Doctor Who Almost Had A Crossover With One Star Trek Series

"Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" are both long-running sci-fi franchises that feature plenty of action while advocating diplomacy and peaceful methods. Of course, they have many differences, but their similarities and devoted fanbases make them fun targets for crossover speculation. And that potential does not go unnoticed by the "Doctor Who" revival era's first showrunner, either.

With the exception of a single 1996 TV movie, "Doctor Who" had been off the air since 1989 when Russell T Davies landed the job of bringing the show back. At the time, "Star Trek: Enterprise" was on its last legs on UPN, eventually coming to an end in May 2005, just a few months after the Christopher Eccleston-led "Doctor Who" premiered in March 2005. For a while, though, "Doctor Who" plans and "Enterprise" overlapped long enough for Davies to entertain the idea of a crossover event — which he suspected would also have involved the mother of all writing room face-offs. 

"The very first year, we talked about it," he told The Times (via Winter Is Coming) in 2009. "Then, 'Star Trek' finally went off air. Landing the TARDIS on board the Enterprise would have been magnificent. Can you imagine what their script department would have wanted and what I would have wanted? It would have been the biggest battle."

Although Davies' vision of a "Doctor Who" and "Star Trek" crossover didn't become reality, the two franchises remain on good enough terms to reference each other on occasion. Both have been known to use similar technobabble terms (specifically "reversing the polarity" of whatever mysterious energy-themed situation is at hand). There have also been more direct references, including a moment in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Season 1 episode, "The Naked Now," in which William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) looks for a "sonic driver" — a pretty transparent nod to the Doctor's famous sonic screwdriver. There have even been crossover mobile games and comic book stories.

After Davies returned as "Doctor Who" showrunner in 2023, the connections between the sci-fi staples have only grown stronger. In the 2024 episode "Space Babies," the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) suggests a visit to the Enterprise. Meanwhile, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 3 throws in no less than two Whoniversal Easter eggs. In "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail," the TARDIS can briefly be seen in the background, and the Season 3 finale "New Life and New Civilizations," mentions a time-traveling doctor. 

And more could be on the way! At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, Davies and "Star Trek" helmsman Alex Kurtzman sat down to discuss a "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" crossover, among other things, and Davies remained adamant that it will one day come true. "We would love to bring you a crossover episode, and the way we can make that happen is the fans," he said. "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."