003: Doctor Who vs. Star Trek

Doctor Who and Star Trek are two of the most loved shows in television history, each a cult classic strongly associated with its country of origin.

For decades, the British program that followed the adventures of a time traveler in his telephone box played second fiddle to the American story of a multi-cultural mission seeking to boldly go where no man has gone before. All this started to change, however, around spring 2005 when the BBC resurrected its slumbering icon and proceeded to turn it into one of its flagship offerings.

The immediate spike lead to two instances of the show passing Star Trek in the rankings, and as the Kirk and Spock vehicle continues to hemorrhage hits - despite the promise of an upcoming blockbuster motion picture - Doctor Who trends higher each season, poised to surpass Trek again in Google Trends for the first time since last summer:



As one would expect, Doctor Who obliterates Star Trek in the United Kingdom, while the reverse is true in the US. Australia is the most evenly divided of any nation, and the Time Lord is all but nonexistent in Germany...