Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: bbc, disney, doctor who, Doctor Who: Lost in Time, mobile games, paramount, star trek, star trek: discovery, star trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek x Doctor Who: Davies & Kurtzman's Geek Bromance on Display

During the Star Trek x Doctor Who panel, Russell T. Davies and Robert Kurtzman put their geek bromance on display to bring fandoms together.

Science Fiction geekdom converged on Saturday at the Intergalactic Friendship Panel: Star Trek x Doctor Who where  Alex Kurtzman and Russell T Davies met up to engage in a showrunner bromance where the executive producers professed love for each other's series. There was also a "Friendship is Universal" exhibition gallery experience in the Gaslamp Quarter featuring costumes, props, and sets from both shows. This is the closest you're going to get to a live-action Doctor Who x Star Trek crossover you're going to get… unless they announce something at the panel. Well, they did. Sort of. But not what you were hoping for. At least, not for now. More on that later.

The "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" Love Fest

Just as the panel began, the official Star Trek YouTube channel released a montage trailer celebrating both Star Trek and Doctor Who. Fans at the panel, which was held in a room smaller than Hall H, were given an exclusive "Friendship is Universal" poster with artwork featuring various Doctors and USS Enterprise crews hanging out together.

At the panel, Davies and Kurtzman professed affection for each other's versions of the beloved series. Kurtzman said Ncuti Gatwa's emotional heart-on-sleeve Doctor is the one he related to most. Davies repeated his love for Star Trek: Discovery, saying it's his favourite show with the series' celebration of friendship – the theme of the panel – and his favourite captain was Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). The panel was a celebration of the positive parts of fandom that kept both series alive for decades, with a condemnation of the toxic hate from the darker would-be gatekeepers in fandom. While he loves fandom, Davies said he doesn't listen to online complaints and just listens to his own instincts.

"We share values and perspectives on the world, we want to tell stories that are illuminating on the human race," said Kurtzman. "The friendship between the doctor and Ruby in this last season had something different. It speaks to a new generation in a new way."

Kurtzman said when he saw Star Wars as a child, he realised the world of the future was built by people who watched Star Trek. Davies talked about watching virtually every episode of Doctor Who live on television since he was three years old, and the old episodes that are now lost due to the BBC wiping the tapes are permanently imprinted in his mind. As for the difference between the shows, Davies said, "The Doctor would never join the military, and the military would never put up with that idiot."

Davies said the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" had a deep influence on him, his first memorable impact as a fan. Of course, both writers were asked what they would like to do if given a chance to contribute to the other show. Davies said, "Borg, Borg, Borg! I love the Borg!" Of course, he loves the Borg Queen! Kurtzman asked, "Is there room for more Borg? It's a well-traveled story…" Davies happily said, "There's always a way. The Daleks keep coming back!" Nobody mentioned that the Cybermen were pretty much the Borg and were there before they were created for Star Trek in the 1980s.

Kurtzman praised Davies, "You bring a gravitas to your writing, but you also have a humanistic global vision of the world." When asked what he would write if he got the chance to for an episode of 'Who,' Kurtzman said there were too many things he would love to write. "It's intimidating," he said. "There's always a twist at the end, right? Would Russell hire me to write an episode?" To which Davies replied, "We couldn't afford you!" Well, a seed has been planted on both sides. Kurtzman said he would love to bring the TARDIS into Star Trek.

"I'm a great believer in using fans. They know the language. They know the franchise," said Davies. Kurtzman said, "Trek canon police in the room at all times. But we need a more humanistic element so I look for writers that are deeply human in their writing."

As for whether there would ever be a live action crossover between Star Trek and Doctor Who, Davies said,"We're not announcing anything, but if fans can make it happen – with our two empires AND THEIR LAWYERS – then we'll do it!"

The final ten minutes of the panel were given to questions from the audience, and a fan asked Russell Davies if the bigger-on-the-inside ship from the Enterprise episode "Future Tense" is a TARDIS. Davies said, "Let's make that canon now… it's a TARDIS!" As far as he was concerned, any ship that's bigger on the inside is a TARDIS.

The Only "Star Trek" x "Doctor Who" Crossover… For Now

So there will not be a TV or movie crossover between Star Trek and Doctor Who anytime soon, but the panel announced there is a crossover coming – in a mobile game. Please calm down! Cartoon versions of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), River Song  (Alex Kingston), and the Daleks will meet the crew of the USS Cerritos in a new story in the mobile games Doctor Who: Lost in Time and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Hey, at least it's free… unless you're so hooked you pay for the microtransactions. We're so sorry.

At the end of the panel, they reiterated Paramount's support for Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the BBC's support for Children in Need, and each studio would donate to the others.  Toth executive producers summed up their credo for the shows and their mutual fandom.

"Both franchises share values and it is what our friendship is about," said Kurtzman.

"We go well together!" declared Davies.

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