Doctor Who Subtly Proves A Matt Smith Sci-Fi Crossover Is Proper Canon In RTD's New Era

Warning: Very minor spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, "Space Babies."

Summary Doctor Who's vast universe expands beyond the TV show to include novels, games, and comics, contributing to a complex timeline.

Doctor Who season 14, episode 1 references a past crossover with Star Trek, teasing more potential future interactions between the two iconic franchises.

Assimilation², a comic integrating Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation, is hinted to be part of Doctor Who's main continuity in "Space Babies."

Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, "Space Babies," includes Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor referencing an Eleventh Doctor story that involved a crossover with another huge sci-fi franchise - and his comment essentially confirms the event is now canon. Doctor Who isn't a saga that's limited to the TV show. There are countless audio dramas, novels, video games, and comics that all contribute to the Doctor Who continuity. The sheer amount of media available within the franchise creates a sprawling timeline of the Doctor's life that can be difficult to track. However, one arc from Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor sticks out.

Some of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time happen off-screen, and they can be enjoyed in isolation from the main show. While the Doctor Who season 14 cast is unlikely to include any characters from outside the franchise, that doesn't mean certain events can't be referenced - as proven in "Space Babies." The tease from Gatwa's Doctor may seem like a fun comment to those unaware of Doctor Who's huge sci-fi crossover, but those familiar with the event will appreciate the coy nod.

Related Doctor Who: Every Doctor & Who Played Them (In Chronological Order) Doctor Who has been played by a crop of fantastic actors going back several decades, and each version has been both unique and memorable.

Doctor Who's Star Trek Crossover Explained

Assimilation² saw the Cybermen join forces with the Borg

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The world of Doctor Who collided with Star Trek: The Next Generation in a run of comic books by IDW Publishing in 2012. The pages of the crossover saga, titled Assimilation² (pronounced "Assimilated Squared"), focused on the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams interacting with the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast. The story follows Doctor Who's Cybermen teaming up with the Borg from the Star Trek universe - a collaboration that inspired the story's title.

Assimilation² is set between the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 5, episodes 17 & 18.

The comic run creatively integrated the two franchises and even explored different eras of each show. While Eleven is the main Doctor featured in the story, the comic's flashback sequences also show Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor interacting with the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series. The comics were illustrated by artist JK Woodward, who had previously worked on other Star Trek projects. Assimilation² was written by the trio of Scott Tipton, David Tipton, and Tony Lee, the latter of whom worked on Doctor Who comics before and after the Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover.

Doctor Who Season 14, Episode 1 Hints Eleven's Star Trek Crossover Is Fully Canon

"We'll have to visit them one day" implies Fifteen knows how to return to the Star Trek universe

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Assimilation² has long been considered a standalone adventure with no bearing on the respective canons of either Doctor Who or Star Trek: The Next Generation. In other words, it can exist whether or not the story is considered to have "actually" happened within a shared continuity. However, Ruby mentions Star Trek in "Space Babies," when mentioning the concept of a "Matter Transporter". Fifteen smiles knowingly and replies, "We'll have to visit them one day." Assimilation² may seem like a bizarre story to be integrated into the show's main continuity, but Doctor Who's new "everything is canon" approach supports the addition.

Captain Jack Harkness addresses the Ninth Doctor as "Mr. Spock" during Doctor Who season 1's "Empty Child" two-parter. So, Star Trek clearly exists as a fictional property within the Doctor Who universe.

References have been made to the Star Trek franchise before in Doctor Who. For example, Captain Jack Harkness addresses the Ninth Doctor as "Mr. Spock" during Doctor Who season 1's "Empty Child" two-parter. So, Star Trek clearly exists as a fictional property within the Doctor Who universe. However, Assimilation² is set in the world of Star Trek rather than within the Doctor Who timeline. So, while Fifteen's on-screen acknowledgment of the events of Assimilation² makes the canon a little messy, it still does make sense.

Could Star Trek Actually Cross Over With Doctor Who On TV?

Rights issues could prevent a Doctor Who on-screen crossover of this magnitude

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Assimilation² likely had some legal issues to hammer out before the two franchises could cross over, and the same roadblocks would need to be overcome a second time if Doctor Who were to collide with Star Trek in live-action. Doctor Who is owned by the BBC, with Disney also now being part of the equation as of late 2022. Star Trek is the property of Paramount/CBS, so all parties would need to be on board with an on-screen Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover taking place.

Related 11 Canon Appearances The Doctor Has Made Outside Of Doctor Who The Doctor is the main character in Doctor Who, but the Time Lord has appeared in other shows on more than one occasion and for various reasons.

If said crossover were to happen, the current success of both franchises means the coming together of the sci-fi giants probably wouldn't happen anytime soon. There are several Star Trek projects ongoing and more coming up, and Doctor Who's recent soft reboot means the new era is receiving much more attention than it has in recent years. So, neither property specifically needs a crossover event to boost its profile, meaning that Doctor Who will probably remain isolated from the Star Trek universe for now.

Episode Disney+ Release Date "Space Babies" & "The Devil's Chord" May 10 "Boom" May 17 "73 Yards" May 24 "Dot & Bubble" May 31 "Rogue" June 7 "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" June 14 "Empire of Death" June 21