Star Trek's Doctor Who Crossover Is One of Its Best, And I Stand By That
Star Trek’s crossover with Doctor Who ranks as one of its best–and I stand by this assertion. Star Trek has, from time to time, crossed over with other pop culture IPs, ranging from Green Lantern to Planet of the Apes. Yet 2012’s Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation stands head and shoulders above the rest, serving as a masterclass in how to handle an inter-franchise crossover.
Scott Tipton and David Tipton penned many of IDW's Star Trek comics.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 was written by Scott Tipton, David Tipton and Tony Lee and drawn by JK Woodward. The Borg have joined forces with the Cybermen, launching an assault on the Federation. Shortly after, the 11th Doctor arrives on the Enterprise, with memories of a universe and life he should not have. As the Doctor and Captain Picard race to stop the unholy alliance now threatening the galaxy, secrets come to light, including a previously-unrevealed meeting between the Fourth Doctor and Kirk and Spock.
Star Trek's First Crossover Was With the X-Men--But It Did Not Go Over Well
Fans Hated the Star Trek/X-Men Crossover For Many Reasons
In the 1990s, comics crossing over entertainment IPs began to gain traction, thanks to the success of titles such as Alien vs. Predator, but Star Trek resisted this trend. Then, in 1996, on the occasion of the franchise’s 30th anniversary, Marvel Comics released a Star Trek/X-Men crossover. Marvel had just acquired the rights to produce Star Trek comics, and the meeting of the X-Men and the crew of the Enterprise was its opening shot. The book was controversial, but did well enough to justify a sequel, which saw the X-Men meet Captain Picard.
Star Trek/X-Men was written by Scott Lobdell and featured art by Marc Silvestri and other Top Cow artists.
Star Trek’s crossover with the X-Men would be the last time the franchise would cross over with another IP for many years. Some of this may have been rooted in the outcry surrounding Star Trek/X-Men’s publication. Some fans voiced concerns over the incompatibility of the two franchises, while others felt it was a mere cash grab that would have angered series creator Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek’s comic book rights, which have bounced around among many publishers since 1967, may have also impeded Kirk and Spock from meeting other pop culture icons.
IDW Arrived To Fulfill the Dreams of Star Trek and Doctor Who Fans Around the World
IDW's Star Trek/Doctor Who Crossover Was a Love Letter to Both Franchises
Finally, the Doctor was heading to the Enterprise.
Then, in 2006, IDW acquired the rights to produce new Star Trek comics. Around the same time, they obtained the Doctor Who license–yet it would be another six years before the two met. IDW announced the series with JK Woodward’s cover depicting the Eleventh Doctor in Captain Picard’s chair on the Enterprise’s bridge, with his two companions, Rory and Amy, behind him. The image whipped both fandoms into an uproar, but the response was much different this time: instead of crying bloody murder, fans were excited. Finally, the Doctor was heading to the Enterprise.
Star Trek and Doctor Who’s crossover was worth the wait, and it appealed to fans of both properties. The book was full of Easter eggs: for instance, the first target of the Cybermen/Borg alliance was Delta, a planet mentioned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but never before seen on screen. During the recounting of the Fourth Doctor’s escapade with Spock and Kirk, he offers the two officers his trademark Jelly Bellys. When the TARDIS materialized on the Holodeck, the Doctor was able to instantly discern he was in a hologram. Little quirks like this sold the book.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation was a massive hit with fans and critics, and begged for a sequel. Indeed, IDW planned one that would have sent the Doctor to Deep Space Nine, but the publisher lost the Doctor Who license before the project could materialize. Details surrounding the book are vague, and it is not known which Doctor would have made the trip to the station. Fans were deprived of what could have been an epic crossover, one that could have set a precedent for such events in the Star Trek franchise.
Star Trek Has Had Great Crossovers Since Assimilation2
The Enterprise Has Met the Green Lantern Corps and the Transformers
What Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who did, however, was kick the door open for Trek meeting other entertainment IPs. Within three years of Assimilation’s publication, the Kelvin Enterprise had met the Green Lantern Corps, while their Prime counterparts would travel to the Planet of the Apes as well as meet the Legion of Super-Heroes. Finally, Kirk and company would meet the Transformers–and yes, it did feature a transforming Enterprise. Each of these crossovers was praised by fans, and they would not have been possible without Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who.
Star Trek and Green Lantern crossed over twice, and the second meeting ended with the Federation sending a first contact party to Krypton.
Star Trek and Doctor Who are two of science fiction’s oldest franchises, premiering within three years of each other in the 1960s. Both took a wide-eyed and adventurous approach to their respective universes. The worlds the TARDIS and the Enterprise traveled in were full of wonder and danger, and fans had the best possible guides to these universes in the form of Captain Kirk and the Doctor. Given the longevity of the two properties, fans of both floated ideas for a crossover, but given the various legal issues that would surround such an event, it did not seem feasible.
This underscores just how monumental Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who was to both properties, but Star Trek in particular. At the time Assimilation was published, Star Trek was in an odd position: the Kelvin movies, which began with JJ Abrams’ 2009 reboot, were box office hits, even if they were controversial. Star Trek was not producing any new television series, and it would indeed be five years before it would return to television. In essence, Star Trek was in a “wilderness” era when it crossed over with Doctor Who.
Will Star Trek and Doctor Who Ever Cross Paths Again?
The Odds Of The Two Meeting Again Are Slim, But Not Out of the Question
Now, both Doctor Who and Star Trek are in the midst of rebirths on television, and the idea of crossing them over will not go away. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the two franchises clashed again: this time on the Star Trek: Lower Decks mobile game, which, for a limited time, featured David Tennant’s Doctor meeting the crew of the Cerritos. This limited engagement showed there is still potential left in a meeting of the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises, and IDW’s series pointed the way.
And it is for this reason that I feel Star Trek’s crossover with Doctor Who was its best. At their core, the two franchises share a spirit of adventure and optimism, making a crossover between them feel more organic than the X-Men. The writers and artists behind the crossover understood these similarities, and mined pure gold from it. It was a treat seeing both Captains Kirk and Picard meet the Doctor, and giving life to decades worth of fan dreams and speculation. We can only hope that more Star Trek crossovers are coming in the future.
