The Big Picture

• Doctor Who references Star Trek in the season premiere “Space Babies."
• Showrunner Russell T. Davies reveals his love for Star Trek, especially newer series like Discovery and Picard, and explains he wanted to delight "geeks" like himself with the reference.
• While a Star Trek x Doctor Who crossover isn't likely to happen anytime soon, Davies enjoys opening the door for fan theories.

When two shows about people traveling through time and space, making the universe a better place, have been on since the 60s, it’s natural to hope they’ll one day cross paths. As a huge sci-fi nerd, I was over the moon when, in the opening scenes of “Space Babies,” Ruby contextualizes traveling in the TARDIS by referencing Star Trek. This is hardly the first time Doctor Who has referenced Star Trek, with many companions making the same comparison as Ruby does, but it is, as Russell T. Davies noted in my recent chat with the showrunner, the first time the Doctor has responded as if the people and adventures of the long-running series exist in reality.

Speaking to Davies ahead of the two-episode premiere, I had to ask what motivated him to include that little quip. He explained that while he’d been a more casual viewer of the older shows like the original series and The Next Generation, it was the newer shows that really turned him into a proper Star Trek fan. “I'm coming to love Star Trek with an absolute passion,” said Davies. “I love the old show. I always watched the old show, but when Star Trek: Discovery came along, I kind of became a proper fan.” It’s always nice to see Discovery get the flowers it deserves. Responsible for kicking off the current era of Star Trek, the series gets an unreasonable amount of flack on the internet for its commitment to diversity and inclusion — two hallmarks of the entire franchise.

Davies went on to praise more of the recent Trek series, even gushing about his crush on Captain Pike — and honestly, who doesn’t have a crush on Captain Pike. “So now I'm devoted, with Picard and Strange New Worlds. Frankly, the fact that I'm not married to Captain Pike is a major problem in my life, and I look to you, Collider, to put this right, frankly. It’s a wrong that needs righting,” Davies laughed. “I love that man. Oh, god, he's beautiful, Anson Mount. What a great name.”

Will We Ever Actually Get a ‘Star Trek’ x ‘Doctor Who’ Crossover?

While there are innumerable hoops both shows would have to jump through on the legal and intellectual property side of things, the creatives behind both shows have already shown their love for each other in recent years. Despite a true crossover being almost impossible right now, Davies enjoyed opening the door for fans to theorize about the Doctor crossing paths with Starfleet. He explained:

“So I just know how many geeks are watching, and I include myself on that list. I know how many science fiction fans are out there, and I think we buzz. The interesting thing about that reference is it’s not the first time Doctor Who's referenced Star Trek, but it is the first time Doctor Who's referenced Star Trek as if it’s real. He says, “Let's go visit them.” So I think that should just cause excited ripples around the world. I hope.”

You can watch the Doctor talk about Star Trek in “Space Babies” right now on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer. New episodes of Doctor Who air on Fridays at 7 PM ET. Stay tuned for our full conversation with Davies.

Watch on Disney+