It sounds like something dreamed up in the fevered brain of a Comic-Con attendee: A sci-fi story that features an unholy alliance between "Star Trek's" Borg and "Doctor Who's" Cybermen.
That very story will arrive in May, courtesy of an IDW comic book. According to a Monday press release from the company, "Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2" will feature "an unholy alliance" between the two villains. This sounds like an excellent idea for a comic book and, not just because two races of relentless, mechanized villains are better than one, but because an on-screen depiction of that kind of epic tale would be unworkable (especially given that "TNG" ended in 1994) and hugely expensive.
So who you gonna call when two mechanical races team up to bring disaster to humanity? Jean-Luc Picard and the Doctor, obviously.
In the eight-issue series, "Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance," according to IDW. (Could we get the Cylons to stop by? Is that asking too much? Just wondering.)
This Cybermen-Borg alliance is exciting to ponder, of course, but it leads to a host of nerd-tastic questions: Whose will provide transportation? (The "Trek" folks, apparently; the press release says the Doctor will be "traveling with" Picard and company). Which villainous race will have the upper hand, or will the Borg and Cybermen be too logical to try to assert dominance over each other? Will Picard utter his iconic "Make it so" phrase in the Doctor's presence? Will the sonic screwdriver be used aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise?
I can't ponder these questions anymore. My brain is already melting at the thought of these two franchises coming together to create outer-space goodness. But before I log off, here are a few final details:
The 32-page "Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2" will be written by Scott and David Tipton, authors of "Star Trek: Infestation." The authors will have "a helping hand from longtime 'Doctor Who' writer Tony Lee," the comic "will feature fully painted artwork from J.K. Woodward," there will be a "rare" wrap-around photo cover and artist Joe Corroney will create a variant cover "featuring the Doctor and friends aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise," according to IDW.
FYI: That might be your only chance to see the Doctor before the BBC America series returns in the fall.
I don't know about you, but I will boldly go to my comic-book retailer in May and assimilate this item.