Sonic screwdriver: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Object  
{{subpage tabs}}
|image = [[Image:sonicscrewdriver.jpg|250px]]
 
|object name = Sonic screwdriver
{{ImageLink}}
|type = Multi-functional sonic device
{{Infobox Object
|origin = [[The Doctor]]
|image       = The Pilot Cup of Sonic.jpg
|appearances = [[Sonic screwdriver - List of Appearances|Full List of Appearances]]
|alias      =
|type        = [[Sonic device]]
|made by    = {{il|[[The Doctor]]|[[Romana II|Romana]]|[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]]|[[Santa Claus]]|[[Amy Pond]]}}
|used by    = [[The Doctor]] and some of their [[companion]]s, [[Stoyn]]
|origin     = {{il|[[Gallifrey]]|[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]]}}
|first      = Fury from the Deep (TV story)
|appearances = {{appears}}
|clip        = The Master Summons the Sea Devil - The Sea Devils - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip2      = The Sonic Screwdriver is Destroyed! - The Visitation - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip3      = Race to Save River Song (HQ) - Doctor Who - Forest of the Dead - BBC
|bts        = The Woman Who Fell to Earth Episode 1 Closer Look Doctor Who BBC AMERICA
}}
}}
''"Harmless is just the word; that's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I tell you what it does do: it is'' '''''very''''' ''good at opening doors."''
{{you may|Doctor Who: Sonic Screwdriver|n1=the mobile app}}
:- [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]]
The '''sonic screwdriver''', also called a '''[[sonic probe]]''' or simply "the '''sonic'''", was a highly versatile [[tool]] used by many people throughout the universe, the most prominent of them being [[the Doctor]].
 
The '''sonic screwdriver''' is a versatile tool and defensive weapon which the Doctor stated to be grown in peaceful places ([[IDW]]: [[Agent Provocateur]]) used by [[the Doctor]] from his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]] onwards.
 
==Variants==
===The Doctor's sonic screwdriver===
====Mark I====
[[Image:Doc2Sonic.jpg|thumb|right|Earliest known sonic screwdriver in use]]
A small, simple device similar to a penlight, first used by the Doctor in his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep]]'')
 
=====Known uses=====
*Opening up hatches, panels and control panels. ([[DW]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep]]'', ''[[The War Games]]'') 
*For cutting through a section of a wall. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Dominators]]'')
*As a conventional screwdriver (without touching the screws). ([[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]]'').
 
====Mark II====
[[Image:Early-sonic-screwdriver.jpg|right|thumb|Variation likely created during [[Third Doctor|the Doctor's]] [[exile on Earth]].]]
A larger and more elaborately detailed version, the Doctor began using this model in his [[Third Doctor|third incarnation]]. It had a removable head which The Doctor would change with other heads, each doing a different function. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'').
 
=====Known uses=====
*Booby trap detector in [[the Master's TARDIS]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'')
*Remote detection and detonation of [[land mine]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'')
*To open an electronic door. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mutants]]'')
*Undoing wrist clamps. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mutants]]'')
*Creation of a spark of fire and igniting [[swamp gas]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')
*Open electronic locks. ([[DW]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')
*As conventional screwdriver, on large, flathead screw.  ([[DW]]: ''[[The Monster of Peladon]]'')
 
====Mark III====
The [[Fourth Doctor]] remade his sonic screwdriver into a silver version that lacked the inter changeable heads. It was capable of extending its tip.
 
====Mark IV====
[[image:ChangLooksThroughSonic.jpg|thumb|[[Chang Lee]] discovers the sonic screwdriver the [[Seventh Doctor]] had at [[regeneration]].]]
The [[Seventh Doctor]] uses a sonic screwdriver like his mark III to lock [[the Master]] in a casket. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The TV Movie]]'') This is used throughout the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s life and has a torch built in the handle.
:''The mark IV is most likely Romana's sonic screwdriver that she gave the Doctor in ([[NA]]: [[Lungbarrow]])''
 
====Mark V====
[[Image:Sonic_Screwdriver_Mark_1.gif|right|thumb|A version known to be used by the [[Ninth Doctor|ninth]] and [[tenth Doctor|tenth]] incarnations of the Doctor]]
In his [[Ninth Doctor|ninth incarnation]] the Doctor had a new model with a glowing blue diode at one end. The [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]] of the Doctor also carried this model, until it was burnt out after modifying an [[x-ray]] scanner to increase the radiation output. ([[DW]]:''[[Smith and Jones]]'')


=====Known uses=====
While almost always referred to as a sonic screwdriver, this device has on occasion been referred to as a sonic probe by people other than the Doctor, such as [[Dalek Sec]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'') and a version of [[Amy Pond]] who had been stuck on [[Apalapucia]] for 36 years. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]'') The [[Tenth Doctor|Tenth]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'') and [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]'') Doctors openly disliked this and corrected those who did so. The [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'') and [[Twelfth Doctor]]s ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'') also defended when others claimed it was inferior to other sonic devices like a [[sonic blaster]] or [[sonic trowel]].
*Detecting and stopping [[telepathy|telepathic]] signals. ([[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'')
*Interfacing with a [[computer]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of the World]]'')
*As a medical scanner and diagnostic tool. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'')
*Obtaining money from a cash machine. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Long Game]]'')
*Battery charging. ([[DW]]: ''[[Father's Day]]'')
*Completely corroding thin metal (e.g. barbed wire) so that it crumbles into rust. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
*Re-connecting barbed wire. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
*Reversing teleport devices. ([[DW]]: ''[[Boom Town]]'')
*To destroy a television camera. ([[DW]]: ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]'')
*Dematerialising the TARDIS and initialising TARDIS processes from outside the craft. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'')
*Blowing up a remote control christmas tree. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'')
*To transfer its powers to the viewer's remote control. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Graske]]'')
*To create small flames. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]'')
*To make the [[Cybus Cyberman|Cybermen]] turn away from the Doctor's direction. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
*To cut rope. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
*To threaten [[the Wire]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
*To partially reverse the [[Abzorbaloff]]'s absorption of [[Ursula Blake]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Love & Monsters|Love & Monsters]]'')
*Partially cracking glass so it can be smashed with the push of a finger ([[DW|DW]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'')
*Detonation of an explosive device. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')
*Get money from cash machine, at both regular and extra-high rates of ejection ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
*Able to summon the Tardis using Huon Particles ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
*To destroy the [[Robot Santa]]s with sound (used in conjunction with a professional sound system). ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
*To increase the radiation output of a device such as an [[x-ray]] scanner; this action burned out the screwdriver. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')


====Mark VI====
== Technology and functions ==
The [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]] had to grow/construct another screwdriver after the X-ray incident. It was very similar to the Mark V, though somewhat larger and silver. It is seen blowing up in the trailer for Series 5, possibly meaning there will be a Mark VII.
Identified by the [[Dalek]]s as a "[[sonic probe]]", ([[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'') the sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced [[Gallifrey]]an technology, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Heart of TARDIS (novel)|Heart of TARDIS]]'') although the Doctor could make one by using resources found on [[21st century]] [[Earth]] with help from [[Stenza]] technology. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') During the [[Dalek-Movellan War]], [[Davros]] dismissed the sonic screwdriver as a "simple" tool. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Triumph of Davros (audio story)|The Triumph of Davros]]'')


=====Known uses=====
[[The Doctor]] claimed to have either invented or designed the specific [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver which they owned]]. In fact, the [[Seventh Doctor]] claimed to have filed a [[patent]] on the technology, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Unknown (audio story)|The Unknown]]'') and to have [[copyright]] on the design. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)|The Quantum Possibility Engine]]'')
[[Image:2007SonicHorizontal.jpg|right|thumb|Sonic created after its predecessor was destroyed at [[Royal Hope Hospital]]]]
*opening air tight seals. ([[DW]]: ''[[Gridlock]]'')
*Trying to strip off pieces of [[Dalekanium]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Evolution of the Daleks]]'')
*Bypassing and turning off security systems. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
*In conjunction with a pipe organ, it produced hypersonic sound waves which lead to the death of the Lazarus Creature. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
*Scanning for the transformed Lazarus Creature after it escaped to [[Southwark Cathedral]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
*Locking the TARDIS navigational systems to only allow travel between its current position and its previous position. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
*Fixing a decades-broken Vortex Manipulator. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
*To destroy a security camera.([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
*Uncorking a wine bottle. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')
*Controlling a cable cart. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
*Breaking into a Silo on the Ood-Sphere. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Ood]]'')
*Disabling a [[Sontaran]] teleport. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'')
*Scanning shadows for the presence of [[Vashta Nerada]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
*Showing a hologram (of Donna Noble). ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
*Disabling the [[Crusader 50]]'s entertainment system. ([[DW]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'')
*Checking [[Crusader 50]]'s control console for faults. ([[DW]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'')
*Teleporting a [[Graske]] to the other side of the universe. ([[DW]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'')
*An opera conductor's wand (a function which does not require engaging sonic output of the device). ([[DW]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'')
*As a [[Sonic Toothbrush]]. ([[DWAM]]: ''[[The Continuity Cap]]'')
*Tinting the Doctor's glasses. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
*Opening 200 Bus doors. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
*Unlocking handcuffs. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
*Detecting Time Traces. ([[SJA]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''.)
*As an actual Screwdriver, without touching the screws. ([[DW]]: ''[[Dreamland]]'')
*Disabling a [[Shimmer]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
*Switching The Hersperus power off. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')


====Mark ?====
When [[Kazran Sardick]] was confused as to what to do when it looked like [[Abigail Pettigrew]] was about to [[kissing|kiss]] him, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] told Kazran to trust him and kiss Abigail, as "it's this, or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes." ([[TV]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'') When Captain [[Jack Harkness]] asked the [[Ninth Doctor]], "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?", the Doctor defensively responded, "What? You never been bored? Never had a long night? Never had a lot of [[cabinet]]s to put up?" ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'')
[[Image:River_Song_Sonic_Screwdriver.jpg|right|thumb|[[The Doctor]]'s future screwdriver, loaned out to [[River Song]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')]]
In the Doctor's personal future, he would upgrade the screwdriver with, in addition to the Mark V settings, ''red settings'' and ''damper settings''. He gave it to [[River Song]], both for her use and because it served as a way to save River's [[Data Ghost]] for uploading into [[Charlotte Abigail Lux|the main computer]] of [[the Library]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')


:''The nature of the red or damper settings is not yet clear; however, it is suggested that a red setting is a more powerful setting than the blue one and maybe dampers reduce outside interference with the sonic - similar to a [[bio damper]]. The 'TARDIS return switch' seen on the prop design(see right) may use similar technology to a [[Stattenheim Remote Control]].''
Other individuals had similar devices, such as the [[sonic pen]] (which appeared to serve a near-identical function) used by [[Cofelia|Miss Foster]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]'') and the [[sonic blaster]] used first by Captain [[Jack Harkness]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'' / ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'') and later [[River Song]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'') [[Sarah Jane Smith]] had her [[sonic lipstick]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane (TV story)|Invasion of the Bane]]'', etc.) and the Doctor himself once used a [[sonic cane]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'') Even Missy used a [[sonic umbrella]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[World Enough and Time (TV story)|World Enough and Time]]''/''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'') River Song also had [[River Song's sonic screwdriver|her own sonic screwdriver]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'') that the Twelfth Doctor gifted her. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')


:''It is not yet known if this device is a modified older version of The Doctor's (current) sonic screwdriver or a newly created (albeit similar looking) device with additional modifications. The set photos indicating that Matt Smith's Doctor will have a new Sonic Screwdriver suggests that the device currently being used on the show will be modified and passed on to River.''
From time to time, the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Monsters Inside (novel)|The Monsters Inside]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Bizarre Zero (comic story)|Bizarre Zero]]'') It was self-repairing and could send out a homing signal to any parts that had been separated. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'') One account held that a sonic screwdriver was powered by a type of [[crystal]] that was similar to the [[Metebelis crystal]]s. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten (comic story)|The Forgotten]]'')


=====Known uses=====
Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a [[deadlock seal]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[School Reunion (TV story)|School Reunion]]'', ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') However, Miss Foster's sonic pen could open the deadlock seals that it was programmed to within her own facility when the Doctor's screwdriver could not. ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]'') It also couldn't unlock the doors to the TARDIS if they had been manually locked at the console. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') Some or all versions were ineffective against [[wood]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Night Terrors (TV story)|Night Terrors]]'', ''[[The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'', ''[[Empress of Mars (TV story)|Empress of Mars]]'') It didn't work in the presence of some models of [[hairdryer]]s, although the Tenth Doctor stated he was working on it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Catastrophea (novel)|Catastrophea]]'')
*Activating and disabling [[gravity platform]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
*Fixing light bulbs. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')


===Related Tools===
== Individual sonic screwdrivers ==
*[[Liz Shaw]] had her own version of the Doctor's "door handle" device, which she used to open the door to the Doctor's shed. ([[DW]]: ''[[Inferno]]'')
=== The Doctor's screwdriver ===
*[[Romana]] constructed her own sonic screwdriver. Her version so impressed the Doctor that he attempted (unsuccessfully) to swap sonic screwdrivers with her. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon]]'') She later gave it to the Doctor. ([[NA]]: ''[[Lungbarrow]]'')
{{Main|The Doctor's sonic screwdriver}}
:''This resembled a smaller, slimmer version of the Doctor's Mark II.''
[[The Doctor]], throughout many of their lives, possessed a sonic screwdriver. They originally used [[Second Doctor's sonic screwdriver|a basic model]] in their [[First Doctor|first]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Venusian Lullaby (novel)|Venusian Lullaby]]'') and [[Second Doctor|second incarnations]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep (TV story)|Fury from the Deep]]'') before [[Third Doctor's sonic screwdriver|upgrading]] in [[Third Doctor|their third]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sea Devils (TV story)|The Sea Devils]]'') However, according to one account, the First Doctor was unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver when he met the [[Twelfth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'') Similarly the accounts depicting the Doctor's life as the Timeless Child prior to their first incarnation showed at least one of them as being unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver and dismissive of it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fugitive of the Judoon (TV story)|Fugitive of the Judoon]]'') The Doctor continued to use the model introduced during his third incarnation until it was destroyed in [[Fifth Doctor|their fifth]] by a [[Terileptil]] leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]'') It wasn't until they were in their [[Seventh Doctor|seventh incarnation]] before they began to use [[Seventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver|a screwdriver]] again, taking on various different models throughout the years. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'', ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'', [[WC]]: {{cs|The Fourteenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver (webcast)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The World Tree (audio story)}})
*[[The Master]] had a similar tool called a '''[[laser screwdriver]]''' ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
*[[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] and later [[River Song]] possessed a '''[[sonic blaster]]'''. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'' / ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'', ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
*Using stolen and incomplete [[UNIT]] design plans, [[Toshiko Sato]] created a '''[[sonic modulator]]'''. ([[TW]]: ''[[Fragments]]'')
*[[Matron Cofelia|Miss Foster]] had a '''[[sonic pen]]''', with a similar design, described as sleek, to [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]]'s sonic screwdriver. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
*The Doctor gave [[Sarah Jane Smith]] a''' [[sonic lipstick]]''', a similar tool. ([[SJA]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]'') ''On-screen, we never see how Sarah gets either of the two sonic lipstick devices she uses. ''It is mentioned that [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] put them in [[K9 Mark IV|K9]] along with her alien detecting watch ([[Doctor Who|DW]]: [[School Reunion]])
*The Doctor mentions that he once had a '''[[laser spanner]]''' as well but [[Emmaline Pankhurst]] took it from him. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')
* [[Mrs Wormwood]] was in possession of a ring called a '''[[sonic disruptor]]''' ([[SJA]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane]]'').
* The [[Sixth Doctor]] defeated [[Cybermen]] using a [[sonic lance]], similar in function but designed to work as a weapon as well.
* [[Jackson Lake]] carried what is most likely the most primitive iteration of the sonic screwdriver. His version was a regular [[19th century]] screwdriver which he claimed to be sonic by virtue of it making a sound when it was hit against a surface. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'')


Many of the sonic devices featured in the show are in fact incorrectly named, as their function is not always reflected accurately by their name. For example, a [[sonic lipstick]] should in fact be a device which performs the functions of a lipstick using sonic waves; similarly a [[sonic pen]] should be a device which writes using sonic energy. These devices have, however, been named to suit their appearance rather than their function.
[[File:Jeremy Enecio 3rd Doctor cropped.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Third Doctor]] wields an early model of [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver]]. ([[GRAPHIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Evergreen (illustration)|Doctor Who Evergreen]]'')]]
Early versions of their sonic screwdriver were used mainly for the [[lock picking|picking]] of [[lock]]s and for projecting [[sound]] so as to, for example, [[explosion|detonate]] objects and fry [[circuit]]ry. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sea Devils (TV story)|The Sea Devils]]'') By the time of the [[Ninth Doctor]], the sonic was able to also be used as a sophisticated [[scanner|scanning]] device, with [[medicine|medical]] applications. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality, such as the ability to [[hacking|hack]] into [[computer]]s, ([[TV]]: ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]'') provide [[geolocation]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Evolution of the Daleks]]'') and actively defend against some types of assault [[weapon]]s by frying their internal mechanics and causing the weapons to burst into flames and spark from the inside. ([[TV]]: ''[[Cold Blood (TV story)|Cold Blood]]'') The tool could create powerful frequencies and signals, ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]'', ''[[Thin Ice (TV story)|Thin Ice]]'') as well as use sound to carry out its functions, even to the point where three of its latest incarnations where able to create a [[sonic blast|sonic force blast]] powerful enough to repel and destroy a [[Dalek]] while working together, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') as well as shoot green sonic energy waves to briefly incapacitate or stun a target. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')


==Technology and Functions==
All of these [[incarnation]]s utilised the same core [[software]], though they used different [[hardware]]. While it was different individual model, for all intents and purposes the [[War Doctor]]'s sonic was the same as the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s some 400 years later. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') However, the [[Thirteenth Doctor]], having lost the Twelfth Doctor's sonic screwdriver, created her own version. As such, hers used unique software, and was made from 21st century Earth components, as well as part of a Recall Circuit from the Stenza Homeworld. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') Although, by the time of the [[Fifteenth Doctor]], [[Fifteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his screwdriver]] featured the same software as previous models. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The World Tree (audio story)}})
The sonic screwdriver is apparently the product of [[Gallifrey]]an technology since other Time Lords (i.e. [[Romana]]) used the device and understood it enough to construct their own versions of it. The name of the device itself suggests that it functions using soundwaves, although the actual workings of the device have never been explained.  


A crystal similar to [[Metebelis Crystal]] sought after by the [[Eight Legs]] of [[Metebelis III]] was used in the Mark VI sonic screwdriver. ([[IDW]]: ''[[The Forgotten]]'')
=== Romana's screwdriver ===
{{Main|Romana's sonic screwdriver}}
[[File:Romana's Screwdriver.jpg|thumb|The [[Fourth Doctor]] compares [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]] with [[Romana's sonic screwdriver|Romana's]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon (TV story)|The Horns of Nimon]]'')]]
[[Romana II]] constructed [[Romana's sonic screwdriver|her own sonic screwdriver]], which was so impressive that the Doctor attempted to substitute his own with hers, but she noticed the switch. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon (TV story)|The Horns of Nimon]]'') Her version also included a silencer. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Luna Romana (audio story)|Luna Romana]]'') She later gave it to the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]'') Nonetheless, during the final term of her presidency, her [[Romana III|third incarnation]] used a sonic screwdriver. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Intervention Earth (audio story)|Intervention Earth]]'')


The screwdriver also seems to have a multitude of settings, along with different versions of settings, as he tells Rose to use "setting 15B" to help him triangulate the source of the ghosts ([[DW]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'') and it is said to have a setting 85. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]''). The Doctor tells Rose to use setting 2428D to re-attach barbed wire, suggesting that the screwdriver (at least the Mark V screwdriver) has at least this many functions ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
=== River's screwdriver ===
{{Main|River Song's sonic screwdriver}}
[[File:River Gifted her Sonic Screwdriver.jpg|thumb|River receives her sonic screwdriver. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')]]
The [[Twelfth Doctor]] gave [[River Song]] [[River Song's sonic screwdriver|another screwdriver]] before River's final date with him at the [[Singing Towers]] of [[Darillium]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'', ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'') This version of the sonic screwdriver somewhat resembled the [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth]] and [[Tenth Doctor]]'s [[Ninth Doctor's sonic screwdriver|model]], which was notable when she met the latter in [[the Library]], though it looked elaborately decorated and modified, featuring increased and enhanced functionality, including "[[damper]]s" and a "[[red setting]]" that allowed it to work without interference from the [[Doctor Moon]]. The Doctor gave it to River so she would be ready when she met his tenth incarnation in [[the Library]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Time Lord Technology (feature)|page=56}})


The different versions of the Doctor's sonic screwdrivers have exhibited different capabilities and uses, such as the interception of signals ranging from transmat beams to conscious thought; medical diagnostics and repair of organic parts; cutting, but also re-attaching together materials such as barbed wire; operating Earth machinery such as computers and even cash machines (at regular and high eject speeds); creating a spark to light a candle; and, on the rare occasion, driving screws without touching them. Although it is primarily a tool, it can also be used as a defensive weapon, such as when the Tenth Doctor put it in a sound board to destroy the [[Robot Santa]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'') However, according to the [[Tenth Doctor]], the device cannot be used to wound, maim or kill living things. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')   It can still be used to destroy non-living objects or mechanisms or place living creatures in circumstances where they might die, if the situation requires.
=== Other screwdrivers ===
[[Quadrigger]] [[Stoyn]] possessed [[Stoyn's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] in his workcase aboard [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], which he had been working on shortly before the [[First Doctor]] stole the ship. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Beginning (audio story)|The Beginning]]'')


Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology cannot unlock a [[deadlock seal]] ([[DW]]: ''[[School Reunion]]''); one of few exceptions is Miss Foster's [[sonic pen]], which was able to open the deadlock seals on and within the Adipose Industries building when the Doctor's sonic screwdriver could not. This suggests that certain sonic devices can be tailored to open certain deadlock seals, much like a key to a certain lock. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'') However, when [[the Master]] stole [[The Doctor's TARDIS]], he activated the TARDIS' deadlock seal and the Doctor was unable to open it using the sonic screwdriver. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') However, this may be due to the fact that the Doctor stole his TARDIS and its deadlock is therefore not susceptible to the Doctor's technology in the same way as Adipose. Some or all versions may be ineffective against wood, or in the presence of some models of hairdryers. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'', [[PDA]]: ''[[Catastrophea]]'')
[[Second Doctor (clone)|A clone of the Second Doctor]] also possessed [[Second Doctor clone's sonic screwdriver|his own sonic screwdriver]], which he used along with the [[Fourth Doctor]]'s to send [[Hexford]] home. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Survivors in Space (audio story)|Survivors in Space]]'')


==Behind the Scenes==
[[Narvin]] had [[Narvin's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] made, based on the Doctor's design, after seeing its utility when carried by the Doctor. At first he objected, preferring to call it a sonic [[lockpick]], but then admitted the nature of his new device. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)|The Quantum Possibility Engine]]'')
*The tool was retired during the Fifth Doctor serial [[DW]]: ''[[The Visitation]]'' as it was felt it had become overused. It was absent for the Sixth Doctor era and all of the Seventh, except in [[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The TV Movie]]'' in which the Seventh Doctor was seen to use it to lock the Master's remains away, and the Eighth Doctor recovered it at the end of the film. The tool was reintroduced with the Ninth Doctor and has become the show's most frequently used gadget besides the TARDIS itself.


*For unexplained reasons, the Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver had a green casing in [[DW]]: ''[[The Infinite Quest]]''.
[[Ace]] had [[Ace's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] which she took with her to [[Outpost Delta]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Enemy Lines (audio story)|Enemy Lines]]'')


*During early production of Series 1 (2005), the production crew decided to switch from their original prop to one based on the toy Sonic Screwdriver because the first prop was prone to falling appart and so the production team secured molds from the toy replica in order to make a more reliable prop for the next season.
[[Doctor Ogron]] built [[Doctor Ogron's sonic screwdriver|his own sonic screwdriver]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Planet of the Ogrons (audio story)|Planet of the Ogrons]]'')


*Early conceptual art of the modern era Sonic Screwdriver feature a different "tube" section, with notes referring to "glowing organic circuitry", and a movable ball-joint on the emitter, to allow use around corners and in tight spaces. Instead of the "glowing circuitry," the actual prop and toy reproductions feature a black "swivel," like a simple helix. When given a personal copy of the concept art, David Tennant himself commented on the lack of the swivelling emitter.
[[Jackson Lake]] carried [[Jackson Lake's screwdriver|a regular screwdriver]] from the [[19th century]] which he claimed was sonic by virtue of it making a sound when it was struck against a surface. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor (TV story)|The Next Doctor]]'')


*Another early piece of concept art, similar to a simple Bitmap drawing, reveals that the black "cap" at the reverse end of the Sonic Screwdriver was intended to be an opening set of "feet," allowing the Sonic Screwdriver to plug into a section of the TARDIS console. This features was also dropped from the eventual prop model.
While trapped on [[Apalapucia]] for thirty-six years, [[Amy Pond]] cobbled together [[Amy Pond's sonic probe|a sonic device]] from various pieces of technology, but insisted upon calling it a [[sonic probe]]. She later conceded that it was a "sonic screwdriver". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]'')


*There are two main versions of the Sonic Screwdriver - one has a slide feature with button, and one which does not slide and has a fixed button. The two prop types varied each episode.
[[Vastra]] had [[Vastra's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] that was a gift from the Doctor. She used it to shatter the glass of the [[Crystal Palace]]. It had a red tip, and was similar in design to that used by the Doctor's eleventh incarnation. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Crystal Throne (comic story)|The Crystal Throne]]'')


==External links==
== Behind the scenes ==
*[http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv31/sonicscrewdriver.html "Is That A Sonic Screwdriver in your Pocket, Doctor?" article by Jon Preddle]
According to the fiction source [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary]]'', a sonic screwdriver was a common and basic [[Time Lord]] device. If needed, a Time Lord could make one from scratch in very little time.


*[http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/8cff Sonic Screwdriver toy on ThinkGeek]
== External links ==
* [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv31/sonicscrewdriver.html "Is That A Sonic Screwdriver in your Pocket, Doctor?" article by Jon Preddle]
{{Template:Sonic devices}}


*[http://www.denofgeek.com/television/290333/doctor_who_new_pics_of_matt_smith_and_new_sonic_screwdriver.html New Doctor New Screwdriver]
[[cs:Sonický šroubovák]]
[[Category:The Doctor's items]]
[[Category:Sonic screwdrivers| ]]
[[Category:Sonic devices|*]]

Latest revision as of 21:00, 23 May 2024

Sonic screwdriver
Appearances

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The sonic screwdriver, also called a sonic probe or simply "the sonic", was a highly versatile tool used by many people throughout the universe, the most prominent of them being the Doctor.

While almost always referred to as a sonic screwdriver, this device has on occasion been referred to as a sonic probe by people other than the Doctor, such as Dalek Sec (TV: Doomsday) and a version of Amy Pond who had been stuck on Apalapucia for 36 years. (TV: The Girl Who Waited) The Tenth (TV: Doomsday) and Eleventh (TV: The Girl Who Waited) Doctors openly disliked this and corrected those who did so. The Ninth (TV: The Doctor Dances) and Twelfth Doctors (TV: The Husbands of River Song) also defended when others claimed it was inferior to other sonic devices like a sonic blaster or sonic trowel.

Technology and functions[[edit] | [edit source]]

Identified by the Daleks as a "sonic probe", (TV: Doomsday) the sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced Gallifreyan technology, (PROSE: Heart of TARDIS) although the Doctor could make one by using resources found on 21st century Earth with help from Stenza technology. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth) During the Dalek-Movellan War, Davros dismissed the sonic screwdriver as a "simple" tool. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros)

The Doctor claimed to have either invented or designed the specific sonic screwdriver which they owned. In fact, the Seventh Doctor claimed to have filed a patent on the technology, (AUDIO: The Unknown) and to have copyright on the design. (AUDIO: The Quantum Possibility Engine)

When Kazran Sardick was confused as to what to do when it looked like Abigail Pettigrew was about to kiss him, the Eleventh Doctor told Kazran to trust him and kiss Abigail, as "it's this, or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes." (TV: A Christmas Carol) When Captain Jack Harkness asked the Ninth Doctor, "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?", the Doctor defensively responded, "What? You never been bored? Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" (TV: The Doctor Dances)

Other individuals had similar devices, such as the sonic pen (which appeared to serve a near-identical function) used by Miss Foster (TV: Partners in Crime) and the sonic blaster used first by Captain Jack Harkness (TV: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances) and later River Song. (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead) Sarah Jane Smith had her sonic lipstick, (TV: Invasion of the Bane, etc.) and the Doctor himself once used a sonic cane. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) Even Missy used a sonic umbrella. (TV: World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls) River Song also had her own sonic screwdriver (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead) that the Twelfth Doctor gifted her. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

From time to time, the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged. (PROSE: The Monsters Inside, COMIC: Bizarre Zero) It was self-repairing and could send out a homing signal to any parts that had been separated. (TV: A Christmas Carol) One account held that a sonic screwdriver was powered by a type of crystal that was similar to the Metebelis crystals. (COMIC: The Forgotten)

Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a deadlock seal. (TV: School Reunion, The Night of the Doctor) However, Miss Foster's sonic pen could open the deadlock seals that it was programmed to within her own facility when the Doctor's screwdriver could not. (TV: Partners in Crime) It also couldn't unlock the doors to the TARDIS if they had been manually locked at the console. (TV: Utopia) Some or all versions were ineffective against wood. (TV: Night Terrors, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, The Time of the Doctor, Empress of Mars) It didn't work in the presence of some models of hairdryers, although the Tenth Doctor stated he was working on it. (TV: Forest of the Dead, PROSE: Catastrophea)

Individual sonic screwdrivers[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor's screwdriver[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: The Doctor's sonic screwdriver

The Doctor, throughout many of their lives, possessed a sonic screwdriver. They originally used a basic model in their first (PROSE: Venusian Lullaby) and second incarnations, (TV: Fury from the Deep) before upgrading in their third. (TV: The Sea Devils) However, according to one account, the First Doctor was unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver when he met the Twelfth Doctor. (TV: Twice Upon a Time) Similarly the accounts depicting the Doctor's life as the Timeless Child prior to their first incarnation showed at least one of them as being unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver and dismissive of it. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon) The Doctor continued to use the model introduced during his third incarnation until it was destroyed in their fifth by a Terileptil leader. (TV: The Visitation) It wasn't until they were in their seventh incarnation before they began to use a screwdriver again, taking on various different models throughout the years. (TV: Doctor Who, Rose, The Eleventh Hour, Hell Bent, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, WC: The Fourteenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver [+]Loading...["The Fourteenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver (webcast)"], AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])

The Third Doctor wields an early model of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. (GRAPHIC: Doctor Who Evergreen)

Early versions of their sonic screwdriver were used mainly for the picking of locks and for projecting sound so as to, for example, detonate objects and fry circuitry. (TV: The Sea Devils) By the time of the Ninth Doctor, the sonic was able to also be used as a sophisticated scanning device, with medical applications. (TV: The Empty Child) Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality, such as the ability to hack into computers, (TV: Smith and Jones) provide geolocation (TV: Evolution of the Daleks) and actively defend against some types of assault weapons by frying their internal mechanics and causing the weapons to burst into flames and spark from the inside. (TV: Cold Blood) The tool could create powerful frequencies and signals, (TV: Partners in Crime, Thin Ice) as well as use sound to carry out its functions, even to the point where three of its latest incarnations where able to create a sonic force blast powerful enough to repel and destroy a Dalek while working together, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) as well as shoot green sonic energy waves to briefly incapacitate or stun a target. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

All of these incarnations utilised the same core software, though they used different hardware. While it was different individual model, for all intents and purposes the War Doctor's sonic was the same as the Eleventh Doctor's some 400 years later. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) However, the Thirteenth Doctor, having lost the Twelfth Doctor's sonic screwdriver, created her own version. As such, hers used unique software, and was made from 21st century Earth components, as well as part of a Recall Circuit from the Stenza Homeworld. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth) Although, by the time of the Fifteenth Doctor, his screwdriver featured the same software as previous models. (AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])

Romana's screwdriver[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Romana's sonic screwdriver
The Fourth Doctor compares his sonic screwdriver with Romana's. (TV: The Horns of Nimon)

Romana II constructed her own sonic screwdriver, which was so impressive that the Doctor attempted to substitute his own with hers, but she noticed the switch. (TV: The Horns of Nimon) Her version also included a silencer. (AUDIO: Luna Romana) She later gave it to the Doctor. (PROSE: Lungbarrow) Nonetheless, during the final term of her presidency, her third incarnation used a sonic screwdriver. (AUDIO: Intervention Earth)

River's screwdriver[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: River Song's sonic screwdriver
River receives her sonic screwdriver. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

The Twelfth Doctor gave River Song another screwdriver before River's final date with him at the Singing Towers of Darillium. (TV: The Husbands of River Song, Silence in the Library) This version of the sonic screwdriver somewhat resembled the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's model, which was notable when she met the latter in the Library, though it looked elaborately decorated and modified, featuring increased and enhanced functionality, including "dampers" and a "red setting" that allowed it to work without interference from the Doctor Moon. The Doctor gave it to River so she would be ready when she met his tenth incarnation in the Library. (TV: Forest of the Dead, PROSE: Time Lord Technology [+]Loading...{"page":"56","1":"Time Lord Technology (feature)"})

Other screwdrivers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Quadrigger Stoyn possessed a sonic screwdriver in his workcase aboard the Doctor's TARDIS, which he had been working on shortly before the First Doctor stole the ship. (AUDIO: The Beginning)

A clone of the Second Doctor also possessed his own sonic screwdriver, which he used along with the Fourth Doctor's to send Hexford home. (AUDIO: Survivors in Space)

Narvin had a sonic screwdriver made, based on the Doctor's design, after seeing its utility when carried by the Doctor. At first he objected, preferring to call it a sonic lockpick, but then admitted the nature of his new device. (AUDIO: The Quantum Possibility Engine)

Ace had a sonic screwdriver which she took with her to Outpost Delta. (AUDIO: Enemy Lines)

Doctor Ogron built his own sonic screwdriver. (AUDIO: Planet of the Ogrons)

Jackson Lake carried a regular screwdriver from the 19th century which he claimed was sonic by virtue of it making a sound when it was struck against a surface. (TV: The Next Doctor)

While trapped on Apalapucia for thirty-six years, Amy Pond cobbled together a sonic device from various pieces of technology, but insisted upon calling it a sonic probe. She later conceded that it was a "sonic screwdriver". (TV: The Girl Who Waited)

Vastra had a sonic screwdriver that was a gift from the Doctor. She used it to shatter the glass of the Crystal Palace. It had a red tip, and was similar in design to that used by the Doctor's eleventh incarnation. (COMIC: The Crystal Throne)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

According to the fiction source REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary, a sonic screwdriver was a common and basic Time Lord device. If needed, a Time Lord could make one from scratch in very little time.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

v • e
Sonic devices and sonic technology
Used by the Doctor
Used by the Doctor's companions
Used by River Song
Used by Iris Wildthyme
Used by the Paternoster Gang
Used by the Doctor's enemies
Dalek technology
Weapons
Other
From Non-valid stories
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