QUIZ: Was That Alien On Star Trek or Doctor Who?
How Well Do You Know These Two Legendary Science Fiction Series?
Both launching their respective franchises in the early 1960s, Star Trek and Doctor Who have both endured over the years as two of the most successful science fiction brands of all time. While they are both very different, there are also a lot of similarities. Between them, the two science fiction worlds have offered fans a variety of monsters and/or aliens—including the Salt Vampire, the Daleks, the Horta, the Weeping Angels, the Borg, Redjac, the Silence, the Talosians, the Boneless, and so many more. In the quiz below, can you name which alien or monster came from which show?
ABOUT STAR TREK
The Star Trek brand kicked off with Star Trek (now called Star Trek: TOS or “The Original Series”) on September 8, 1966. Airing for three seasons on the U.S. network NBC, the show was created by Gene Roddenberry. The series followed the voyages of the U.S.S Enterprise, a starship built by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century, “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” When creating Star Trek, Roddenberry’s inspirations included TV western Wagon Train, the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical novel Gulliver's Travels, and C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels.
Star Trek has since expanded to include multiple spin-off television series, two different film series, plus novels, games, comics, toys, and other media adaptations. After the conclusion of TOS, several members of the original cast continued to portray their characters (and more) in the 22-episode Star Trek: The Animated Series. They also appeared in six feature films before the film series passed the torch to the cast of TNG.
Star Trek spin-off series include:
Star Trek: The Animated Series (ST:TAS)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9)
Short Treks
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Over the years, Star Trek has often been a champion of diversity—going all the way back to the original series. One member of that cast, Nichelle Nichols, even leveraged her role to make a real-world impact and bring diversity to NASA.
ABOUT DOCTOR WHO
A significant part of British popular culture, Doctor Who has become a global phenomena since first broadcast in 1963. The series details the exploits and misadventures of an alien Time Lord who calls himself simply “The Doctor.” The Doctor explores all of time and space in a ship named the TARDIS (“Time and Relative Dimensions in Space”). From the outside, it mimics a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series debuted.
One of the hallmarks of the series is that the Doctor’s species can recover from mortal wounds by “regenerating.” From a production standpoint, that meant the same character can continue even when the lead actor changes.
More than a dozen actors have portrayed some incarnation of the Doctor:
Each actor's portrayal is unique, but all represent stages in the life of the same character. Together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. Because of the Doctor’s time-travelling adventures, it’s possible for different incarnations of the Doctor to occasionally crossover.
Another feature of the series is that the Doctor often travels with one or more companions, generally humans. Over the course of the series, dozens of different characters have joined the Doctors on their adventures all over time and space.
The original series ran from 1963-1989. There was a 1996 television film intended to launch a new series in the U.S., but that series wasn’t picked up. The BBC re-launched Doctor Who in 2005, which has since led to numerous spin-off series:
Torchwood (2006–2011)
Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011)
K-9 (2009–2010)
Class (2016)
Doctor Who has also been adapted into other media formats, including novels, audio dramas, comic books, and films.
RELATED LINKS
Star Trek Panel: How Nichelle Nichols Changed NASA
Beginner’s Guide to Doctor Who: Weeping Angels
Terror in Space: 16 Horror Movies Set In Outer Space
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Parallel Franchises and Keeping Them Alive: Star Trek and Doctor Who (Doctor Who Companion)
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