Assimilation²

"Have you ever considered upgrading yourself?"

Writers: Scott Tipton, David Tipton & Tony Lee

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May-December 2012

Printed in: Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who IDW #1-8

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis

The two greatest science-fiction properties of all time cross over for the first time in history! When the Federation's most terrifying enemy strikes an unholy alliance with one of the Doctor's most hated antagonists, the result is devastation on a cosmic scale! Spanning the ends of space and time itself, Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the time-travelling Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

Verdict

Assimilation² was unfortunately a pretty average comic strip tale. I don't think it's entirely the story's fault and I would suggest that part of why I didn't enjoy this too much was my lack of knowledge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's fair to say I know absolutely nothing about the franchise other than the existence of the Enterprise and I feel like I've heard the name of Captain Picard somewhere, but other than that I didn't have a clue about anything. I don't think the story necessarily does a bad job in giving information on each particular franchise, it's just more so I wasn't all that interested in what was happening with the Star Trek elements. They didn't grab my attention like the Doctor Who portions did. I think it could have worked better to keep the universes apart for a bit longer considering the length of this story, but it was fun when they did mash up. What I didn't enjoy was there basically being no explanation for the TARDIS and the Cybermen having jumped into the universe containing Star Trek, and also why they didn't recognise the characters as people from the fictional sci-fi show? I think it would have worked so much better if the Doctor, Amy and Rory knew they were within Star Trek. That could have worked as a fictional explanation rather than trying to demonstrate that they were real people within the Whoniverse. I can't buy into that unfortunately. The explanation at the end for the TARDIS to get home being one of will with their universe wanting them back and them wanting to return was pretty naff. I don't know much at all about the Borg, but the imagery provided of Borg-enhanced Cybermen was excellent. They were a very fitting villain for this kind of story and I was glad that they were presented as superior to the Borg. They of course had betrayed them after making a quite formidable alliance, and that presented some strong emotional decisions for Captain Picard. He needed Amy to convince him to temporarily join forces with his enemy for the greater good of survival. I did like his background in formerly being part of the Borg collective via the assimilation process so it was understandable that he wanted nothing to do with them despite the stakes. I thought the comic strip going eight issues is impressive but if I'm being honest it was probably a bit too long. I say that though after reading all of the issues in one day instead of across eight months, but surely most people would reread the previous issues before the new one to keep up to date with the adventure? I was both intrigued and confused by the artistic style of the story. It didn't feel consistent and something felt slightly off about it which I can't quite put my finger on. Initially, I thought I really liked it and the unique style gave it a feeling of not being drawn given some of the quality. But the change in style for the Fourth Doctor cameo with the Classic era Cybermen was what I would have preferred throughout. It felt like it was all computer generated and as a personal preference it was almost too realistic in parts! It felt very still. The speech bubbles also felt like they didn't fit the expression of the characters speaking them on so many occasions. I don't think the characterisation for the Doctor, Amy and Rory was overly impressive either as the former felt bit generic with even a First Doctor mannerisms of 'my boy' appearing! Referring to the companions as Mr and Mrs Williams and getting no pushback from Amy at least also felt like a glaring error. Some of the attire Amy was in though looked spectacular! The Doctor selling the threat of the Cybermen was terrific and this was one of the best ways I have seen of their threat being realised. Going full Pyramids of Mars style for the Doctor to show Picard the future if the Cybermen weren't stopped was fun if it was only to see Judoon version of the Cybermen! Horns and everything! How the Doctor had the considerable knowledge he did so quickly is beyond me, but it provided a good insight. I also enjoyed Picard's reaction to the TARDIS, but not as much as the Doctor's to Data. It knew right away how the bigger on the inside worked. Guinan was a mysterious character and her sharing qualities with the Doctor when it came to time was intriguing. I thought it was a bit rubbish at the end though for basically everything that the Doctor and company had done in this universe would be undone an forgotten, even the Fourth Doctor aspect! That just didn't need to happen. Overall, a brave attempt and a fascinating crossover, but I would probably leave this type alone. 

Rating: 5/10