

(written from a Production point of view Real World article

Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television program. Like Lost in Space and The Twilight Zone, it is one of very few English-language science fiction franchises that are older than Star Trek and currently in production, and the only such franchise maintaining narrative continuity since its inception.

Doctor Who details the adventures of a mysterious space-time traveler called the Doctor. An ancient and nearly immortal Time Lord, the Doctor comes from the planet Gallifrey. He travels time and space with (usually human) companions, fighting monsters and righting wrongs in a vehicle known as the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) which resembles a blue 1960s-era London police box.

The Doctor's ability to regenerate his body has allowed the series to continually recast its leading actor, contributing to its longevity. As of 2017, thirteen actors have played the role of the "official" Doctor. In 2012, two of those incarnations, the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), met two different crews of the Enterprise as part of the only licensed Star Trek crossover to date, "Assimilation²."

Doctor Who debuted on the BBC on 23 November 1963 and originally ran until 1989. When Star Trek: The Original Series premiered on BBC TV in the summer of 1969, it took over Doctor Who's Saturday evening time slot. In 1996, a TV movie was co-produced by the BBC and Universal Pictures and was aired on FOX in the US. A continuation of the series was produced by BBC Wales and has aired since 2005 on BBC One. The revival is not a "reimagining" or "reboot" of the original series, but a continuation of it. Like Star Trek: The Next Generation, the revived Doctor Who has featured "next-gen" equivalents of organizations such as UNIT and descendants of characters from the original series. Some original-series characters such as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sarah Jane Smith have been seen in old age, much as Leonard McCoy and Spock were seen in their later years on TNG.

Doctor Who has branched off into the spin-offs Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class, and into the independent series K-9, not produced by the BBC. K-9 and Company was developed into a pilot in 1981 but was not produced as a series.

Additionally, the BBC has licensed the production of more than two hundred original audio dramas, beginning in 1999. Hundreds of original novels, comics, novelizations and short stories have also been published from the 1960s onwards. Doctor Who is the only TV-based franchise to rival Star Trek in the realm of "expanded universe" releases. Much as Star Trek fans are known as "Trekkies", some Doctor Who fans have dubbed themselves "Whovians".

Contents show]

Doctor Who references in Star Trek

Television

Star Trek has referenced Doctor Who on a few occasions.

In TNG: "The Naked Now", Riker asks for a sonic driver to open a force field, a reference to the sonic screwdriver used by the Doctor to open doors and force fields throughout the Doctor Who franchise. In the standard definition version of TNG: "The Neutral Zone", an on-screen graphic of Clare Raymond's family listed William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson and Colin Baker among her descendants. These are, in order, the actors who played the first six Doctors. (Davidson is a misspelling of the name of Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison.) At the time that "The Neutral Zone" was filmed, Sylvester McCoy had been cast as the Seventh Doctor, but few of his stories had been aired in the United States. This on-screen graphic was removed from the Blu-Ray release of this story, and the actors' names (as well as those of Kermit T. Frog, Miss Piggy, Lou Grant, and Mary Richards) were replaced with a more credible family tree.

The Argolis Cluster, first mentioned in TNG: "I Borg", references the planet Argolis, seen in the 1980 Doctor Who serial "The Leisure Hive".

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Time's Orphan", the daughter of Chief Miles O'Brien falls into an ancient and unstable time gateway that transports her 300 years into the past. O'Brien attempts to bring her back using the ancient technology, which includes a console that bears a resemblance to the TARDIS control panel.

An Earth vessel encountered by Enterprise NX-01 in ENT: "Future Tense" was influenced by the the TARDIS. Specifically, the interior of the TARDIS is larger than its exterior (or "dimensionally transcendental"), and the time travel pod is also bigger on the inside than on the outside. The exterior of the TARDIS is in the shape of a British police box, and Mike Sussman, co-writer of "Future Tense", noted, "My idea of the ship morphing into a police call box was immediately nixed by the producers!" (Star Trek Monthly issue 108)

As long-running science-fiction franchises, both share many similarities which are not specific references. There is a similarity between the Borg and the Cybermen, a popular race of emotionless cyborg Humans who debuted in the 1966 serial "The Tenth Planet", and likewise between the Klingons and the warrior race the Sontarans. The Overlooker also bear a physical resemblance to the Sontarans. Both also feature major characters known only as "the Doctor" and a time vortex as a method of time travel.

The 2013 Doctor Who episodes "The Name of the Doctor" and "The Day of the Doctor" introduced audiences to a previously unknown incarnation of the series' hero, who he had made himself forget. This plot development had parallels with the reveal of Joran Dax, a suppressed past "incarnation" of Dax in DS9: "Equilibrium". (However, it should be noted that Doctor Who had previously introduced unknown "cryptic" incarnations of the Doctor, for example the Watcher in 1981 and the Valeyard in 1986.)

After watching DIS: "Despite Yourself", After Trek host Matt Mira remarked about Lorca actor Jason Isaacs, "When he's got the bloody nose and the leather jacket, I was just like, 'Oh, he would be a great Doctor Who,'" an assessment that DIS Executive Producer Gretchen J. Berg agreed with. However, Mira then joked with Wilson Cruz that Isaacs was "very busy" working on "a better sci-fi franchise" than Doctor Who. (AT: "Despite Yourself")

Other media

In the Star Trek novel My Enemy, My Ally by Diane Duane, characters watch a Doctor Who episode featuring the Fourth Doctor which has been adapted as a holographic program.

The Star Trek novel Ishmael by Barbara Hambly contains several references to Doctor Who: the Fourth Doctor is described on page 13, Metebelis crystals (from "The Green Death", "Planet of the Spiders", and "Hide") are mentioned on page 57, the Second Doctor is described on page 154, and Kirk recalls legends of a planet of stagnant time-travelers (meaning the Doctor's people, the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey) in the Kasterborous galaxy on page 200.

The Star Trek novel How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford contains a character who is not named but bears a striking similarity to Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart in the way he talks and acts. He even orders a character called Sergeant Benson around (possibly a reference to Sergeant Benton).

The Star Trek: Voyager short story "Ambassador at Large", found in the Strange New Worlds anthology, features the Mondasians, a reference to Doctor Who's Mondasians.

Sonic screwdrivers have been mentioned in the SCE ebooks Wildfire, Book 1 and Book 2 and the Vanguard novel Harbinger.

The Star Trek: New Frontier novel Blind Man's Bluff features Seven of Nine introducing Soleta to The Doctor (Voyager's EMH). Soleta replies that she once met an odd man in a long brown coat and blue suit who called himself "the Doctor," a reference to the tenth incarnation of the Doctor. Later, Voyager's Doctor uses the Tenth Doctor's catchphrase "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." In addition, a line of dialogue from later in the book includes "Don't look away... don't blink... if you blink...", referencing some of the Doctor's in the Doctor Who episode "Blink".

The Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations novel Watching the Clock features the DTI vault that contains all the confiscated time machines. One time machine is described as a big blue box.

In Issue 5 of the comic book miniseries Star Trek - Legion of Super-Heroes, the TARDIS appears among a collection of time machines possessed by the antagonist, Vandar the Stone.

Star Trek Online heavily references Doctor Who in the Temporal Cold War story arc chi begins with the Season 11 premiere mission "Sunrise". In the mission mission, Kal Dano is introduced in a small timeship with an interior that is much larger on the inside and greatly resembles the interior of the TARDIS.

Star Trek references in Doctor Who

Television series

1963–89 run

The only direct reference to Star Trek in the original 1963–1989 series of Doctor Who was a panel in the TARDIS console room used in Season Fourteen that had a stained glass representation of the Star Trek insignia. However, it occasionally did feature concepts similar to those found in Star Trek. Some of these similarities were due to coincidence, or due to both series drawing from a common pool of science fiction tropes and concepts.

The 1966 serial "The Power of the Daleks" took place on a rocky planet named Vulcan. Based on the dates when this story was written and aired, this almost certainly happened by coincidence; Vulcan also was the name of a proposed planet that orbited between Mercury and the Sun to explain inconsistencies in Mercury's orbit.

The 1979–80 story "The Horns Of Nimon" and the 1986 story "The Trial of a Time Lord" both feature pistol-style energy weapons called "phasers".

From the late 1960s onward, Doctor Who has featured technology similar to the transporter in the form of transmat. Transmat technology first appeared in "The Mutants" and later in several other stories. Transmat differs from transporter technology in that it does not require a trained operator to use. (The 1969 story "The Seeds of Death" had featured travel-mat technology, but this had more differences.)

The 1972 story "The Curse of Peladon" and its 1974 sequel "The Monster of Peladon", both set in the future, featured a Galactic Federation not unlike the UFP; the BBC's guide to "The Curse of Peladon" notes its roots in Star Trek, particularly "Journey to Babel". [1]

1996 TV movie

In the classic television series, the mechanism that enables the TARDIS to take the form of a police box is usually called a "chameleon circuit". However, in the 1996 BBC/Universal co-produced TV movie, the Doctor refers to the mechanism as a "cloaking device". Being that it was a quicker, vaguer way for the Doctor to explain to Dr. Grace Holloway (his companion at the time) why his TARDIS looks like a police box instead, sparing her of raising more technical questions like why it's called a Chameleon Circuit.

2005 – current run

There have been at least three direct references to Star Trek in the 21st century Doctor Who revival. In the episode "The Empty Child", Rose Tyler expressed dismay at the Ninth Doctor's low-tech approach to problem-solving (for example, asking questions instead of scanning for alien tech) and says, "Give me some Spock!" Later in the same episode, Rose introduced the Doctor to Captain Jack Harkness as "Mr. Spock", and Harkness briefly referred to the Doctor by this name before being corrected. In "Fear Her", the Doctor taught a child the Vulcan salute. He also named warp drive as one of the few things you need to travel the universe. In the 2011 episode "The Impossible Astronaut", when a woman from 1969 first sees one of the Silence, she asks, "Is that a mask? Is that a Star Trek thing?" and shortly afterwards, having instantly forgotten it as soon as she looked away from it, repeats, "Is that a Star Trek mask?"

There have also been several indirect references and homages. In "Flesh and Stone", the Doctor calls the 51st century starliner Byzantium a Galaxy-class ship, apparently a reference to the USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is a ship of that class. In the same episode, River Song states that "they'll beam me up any second." A starliner of the same class, again called a Galaxy-class ship in dialogue, appears in the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special "A Christmas Carol". The bridge of the ship has a similar layout and design to the bridge of the USS Enterprise from the 2009 film Star Trek. The bridge scenes featured a high amount of lens flare equally reminiscent of the bridge scenes in the film. (However, it should be noted that a Draconian battle cruiser was first referred to as a Galaxy-class ship as early as the 1973 Doctor Who serial "Frontier in Space".)

In "The Pandorica Opens", a badly damaged Cyberman attempts to replace its decayed Human brain with that of Amy Pond, the Doctor's current companion. While doing so, it utters the phrase "You will be assimilated!", a nod to the Borg and their similarity to the Cybermen.

In "The Lodger", the Doctor, while standing in an alien spaceship and talking to an Emergency Hologram, says, "Please state the nature of the emergency," which is almost the exact catchphrase of The Doctor, the EMH aboard USS Voyager, albeit this may have been a reference to Thunderbirds and not Star Trek, as the Doctor mentions International Rescue in the same line.

In "The God Complex", one of the girls in Howie Spragg's hotel room asks Howie what "loser" is in Klingon, suggesting Howie was a Star Trek fan.

In "Closing Time", Craig Owens realizes that he and the Eleventh Doctor have just been teleported by the Cybermen. He refers to it as a "beam me up" and says that it is "just like Star Trek."

In the script of "Deep Breath", the stage directions described the SS Marie Antoinette's command chair as "a cross between a Captain Kirk's chair and a throne." The same script also referred to a device – which Clara Oswald wears as a broach but also uses, at one point, as a communicator – by saying Clara "touches it like a Star Trek pin."

In "The Magician's Apprentice", the interior of Colony Sarff's ship has control panels almost identical to those of Cardassian design, as seen throughout Deep Space Nine.

"Under The Lake" features several references in the episode's design features: a door is seen with the serial number 1701B, an alien craft has the same basic shape as various Starfleet shuttles, and a mural is seen with three figures each wearing a red, blue, and gold uniform; the producers of Doctor Who have confirmed these to be intentional tributes. (citation needed • edit)

"Oxygen" starts with the Doctor narrating, "Space: the final frontier." He then goes on to explain that it's final because "it wants to kill us."

Only one episode later, in "Extremis", Nardole explains the situation experienced in the story by comparing it to the holodeck on Star Trek. Interestingly, since Nardole appears to be from the far future, this might mean that, at least according to Doctor Who, Star Trek will continue to endure for millennia.

Miscellaneous

The Doctor also shares some similarities to Vulcans. The Third Doctor often performed the equivalent of a Vulcan nerve pinch and, on several occasions, both the Tenth Doctor and his rival, the Master, each performed a telepathic link very similar to a mind meld. Also, as a Time Lord, he is similar to El-Aurians such as Guinan in that he is time- and space-sensitive. Furthermore, Gallifreyan attitudes towards non-interference in primitive cultures (illustrated from "The War Games" onward) mirror not only the Prime Directive but are also criticized in similar fashion to Vulcan attitudes shown throughout Star Trek: Enterprise.

The Doctor's signature sonic screwdriver is noticeably similar to the servo device used by Gary Seven in "Assignment: Earth". Remarkably, the first airing of "Assignment: Earth" (March 29, 1968) occurred almost simultaneous to when the sonic screwdriver made its first appearance in the serial Fury from the Deep (March 16–April 20, 1968). Given the timing it seems doubtful that one could have been inspired by the other but is more likely a noteworthy coincidence.

A space station of the same design as the Spacedock-type first seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock appeared on the front cover of the 1986 Doctor Who novel Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma. The artwork for the novel was modified from a piece that appeared on the back cover of the LaserDisc release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Russell T Davies, Doctor Who's head writer for the first four series of the revival, has said that the billing for the TNG episode "Darmok" was part of the inspiration for the Doctor Who episode "Midnight".

"I've seen lots of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I think it's a lovely show – but there's one episode, the billing for which is so fascinating I've actively avoided ever seeing it," Davies explained. "I love the idea so much, I'd rather think about it. Forever. The episode is called 'Darmok', and the synopsis simply says that Captain Picard is trapped on a planet with an alien who can only talk in metaphors. Wow. That sounds brilliant. How does that work? What happens? How does it end? I've got no idea – not seen it! But it keeps resonating with me. I've just looked up its TX date, and it's almost 20 years old. I've been thinking about that story and its potential for almost 20 years! Would it have sustained itself for that long in my head if I'd seen it on BBC2, long ago in 1991? I think the mystery keeps the concept alive. Here I am, still wondering, right now! And I can see the idea bleeding into my own work. In 2008, I wrote a Doctor Who episode called 'Midnight'. Is it like 'Darmok'? I don't know. But stripped down to its essentials, it's a story about a hero, an alien, and words. That's practically the same billing. Maybe the two shows are profoundly different, but I know for a fact that all those years of wondering about 'Darmok' led me to that script." (SFX, issue #200, p. 140)

Torchwood spin-off

In the episode "Asylum", PC Andy Davidson argues that Torchwood ought to get a teleporter "like in Star Trek".

The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-off

Star Trek has been referenced three times in the television spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures starring Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), a popular companion who appeared in both the classic and modern incarnations of Doctor Who. In "Warriors of Kudlak", when Luke Smith asks Clyde Langer for his cell phone while aboard a spaceship, another character scoffs that it will be useless in space unless he knows Captain Kirk's phone number. In "Mona Lisa's Revenge", Clyde describes Luke as being "all science and logic and Spocky stuff like that". And in "The Empty Planet", Rani describes her own conversation with Clyde about aliens as "talking all Star Trek".

Furthermore, a chart of "The Explored Galaxy" which was seen in Star Trek numerous times could be seen in the eponymous main character's attic in the pilot episode.

K9 spin-off

Star Trek has been referenced twice in the television spin-off series K9. In "The Bounty Hunter", a news broadcast mentioned an experimental spacecraft called NX-2000 which underwent first flight tests. In "Jaws of Orthrus", when a CCPC pursued Darius Pike, Darius said "Resistance is futile", the catchphrase of the Borg.

Other media

Star Trek has been referred to several times in original Doctor Who novels; for example, in the novel The Left-Handed Hummingbird by Kate Orman, the Doctor's companion Bernice Summerfield says that the first time she saw Star Trek, she thought it was a documentary. The novel The Blue Angel by Paul Magrs has an extended pastiche of Star Trek with analogues of Captain Kirk, the Enterprise and the Federation. The audio play Bang-Bang-A-Boom! by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman also pastiches Star Trek, taking place on a space station called "Dark Space 8" and featuring supporting characters and events spoofing various elements of Trek-style science fiction.

In the audiobook Pest Control by Peter Anghelides, the Doctor's companion Donna Noble gives herself and the Doctor aliases based on Star Trek characters. Specifically, she dubs the Doctor "Dr. McCoy" and takes the alias of "Capt. Kirk" for herself, and is in fact referred to by that name on several occasions until the ruse is discovered. In the audiobook The Cannibalists by Jonathan Morris, a character briefly mentions that she has been watching too much Star Trek.

The comic story "The Mark of Mandragora" depicted the character Ace wearing Starfleet insignia earrings.

The illustration for the Doctor Who Magazine short story, "The Useful Pile" clearly shows a Starfleet uniform from the later TNG seasons – complete with combadge – hanging in the newly-regenerated Seventh Doctor's TARDIS wardrobe.

Also, just as there is a Phillip Green in the Star Trek universe, there is a Phillip Green in Doctor Who as well.

Crossover concept

In 2009, Russell T Davies told an interviewer for The Times of London:

"I would have loved to have done a Star Trek crossover. The very first year, we talked about it. 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." [2]

The insular nature of both franchises, combined with the various international distribution rights owned by multiple companies, indicates that it is unlikely that an on-screen crossover will ever be produced. Nonetheless, IDW Publishing published a crossover comic, "Assimilation²", in 2012. Bif Bang Pow! also produced a bobble ship set to commemorate this comic book series.

Tony Lee pitched a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine / Doctor Who crossover for IDW, Domination. [3]

Actors who have appeared in both franchises

Numerous actors have had credited roles for episodes and/or films set in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises. Prior to 2011, only a relative few actors had appeared in both. However, this number expanded considerably as a result of the Torchwood season titled Miracle Day, which was partially filmed in the US.

↑ The filming of "Shada" was ended due to a strike; however, a completed version of the story was released in 2017. ↑ This is a seven-part animated serial which aired in six parts in late 2009 on the BBC's Red Button service and later in one part on BBC 2.

Nana Visitor and John de Lancie are the only actors to portray a Star Trek major recurring character (Kira Nerys and Q) and also appear in Doctor Who or any of its televised spinoffs; when the third season of Star Trek: Discovery airs, David Ajala will be the third. Noel Clarke is the only actor to portray a recurring companion/assistant of the Doctor (Mickey) and appear in Star Trek (Daphne Ashbrook only portrayed the companion Dr. Grace Holloway in a single televised episode).

Furthermore, Patrick Stewart was reportedly one of those considered to be the Eighth Doctor – the incarnation featured in the 1996 TV movie – before the part went to Paul McGann, but Stewart has denied that he was approached in interviews. Stewart has also starred in productions of Hamlet alongside Lalla Ward (Princess Astra and Romana) and also David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor.) Ironically, Ward has spoken in interviews about Stewart ribbing her for starring in a hit sci-fi series.

The Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi was one of several actors who auditioned for the role of Benjamin Sisko before the role was given to Avery Brooks. [4]

Simon Pegg has also served as narrator for Doctor Who Confidential, a behind-the-scenes documentary series the BBC aired in conjunction with the main program.

Doctor Who audio dramas

Many other actors as well as some of those listed above have also performed in audio dramas based on Doctor Who and its spin-offs produced by Big Finish Productions. Unlike Paramount Pictures and Star Trek, there has never been an official declaration of what constitutes canon in Doctor Who, but Big Finish audios have been licensed by the BBC, and every script approved by them.

↑ This is the BBC Audio production. ↑ This is the BBC Radio production.

Chase Masterson has the distinction of being the first Trek actor to actually lead an expanded Doctor Who universe spin-off when she was cast as Vienna Salvatori for a Seventh Doctor Big Finish audio drama in 2012, which led to the commissioning of a spin-off audio series, Vienna, focusing on the character.

Production personnel who have worked on both franchises

Ron Thornton of Foundation Imaging began his special effects career building physical models (uncredited) for Doctor Who; [5] he later worked as visual effects producer for several episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise and the Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, as well as providing additional 3D matte elements for Star Trek Nemesis.

Composer John Debney, who composed music for episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also composed the score for the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie co-produced by Universal Pictures and the BBC for Fox Television.

Tony Dow, who directed the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Field of Fire", was the visual effects producer for the aforementioned Doctor Who TV movie. Eric Alba, who worked as a visual effects associate on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager under the name Frederick G. Alba, was the visual effects supervisor for the Doctor Who TV movie.

David Wise, who co-wrote the Animated Series episode "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth", wrote "Forever", an episode of the Big Finish Productions audio drama series Gallifrey released in March 2011.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writer Jane Espenson and Star Trek: Enterprise writer John Shiban have written episodes for Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth season of Torchwood, making them the first writers to contribute to both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises on television. [6]

Kelly A. Manners, who worked as Unit Production Manager on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Coming of Age", is the Producer of Torchwood: Miracle Day. Other Star Trek production alumni who worked on Miracle Day include make-up artist Todd McIntosh and hairstylist Susan Boyd.

Numerous contributors to Star Trek novels have also written licensed Doctor Who fiction, including John Peel, Diane Duane, and Keith R.A. DeCandido.

During a period in the 1990s when plans for a Doctor Who feature film were being bounced around by different parties, Leonard Nimoy was mooted as a potential director for such a movie.