, and they even have some surprising on-screen connections. Over the past few years, nods to each other have been noticed by fans in episodes of both, and the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Season 3 finale just dropped a serious hint that suggests we could be in for the first-ever on-screen crossover.
It’s in the episode “New Life and New Civilizations” that we seemingly get our first direct reference to the time and space-traveling Doctor from “Doctor Who.” Chief Engineer Pelia drops a mind-blowing comment: “Remind me to tell you about the time I spent with a time-traveling doctor once.” Add in the reference just a few episodes earlier when eagle-eyed fans spotted what is most certainly the Doctor’s TARDIS in the background of a scene, and it seems like the series is heavily hinting at a potential crossover between the two shows.
On paper, this sounds like a long shot, given that the franchises are owned by different companies (Paramount and the BBC, respectively), but inter-company crossovers aren’t unheard of (Sony and Marvel teaming up to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to mind). In the past, “Doctor Who” and “Star Trek” have crossed streams in comic books, but could a live-action crossover be in the cards? With “Star Trek” and “Doctor Who” each struggling with fans of late, it could be just the big swing idea they need to reinvigorate fan excitement.
Doctor Who and Star Trek have acknowledged one another on several occasions
“Star Trek” has been making references to “Doctor Who” for decades. In the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Naked Now,” Commander Riker asks for a sonic screwdriver, the primary tool of the Doctor. That same season, the episode “The Neutral Zone” featured a graphic that included a list of the actors who played the Doctor (which was removed when the series was remastered). “Doctor Who” has also referenced “Star Trek,” with one nod occurring fairly recently when the Doctor teased that he could travel to meet the crew of the Enterprise.
Sure, you could argue that these are just little winks to fans that may not amount to anything. However, what you cannot argue with are the words of Akiva Goldsman, co-creator of “Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” In an interview with TrekMovie about the finale of “Strange New Worlds” Season 3, Goldsman said that “[Pelia] apparently knew the Doctor from ‘Doctor Who.'” You don’t get much clearer than that. Co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers concurred and backed up the notion, saying, “She’s had a long life experience, and it just makes perfect sense.”
An on-screen crossover between “Star Trek” and “Doctor Who” actually almost happened back in 2005, one of many canceled “Star Trek” projects you never knew about. That year, “Doctor Who” had just relaunched, and showrunner Russell T. Davies pitched a holiday episode that would have seen the Doctor meet the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise under Captain Archer. Unfortunately, just as he was developing the idea, “Star Trek: Enterprise” was canceled. But the idea has been floating about for at least 20 years now, so maybe the time is finally right.
