Beyond the big Star Trek Universe panel in Hall H and the focus on Star Trek Prodigy in its own panel, there was one other notable Star Trek event on this year’s San Diego Comic Con schedule — and an unexpected one, at that.
On Saturday, July 27, Star Trek franchise boss Alex Kurtzman and Doctor Who mastermind Russell T Davies came together for the Doctor Who x Star Trek: Friendship is Universal panel — where the two shared their love for each other’s television projects, talked about the challenges of running massive franchises, efforts to bring up-and-coming writers into their projects, and more.
The panel kicked off with a loving tribute to both franchises’ long history:
We were in the room for this one, and to be honest it was a remarkably refreshing experience. The sense of admiration and overall positivity — not just from the panelists, but from the packed-house audience — was palpable, a lovely counterpoint to the sometimes-loudest negative voices one may encounter in the online world of fandom.
Kurtzman commented on the shared positive outlook that Trek and Doctor Who share, saying:
“We share values. We share perspectives of the world. We want to tell stories that are illuminating about the human race. Each iteration of The Doctor and each iteration of ‘Trek’ has endeavored to do that for every generation that it serves. It’s that beautiful connection.”
Davies commented on his love for Star Trek: Discovery — naming Michael Burnham as his favorite Trek captain — and noted that if he had the chance to write for Trek, he would craft some sort of story involving the Borg, after praising the use of the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Picard.
Kurtzman commented that the Borg have been used somewhat often in Trek, wondering if there was still story to tell with them, calling the cybernetic race “a very travelled entity at this point” — to which Davies replied, “Yes! We always have the Daleks coming back… there’s always [a way to do] something new.”
While the panel also included an announcement on a crossover between the two franchises through two mobile games — Doctor Who: Lost in Time and Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Badgey Directive — there was no news about a live-action crossover.
For that to happen, an event both showrunners expressed their strong desire to craft, Davies said:
“We would love to announce a crossover between Star Trek and Doctor Who [but we aren’t doing that today].
If anyone can make that happen… it’s fans that can make that happen! Two great big broadcasters, two great big empires — and their lawyers! — would have to come together, but we can do that, can’t we?
Quite seriously, I’d love it. That [montage] video, that shows you what it would feel like, what it would look like… the joy of it. It must happen!”
You can watch the entire panel, moderated by TVLine’s Keisha Hatchett, now:
Those fans who attended the panel in person received a copy of this exclusive Doctor Who / Star Trek crossover poster, created by artist Dusty Abell.
Here's the exclusive #StarTrek / #DoctorWho crossover poster given out to today's panel attendees, by artist Dusty Abell#SDCC pic.twitter.com/OkUuUTjNBC
— TrekCore.com ➡️ STLV (@TrekCore) July 28, 2024
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