Before Paul McGann became the Eighth Doctor in 1996’s Doctor Who television movie, another science-fiction legend nearly became part of the Time Lord’s universe: Star Trek icon Leonard Nimoy. And for the record, this was not simply somebody’s wish list. Nimoy, who had successfully moved behind the camera as director of such films as 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and 1987’s Three Men and a Baby, was attached to direct an earlier proposed theatrical Doctor Who. Producer Philip Segal, who spent years attempting to bring Doctor Who back to television, actually found himself dealing directly with Nimoy.
Just imagine what that combination might have produced. Here was the actor who had helped make Mr. Spock one of television’s most enduring science-fiction characters, potentially taking the reins of another legendary franchise. And Nimoy wasn't simply an actor looking to try his hand at directing. By that point, he had demonstrated an ability to balance science fiction, humor, character relationships and large-scale storytelling, all qualities that would seem particularly well suited to the Doctor's adventures through time and space.
This, it should be noted, all took place during the so-called "Wilderness Years" of Doctor Who, which were akin to Star Trek's "lost years." In the case of the former, it was the period between the end of the original run in 1989 and the relaunch that took place in 2005, with the aforementioned TV movie being the only new live-action screen production featuring the Doctor between those two points in time.
But that didn't mean Doctor Who had disappeared. Far from it. The franchise continued through novels, comic strips, audio adventures and a dedicated fan community that refused to let the Time Lord fade into obscurity. The problem was getting the character back onto television screens, particularly at a time when the BBC seemed uncertain about what to do with a series that had once been one of its signature programs. Various revival ideas came and went, including attempts to reinvent the property for an international audience.
As for Star Trek, its own period of uncertainty stretched across the decade between the cancellation of the original series in 1969 and the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. During those years, the franchise survived through reruns, conventions, an animated series and the extraordinary loyalty of its fans. There were also numerous attempts to bring it back, most notably the proposed television series Star Trek: Phase II, which ultimately evolved into the first feature film.
The parallels are hard to miss. Both franchises had been canceled by their respective networks, both developed passionate followings that kept them alive, and both faced the challenge of finding a way to return for a new generation of viewers. The difference, of course, is that Star Trek managed to make that transition considerably sooner.
Which makes Nimoy's potential involvement with Doctor Who all the more intriguing. Having already played a central role in Star Trek's successful transition from television to feature films, he might have helped another beloved science-fiction property accomplish something similar. Unfortunately, that particular meeting of the two universes was never to be.
PHILIP SEGAL (producer, Doctor Who: The Movie): “For the TV movie I was working on, there was one hurdle left. There was a movie that was supposed to be made, or was in pre-production. They had a deal to do a movie with Leonard Nimoy attached to direct it—and I think maybe even starring in it. I don’t know. I actually didn’t know about this until the lawyers got involved. In those days, it was very important when you were going to get rights to something, you needed to make sure you had all the rights, not just some of them. So it couldn’t be encumbered or clouded. You couldn’t have any loose strings. The idea that there was a movie deal floating around out there did not make the lawyers happy, and there was no way I was going to get this done if that didn’t go away.”
“They had to start pre-production by a certain date. Otherwise, those rights reverted back to the BBC and then I was fully clear. And they kept promising—this movie company kept promising—that they were scouting locations with Leonard and all this stuff. And I thought, ‘Okay, well, I’ll have a meeting with Leonard Nimoy and see exactly what’s going on.’ He came to Amblin, where I was working, and we had a meeting and we talked about it. And I found out from him that there wasn’t really pre-production going on. They were kind of bamboozling everybody, trying to figure out how to get enough money to even start.”
One point that Segal emphasizes is that Nimoy’s interest was absolutely genuine and not some passing fancy.
PHILIP SEGAL: “Oh, it was very serious. I think in that moment in time, he was exploring wanting to be a director very seriously and they thought it was a great name at the time to attach. But as serious as he was, they just didn’t have the financing. On top of that, I knew just from reading that script and also from understanding who the players were, that they just couldn’t get it done. Remember, I worked for Amblin, so I had access to all kinds of intelligence—intelligence gathering from other studios, from agencies. There wasn’t any piece of information I didn’t know about a deal, and I knew that it was never going to get made. Not like that.” “Eventually, the clock ran out and we were able to move forward. But as I said, there was a script for that version, which I read. And it was awful. It literally made those two Peter Cushing movies from the 1960s look like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, it was bad.”