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{{Infobox Object|image = [[File:Sonic screwdriver.jpg|250px]]
{{subpage tabs}}
|object name = Sonic screwdriver
|type = Multi-functional sonic device
|origin = [[Time Lord]]s (implied)
|appearances = [[Sonic screwdriver - List of Appearances|Full List of Appearances]]
|mentions = [[BBCR]]: ''[[The Devil and Miss Carew]]''<br /> [[SJA]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor]]''|
alias = "The sonic"<br /> Door Handle}}{{Big toc}}
The '''Sonic Screwdriver''' was a versatile tool and defensive weapon used by [[the Doctor]].


== Technology and functions ==
{{ImageLink}}
The sonic screwdriver was a common and basic [[Time Lord]] device. If needed, a [[Time Lord]] could make one from scratch in very little time. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary]]'') it was also considerd to be very advanced Gallifreyan technology. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Heart of TARDIS]]'') The [[Eleventh Doctor]] implied he made the first sonic screwdriver (or an innovative model of one) instead of wooing a woman. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'') Other alien races had similar devices, such as the [[sonic pen]] used by [[Cofelia|Miss Foster]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'') and the [[sonic blaster]] obtained by Captain [[Jack Harkness]]. The name of the device suggests that it functioned using sound waves, although its actual workings were never explained.
{{Infobox Object
|image      = The Pilot Cup of Sonic.jpg
|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 cs    = 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
}}{{you may|Doctor Who: Sonic Screwdriver|n1=the mobile app}}
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 Mark IV sonic screwdriver used a [[crystal]] similar to the [[Metebelis Crystal]] sought after by the [[Eight Legs]] of [[Metebelis III]]. ([[IDW]]: ''[[The Forgotten]]'') There were also electrical components. ([[DWA]]: ''[[The Halls of Sacrifice]]'')
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]]: {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}) and a version of [[Amy Pond]] who had been stuck on [[Apalapucia]] for 36 years. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Waited (TV story)}}) The [[Tenth Doctor|Tenth]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}) and [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Waited (TV story)}}) Doctors openly disliked this and corrected those who did so. The [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor Dances (TV story)}}) and [[Twelfth Doctor]]s ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Husbands of River Song (TV story)}}) also defended when others claimed it was inferior to other sonic devices like a [[sonic blaster]] or [[sonic trowel]].


The screwdriver had a multitude of settings and different versions of settings. The [[Tenth Doctor]] told Rose to use "setting 15B" to triangulate the source of the ghosts ([[DW]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'') and used 34-H to sink a ship ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Second Wave]]''). It had a setting 85. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'') The [[Ninth Doctor]] told Rose to use setting 2428D to re-attach barbed wire. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'') Sarah Jane used the Theta Omega setting to melt plastic vines. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Android Invasion]]'')
== Technology and functions ==
 
Identified by the [[Dalek]]s as a "[[sonic probe]]", ([[TV]]: {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}) the sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced [[Gallifrey]]an technology, ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Heart of TARDIS (novel)}}) although the Doctor could make one by using resources found on [[21st century]] [[Earth]] with help from [[Stenza]] technology. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)}}) During the [[Dalek-Movellan War]], [[Davros]] dismissed the sonic screwdriver as a "simple" tool. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Triumph of Davros (audio story)}})
The different versions of the Doctor's sonic screwdrivers exhibited different capabilities and uses, such as the interception of signals ranging from transmat beams to conscious thought; {{fact}} medical diagnostics and repair of organic parts; ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'', ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]'') cutting, but also re-attaching materials such as barbed wire; ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'') operating Earth machinery such as computers and even cash machines (at regular and high eject speeds); ([[DW]]: ''[[School Reunion]]'', ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'') creating a spark to light a candle ([[Doctor Who|DW]]: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]''); and, on the rare occasion, driving screws without touching them. ([[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]],'' ''[[The Ark in Space]]'', [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor%27s_Wife ''The Doctor's Wife'']) Although it was primarily a tool, it could also be used as a defensive weapon. The Tenth Doctor put it in a sound board to destroy the [[Robot Santa]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'') Although the [[Eighth Doctor]] once claimed the device could destroy a Dalek's brain if held directly against the casing when activated, ([[EDA]]: ''[[War of the Daleks]]'') according to the Tenth Doctor, the device could not be used to wound, maim, or kill living things. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'') It could be used to destroy non-living objects or mechanisms or place living creatures in circumstances where they might die, if the situation required. {{fact}}
 
From time to time, the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged. ([[NSA]]: ''[[The Monsters Inside]]'', [[DWA]]: ''[[Bizarre Zero]]'') It was self-repairing and could send out a homing signal to any parts that had been separated. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
 
Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a [[deadlock seal]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[School Reunion]]'') One of few exceptions was Miss Foster's [[sonic pen]], which opened the deadlock seals on and within the Adipose Industries building when the Doctor's sonic screwdriver could not. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'') Some or all versions were ineffective against wood, or in the presence of some models of hairdryers. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'', ''[[The Hungry Earth]]'', [[PDA]]: ''[[Catastrophea (novel)|Catastrophea]]'')
 
== Variants of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver ==
[[File:Doc2Sonic.jpg|thumb|right|The earliest known version of the sonic screwdriver in use. ([[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]]'')]]
=== Mark I ===
The first version was a small, simple device similar to a penlight, used by the Doctor in his [[First Doctor|first]] ([[MA]]: ''[[Venusian Lullaby]]'') and [[Second Doctor|second incarnations]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep]]'')


==== 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]]: {{cs|The Unknown (audio story)}}) and to have [[copyright]] on the design. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)}})
*Cracking the code for an aerodynamic shuttle. ([[MA]]: ''[[Venusian Lullaby]]) ''
*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]]'')


=== The "Door Handle" ===
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]]: {{cs|A Christmas Carol (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|The Doctor Dances (TV story)}})
Early in his [[Third Doctor|third incarnation]] the Doctor employed a silver tool slightly larger than the Mark I sonic screwdriver but with a round emitter head similar to the Mark II. ([[DW]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'') Although never referred to as a sonic screwdriver, its appearance and in-hand use were uncanny. The Doctor described it as a "door handle" to a [[UNIT]] soldier.


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


=== Mark II ===
From time to time, the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Monsters Inside (novel)}}, [[COMIC]]: {{cs|Bizarre Zero (comic story)}}) It was self-repairing and could send out a homing signal to any parts that had been separated. ([[TV]]: {{cs|A Christmas Carol (TV story)}}) One account held that a sonic screwdriver was powered by a type of [[crystal]] that was similar to the [[Metebelis crystal]]s. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Forgotten (comic story)}})
[[File:CarnivalMonsters sonic screwdriver.jpg|right|thumb|Variation used during and following the [[Third Doctor]]'s [[exile on Earth]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')]]
The [[Third Doctor]]'s most-used model of the sonic screwdriver was much larger than the Mark I; its elaborately-detailed silver shape featured black and yellow stripes and red trim. It had a removable head which the Doctor would change with others, each performing a different function. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'')


==== Known uses ====
Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a [[deadlock seal]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|School Reunion (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Night of the Doctor (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|Partners in Crime (TV story)}}) It also couldn't unlock the doors to the TARDIS if they had been manually locked at the console. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}}) Some or all versions were ineffective against [[wood]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Night Terrors (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}}, {{cs|Empress of Mars (TV story)}}) It didn't work in the presence of some models of [[hairdryer]]s, although the Tenth Doctor stated he was working on it. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Catastrophea (novel)}})
*Scanning for alarm systems in [[the Master's TARDIS]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'')
*Remote detection and detonation of land mines. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'')
*To open an electronic door. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mutants (TV story)|The Mutants]]'')
*Creation of a spark of [[fire]] and igniting swamp gas. ([[DW]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')
*Open electronic locks. ([[DW]]: ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'')
*A medium for hypnotising [[Aggedor]] (and Jo unintentionally) ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]'')
*As conventional screwdriver, on large, flathead screw. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]'')
*Overloading the brains of [[Space Greyhound]]s. ([[IDW]]: ''[[The Forgotten]]'')
*To distract [[Giant maggot|giant maggots]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Green Death]]'')


=== Mark III ===
== Individual sonic screwdrivers ==
The Third Doctor fitted the head of his sonic screwdriver with a cylindrical black magnet which enabled it to open bolted doors, especially when its polarity was reversed. ([[DW]]: ''[[Frontier in Space]]'') This refit left the metal mostly unpainted, with a dark red emitter ring. The head of this model could be extended and the [[Fourth Doctor]] even removed it once, using the headless device as a mine sweeper.{{Template:Source}} Before this model was destroyed, its head was repainted twice after the original coat wore off. ([[DW]]: ''[[Keeper of Traken]]'', ''[[Castrovalva]]'') The Doctor went without a sonic screwdriver for some time after this model and [[Nyssa]] lamented the [[Fifth Doctor]]'s decision not to replace it. ([[DW]]: ''[[Snakedance]]'')
=== The Doctor's screwdriver ===
{{Main|The Doctor's sonic screwdriver}}
[[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]]: {{cs|Venusian Lullaby (novel)}}) and [[Second Doctor|second incarnations]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Fury from the Deep (TV story)}}) before [[Third Doctor's sonic screwdriver|upgrading]] in [[Third Doctor|their third]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Sea Devils (TV story)}}) However, according to one account, the First Doctor was unfamiliar with the sonic screwdriver when he met the [[Twelfth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|Fugitive of the Judoon (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|The Visitation (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}, {{cs|Rose (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}}, {{cs|Hell Bent (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)}}, [[WC]]: {{cs|The Fourteenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver (webcast)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The World Tree (audio story)}})


==== Known uses ====
[[File:Jeremy Enecio 3rd Doctor cropped.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Third Doctor]] wields an early model of [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver]]. ([[GRAPHIC]]: {{cs|Doctor Who Evergreen (illustration)}})]]
* To unbolt a door. (''[[DW]]: [[Frontier in Space]]'')
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]]: {{cs|The Sea Devils (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|The Empty Child (TV story)}}) Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality, such as the ability to [[hacking|hack]] into [[computer]]s, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}}) provide [[geolocation]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|Cold Blood (TV story)}}) The tool could create powerful frequencies and signals, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Partners in Crime (TV story)}}, {{cs|Thin Ice (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}}) as well as shoot green sonic energy waves to briefly incapacitate or stun a target. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor Falls (TV story)}})
* To fuse shut a sliding door. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]'')
* To open a lift door. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Green Death]]'')
* To distract giant maggots. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Green Death]]'')
* To detect boobytrapped floor tiles. ([[DW]]: ''[[Death to the Daleks]]'')
* To break a hypnotic trance. ([[DW]]: ''[[Death to the Daleks]]'')
* To open a refinery door. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Monster of Peladon]]'')
* To remotely detonate mines. ([[DW]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'')
* To cut locks. ([[DW]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'')
* Undoing screws. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ark in Space]]'')
* Repairing wires chewed by the [[Wirrn]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ark in Space]]'')
* To fix a circle of [[transmat]] refractors. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'')
* To breach a [[force field]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'')
* To shut down [[Styre's robot]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'')
* To sabotage a two-way [[radio]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* Deactivate an energy loop opening up [[Sutekh|Sutekh's]] deflection barrier. ([[DW]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'')
* To shatter the [[Clynex]]. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Naked Flame]]'')
* To create a temporary hole in [[Gallifrey]]'s [[force field]] above the Citadel. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'')
* Using the correct sonic frequency to return the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Ernestina Stott]] and later, [[The Doctor's scarf|his scarf]], to normal size. ([[AG]]: ''[[The Dead Shoes]]'')
* To open doors on [[Ribos]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'')
* To unlock multi-levered interlocks to the Ribos crown jewels casket ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'')
* To open the door to the real Queen [[Xanxia]]'s chamber. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet]]'')
* To free [[Romana I|Romana]] from her bonds on a prison ship in [[hyperspace]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stones of Blood]]'')
* To blow up a [[Dalek]] bomb. ([[DW]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
* To unscrew the [[Zero Room]]'s hinges and assist in constructing the [[Zero Cabinet]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'')
* To disarm [[fusion bomb]]s by reversing the polarity of the neutron-flow. ([[MA]]: ''[[Cold Fusion]]'')
* To open a door to escape confinement. ([[DW]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'')
* To reverse the magnetic field on Monopticans. ([[DW]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'')
* To short-circuit androids in conjunction with a pencil, the graphite acting as a conductive material for the screwdriver's power. ([[DW]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'')
* To use as a component in the [[Delta wave augmenter]], to induce sleep. ([[DW]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'')


=== Mark IV ===
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]]: {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)}}) 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)}})
[[File:ChangLooksThroughSonic.jpg|thumb|[[Chang Lee]] discovers the sonic screwdriver the [[Seventh Doctor]] had at [[regeneration]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')]]
Towards the end of his [[Seventh Doctor|seventh life]], the Doctor fished a fourth type of sonic screwdriver from one of the tool kits in the [[TARDIS]]. This model was visually quite similar to the Mark III seen at the end of his fourth incarnation. It remained in use during the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s time and had a torch built into the handle. Once, while suffering from amnesia, the Doctor was able to distract himself and operate this sonic screwdriver on instinct.


==== Known Uses ====
=== Romana's screwdriver ===
* To lock the casket containing [[the Master]]'s remains. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')
{{Main|Romana's sonic screwdriver}}
* Maintenance on new parts in the TARDIS console. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who]]'')
[[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]]: {{cs|The Horns of Nimon (TV story)}})]]
* To turn [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] against each other. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')
[[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]]: {{cs|The Horns of Nimon (TV story)}}) Her version also included a silencer. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Luna Romana (audio story)}}) She later gave it to the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Lungbarrow (novel)}}) Nonetheless, during the final term of her presidency, her [[Romana III|third incarnation]] used a sonic screwdriver. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Intervention Earth (audio story)}})
* To disorient a Rescue Operational Security Module. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Embrace the Darkness]]'')
* Used by [[Romana II]] to raise the bulkheads between her and the Matrix chamber. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Neverland]]'')
* To jam motion-sensitive sensors long enough for the Doctor and his companions to get to safety. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Scaredy Cat]]'')
* To lock the TARDIS [[console room]] away from the rest of the ship until it could repair itself during a [[Hellion]] attack. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Absolution]]'')
* To track residual energy traces. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Girl Who Never Was]]'')
* To reactivate a long-dormant telegraph machine. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Girl Who Never Was]]'')
* To oscillate the atoms of wickerwork to weaken the structure. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Dead London]]'')
* To vibrate Molluscari from their shells by duplicating the precise frequency necessary. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Orbis]]'')
* To open the organic locks used by the [[Zygon]]s. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers]]'')
* To destroy a Dalek's brain (when placed directly against the Dalek's casing around its head). ([[EDA]]: ''[[War of the Daleks]]'')
* To repel [[ghost]]s. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Vanderdeken's Children]]'')
* To open a door in a force field large enough for the Doctor and his companions to travel through. ([[EDA]]: ''[[EarthWorld]]'')
* To open the chest of the mobile nuclear weapon Fatboy. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Eater of Wasps]]'')
* To decapitate the King of Beasts of the [[Babewyn]]. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* To lock a bank vault from the inside. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Trading Futures]]'')
* To temporarily disable an electron bomb. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Tomorrow Windows]]'')
* To subdue hostile dogs. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Deadstone Memorial]]'')
* To disrupt the control signal for floating magnetic discs. ([[EDA]]: ''[[To the Slaughter]]'')


=== Mark V ===
=== River's screwdriver ===
[[File:Sonic screwdriver - Doomsday.png|right|thumb|The version used by the [[Ninth Doctor|ninth]] and [[Tenth Doctor|tenth]] incarnations of the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')]]
{{Main|River Song's sonic screwdriver}}
Towards the end of his eighth incarnation, the Doctor had a new model with a glowing blue diode at one end. The [[Ninth Doctor]] carried this model, but rarely used it unless absolutely necessary, as he preferred direct confrontations with his foes. Unlike his predecessor, the [[Tenth Doctor]] used this model often, as he liked tinkering with technology to make devices he needed. However, this version was burnt out by accident after the Doctor used it to modify an [[x-ray]] radiation output to over 5000%. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')
[[File:River Gifted her Sonic Screwdriver.jpg|thumb|River receives her sonic screwdriver. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Husbands of River Song (TV story)}})]]
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]]: {{cs|The Husbands of River Song (TV story)}}, {{cs|Silence in the Library (TV story)}}) 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]]: {{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Time Lord Technology (feature)|page=56}})


==== Known uses ====
=== Other screwdrivers ===
* To heal [[Osskah Longspan]]'s body. ([[ST]]: ''[[Osskah]]'')
[[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]]: {{cs|The Beginning (audio story)}})
* To destroy the controls of a [[lift]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'')
* To detect and stop [[telepathy|telepathic]] signals. ([[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'')
* To interface with a [[computer]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'')
* Opening a door. ([[Doctor Who|DW]]: ''[[Aliens of London]]'')
* To control a lift. ([[DW]]: ''[[World War Three]]'')
* To cause rain via atmospheric excitation. ([[DWM]]: ''[[Death to the Doctor!]]'')
* To obtain money from a cash machine. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Long Game]]'')
* Opening off a panel to [[Satellite Five|Satellite Five's]] mainframe. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Long Game]]'')
* Obtaining access to Satellite Five's core computer. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Long Game]]'')
* Freeing the [[Ninth Doctor]] from his manacles. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Long Game]]'')
* To charge a battery. ([[DW]]: ''[[Father's Day]]'')
* To act as a medical scanner and diagnostic tool. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'')
* To corrode thin metal (e.g. barbed wire) so that it crumbled into rust. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
* To re-connect barbed wire. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
* To unlock handcuffs. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
* To set up a resonation pattern in concrete. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'')
* To reverse teleport devices. ([[DW]]: ''[[Boom Town]]'')
* To destroy a television camera. ([[DW]]: ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]'')
* To dematerialise the TARDIS and initialising TARDIS processes from outside the craft. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'')
* To blow up a remote control Christmas tree. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'')
* To transfer its powers to a remote control. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Graske]]'')
* To ignite swamp gas. ([[DWA]]: ''[[The Hunt of Doom]]'')
* To stop the emergence of [[Mirrorling]]s from mirrors. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Mirror Image]]'')
* To dislodge and reinsert teeth. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]'')
* To light a candle. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]'')
* To cut rope. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
* To lock and unlock a hatch in Cybus Industries ([[DW]]: ''[[The Age of Steel]]'')
* To threaten [[the Wire]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
* To illuminate [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Warfreekz!]]'')
* To reverse an [[anti-gravity]] [[umbrella]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Smart Bombs]]'')
* To partially reverse the [[Abzorbaloff]]'s absorption of [[Ursula Blake]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Love & Monsters]]'')
* To de-activate a [[Scribble Creature|living graphite scribble]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Fear Her]]'')
* To partially crack glass so it could be smashed with the push of a finger. ([[DW]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'')
* To detonate an explosive device. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'')
* To get money from a cash machine, at both regular and extra-high rates of ejection. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To unlock a taxi door and window. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To scan a life form for information, specifically Donna Noble. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To detonate the head of a [[roboform]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To search a phone for an app or a feature. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To hack into the [[H.C. Clements]] website. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To bypass the key needed to access the secret basement in H.C. Clements. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To summon the Tardis using [[Huon]] particles. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To cut a spider web. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To destroy the Robot Santas with sound (used in conjunction with a professional sound system). ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'')
* To detect heated [[water]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[The Halls of Sacrifice]]'')
* To overload [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[The Power of the Cybermen]]'')
* To crash an [[aircar]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Time of the Cybermen]]'')
* To confuse the antibodies of a living [[planet]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Lonely Planet]]'')
* 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 ===
[[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]]: {{cs|Survivors in Space (audio story)}})
The tenth incarnation made a similar model of the screwdriver after losing the previous version in the X-ray incident, visibly modifying only the colour scheme of the handle. It was heavily relied on by the Tenth Doctor to help him get out of tight spots. This model was damaged during the Doctor's tenth regeneration and the TARDIS' subsequent crash, as well as by [[Prisoner Zero]] and was ultimately destroyed when the [[Eleventh Doctor]] used it to overload technology to alert the Atraxi. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')


==== Known uses ====
[[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]]: {{cs|The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)}})
[[File:Mark VI sonic - The Eleventh Hour.png|right|thumb|Mark VI Sonic screwdriver being used by the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')]]
* Opening air-tight seals. ([[DW]]: ''[[Gridlock]]'')
* Trying to strip off pieces of [[Dalekanium]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Evolution of the Daleks]]'')
* Lighting a bunsen burner from a distance. ([[DW]]: ''[[Evolution of the Daleks]]'')
* Bypassing and turning off security systems. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
* Producing hypersonic sound waves which led to the death of the Lazarus creature in conjunction with a pipe organ. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
* Scanning for the transformed Lazarus creature after it escaped to [[Southwark Cathedral]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
* Disabling robotic flies. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Exhausting Evil]]'')
* Disabling [[security orb]]s. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Wrath of the Warrior]]'')
* Modifying hearing aids. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[The Screaming Prison]]'')
* Reversing [[Teleportation|teleport feeds]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Warriors' Revenge]]'')
* Sinking a ship. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Second Wave]]'')
* Resonating a floor to destroy it, via crystal gems. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Operation Lock-up]]'')
* Melting [[chocolate]] by increasing the resonance frequency of a torch. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Crimes and Punishment]]'')
* Giving [[mobile phone]]s [[Superphone|the ability to call across time and space]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'', ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
* Completing the life's work of Professor [[Yana]], allowing the [[human]] race to travel to [[Utopia (Utopia)|Utopia]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
* 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]]'')
* Destroying a security camera. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
* As a soldering iron to make [[perception filter]]s using [[TARDIS key]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
* Uncorking a champagne bottle. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')
* Looping temporal energy of a [[fraxis pod]] back into a [[zygma drive]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Blooms of Doom!]]'')
* Shattering robot assassins. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[A Suitable Showdown]]'')
* Used with [[Miss Foster|Miss Foster's&nbsp;]][[Sonic pen]] to create an ultra-high frequency ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
* Controlling a cable cart. ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
* Breaking into a silo on the [[Ood-Sphere]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Ood]]'')
* Creating a [[stasis beam]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[School of the Dead]]'')
* 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]]'')
* Tinting a helmet visor and increasing the mesh density of a spacesuit ([[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]]'')
* Opening the casing of a cleaning robot. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[Carnage Zoo]]'')
* [[Teleport]]ing onto a [[Nim]] [[spacecraft]]. ([[DWBIT]]: ''[[The Day the Earth Was Sold]]'', ''[[The King of Earth]]'')
* As a [[sonic toothbrush]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[The Continuity Cap]]'')
* Tracing [[distress signal]]s. ([[DWA]]: ''[[The Ghost Factory]]'')
* Modifying a [[gravity converter]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Skydive]]'')
* Disabling a [[Cyrronak Robot]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Highway Robbery]]'')
* Scanning slime. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Doomsilk]]'')
* Cancelling out a [[phonic blast]]. ([[DWA]]: ''[[We Will Rock You]]'')
* Shattering ice. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Arctic Eclipse]]'')
* Scanning the [[President of Earth (Return of the Klytode)|President of Earth]] for [[alien]] influence. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Return of the Klytode]]'')
* Blowing up a fire hydrant. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Creature Feature]]'')
* Atmospheric excitation to cause rain. ([[DWA]]: ''[[Mudshock]]'')
* Tickling a [[lion]] with sonic waves. ([[NSA]]: ''[[The Slitheen Excursion]]'')
* Repairing an overloading distribution box. ([[TDL]]: ''[[The Graves of Mordane]]'')
* Downloading a journal. ([[TDL]]: ''[[The Colour of Darkness]]'')
* Detecting and illuminating [[ultraviolet]] characters. ([[TDL]]: ''[[The Game of Death]]'')
* Remotely controlling environmental controls. ([[TDL]]: ''[[The Game of Death]]'')
* Detecting the arrival of [[spacecraft]]. ([[TDL]]: ''[[The Pictures of Emptiness]]'')
* Picking up traces of [[Psychic energy|psychic spoor]]. ([[DWM]]: ''[[Mortal Beloved]]'')
* Tinting the Doctor's glasses. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
* Stopping and winding up a winch. ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
* Opening 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]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour]])''
* Incapacitating a [[Gizou]]. ([[IDW]]: ''[[Fugitive]]'')
* Detecting time traces. ([[SJA]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'')
* As an actual screwdriver, without touching the screws. ([[DW]]: ''[[Dreamland (TV story)|Dreamland]]'')
* Disabling a [[Shimmer]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* Switching the [[Hesperus]]' power off. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* Changing the course of the TARDIS. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')
* Opening a "[[Time Crack|crack]]" in space-time. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')
* Overloading all technology in [[Leadworth]] (to the point where the screwdriver itself exploded). ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')
* Making [[toast]] and [[butter]]. ([[NSA]]: ''[[Dead Air]]'')


=== Mark VII ===
[[Ace]] had [[Ace's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] which she took with her to [[Outpost Delta]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Enemy Lines (audio story)}})
[[File:New_Screwdriver.png|thumb|The Mark VII sonic screwdriver ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')]]
Following the Mark VI's destruction, the Doctor received a new Sonic screwdriver from the TARDIS. It differed radically from the previous model, having “claws” and a green diode, rather than blue. It also had copper plating in various places, similar to the new TARDIS interior. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'') Unlike the previous marks, which had "settings", this version had a psychic interface, in which the user simply pointed and thought of the function they wished it to perform. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'') This version of the screwdriver was destroyed when a [[sky shark]] bit it in half and swallowed the top half. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'') The Doctor left it with [[Kazran Sardick]] , saying that he was "going to need a new one." ([[DW]]: [[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|''A Christmas Carol'']]) The Doctor had duplicates of this screwdriver, which he continued to use throughout his travels. He also mentioned that this screwdriver was more than just sonic, but did not mention what else it was. ([[DW]]: ''[[Night Terrors]]'')


==== Known uses ====
[[Doctor Ogron]] built [[Doctor Ogron's sonic screwdriver|his own sonic screwdriver]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Planet of the Ogrons (audio story)}})
* Scanning [[Starship UK]]'s engine room. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* Scanning voting booth for memory erasing function. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* As a torch. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* To force a [[star whale]] to regurgitate by overloading its chaemo-receptors. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* Making a star whale's voice audible to the human ear. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* Amplifying an electrical beam. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]]'')
* Opening the chest plate of [[Edwin Bracewell|an Android]]'s controls and (unsuccessfully) attempting to defuse the bomb inside it. ([[DW]]: ''[[Victory of the Daleks]]'')
* To increase a signal's strength. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]'')
* To scan Father [[Octavian]]'s computer. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]'')
* Opening the entrance hatch of a space ship. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* Isolating the lighting so that the [[Weeping Angel]]s could not drain the power. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* Redirecting all the power to the doors in order to open them. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* Determining the nature of [[time Field|the cracks]] throughout time and space. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* To send a signal through to [[Amy Pond|Amy's]] communicator to help guide her through a forest. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* Uploading software. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]]'')
* Simultaneously healing and analysing wounds. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]'')
* Blocking out the effects of [[perception filter]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]'')
* Scanning lifeforms. ([[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]'')
* Scanning piles of dust for traces of children. ([[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]'')
* Detecting where lights are. ([[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]'')
* Exploding lightbulbs. ([[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]'')
* Breaking open padlocks. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Hungry Earth]]'')
* Hacking into computer records. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Hungry Earth]]'')
* Displaying energy barricades which were usually invisible to the naked eye. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Hungry Earth]]'')
* Activating bio-programmed soil. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Hungry Earth]]'')
* Scanning for heat signatures. ([[DW]]: ''[[Cold Blood]]'')
* Disabling [[Silurian]] weapons. ([[DW]]: ''[[Cold Blood]]'')
* Scanning an infection. ([[DW]]: ''[[Cold Blood]]'')
* Locking the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] doors. ([[DW]]: ''[[Cold Blood]], [[The Doctor's Wife]]'')
* Opening the gate to the London Underground. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Opening up a discarded [[Dalek]] dome. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Bypassing Dalek security seals. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Opening up control panels in [[Kaalann]]. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Accessing the [[Visualiser]] eye and repowering it. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Tampering with the [[Dalek Emperor]]'s casing. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Activating a Dalek console trap. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Constructing a [[Dalek Vision Disruptor]]. ([[VG]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'')
* Heating [[water]] and ice. ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Giving a [[Cybermat (Blood of the Cybermen)|Cybermat]] a "Cyber-Migraine". ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Distracting Cybermats. ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Fixing platform lift control panels. ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Closing and locking a door to a [[Cyber-conversion]] room. ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Unlocking [[Cyber-conversion unit]] manacles. ([[VG]]: ''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]'')
* Disassembling a [[Chronon Blocker]]. ([[VG]]: ''[[TARDIS (video game)|TARDIS]]'')
* Opening an electronic door. ([[VG]]: ''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada]]'')
* Activating emergency light switches. ([[VG]]: ''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada]]'')
* Turning on the lights inside a generator. ([[VG]]: ''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada]]'')
* Unsuccessfully attempting to stun the [[Krafayis]], appearing to please it instead. ([[DW]]: ''[[Vincent and the Doctor]]'')
* Opening the door to a [[79B Aickman Road|time ship]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'')
* Changing a [[hologram]] between its different forms. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'')
* Scanning [[Stonehenge]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* Lighting flaming torches. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* Scrambling a Cyberarm's circuits. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* Scanning the [[Pandorica]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* To open, close and lock the Pandorica. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
* Amplifying a satellite dish to scan for an exploding TARDIS. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
* Giving orders to androids. ([[WC]]: ''[[The War of Art]]'')
* To reconfigure the binaries in the TARDIS. ([[VG]]: ''[[Evacuation Earth]]'')
* Heating up a [[tea]]pot. ([[WC]]: ''[[Snowfall]]'')
* To confirm the [[isomorphic controls|isomorphic]] nature of a control panel. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]])''
* As a lure to attract a [[Sky fish]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
* Attempting self-reconstruction via signalling its other half. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
* Transmitting [[Abigail Pettigrew|Abigail]]'s singing from one broken segment to the other. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
* Unlocking a door. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
* Scanning a spacesuit. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
* Confirming if a [[nanorecorder]] was on telepathic transmission or a replay. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
* Unlocking Amy's restraints. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
* Stunning the Silence. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
* Protecting two versions of [[Rory Williams]] from falling victim to the [[Blinovitch Limitation Effect]] ([[NSA]]: ''[[Touched by an Angel]]'')
* Confirming the nature of an alien life-support system. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of the Black Spot]]'')
* Scanning the Flesh. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Rebel Flesh]]'')
* Unlocking a grating. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Almost People]]'')
* Locking a grating into place. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Almost People]]'')
* Detecting differences between Gangers and humans ([[DW]]: ''[[The Almost People]]'')
* Dissolving [[Ganger]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Almost People]]'')
* Closing doors inside a [[Cyber Ship]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
* Opening doors on [[Demon's Run]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
* Detecting if a person is fatally wounded. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
* Disabling a force field. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
* Disarming [[River Song|Melody Pond]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
* Hailing the Eleventh Doctor's [[sonic cane]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
* Disabling privileges from the the [[Teselecta]]'s crew. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
* Activating [[George (Night Terrors)|George's]] toys. ([[DW]]: ''[[Night Terrors]]'')
* Scanning for monsters. ([[DW]]: ''[[Night Terrors]]'')
* Detaching the view glass from the visitation facility. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')
* Augmenting the view glass to work disconnected. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')
* Locking on to Amy's timestream. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')
* Stunning the [[Rutan Host|Rutan]] [[Elizabeth Winters|Lady Winters]]. ([[VG]]: [[The Gunpowder Plot]])
* Scanning [[dimensional lesion]]s. ([[VG]]: [[The Gunpowder Plot]])
* Igniting a cannon. ([[VG]]: ''[[The Gunpowder Plot]]'')
* Opening a fake door. ([[DW]]: ''[[The God Complex]]'')
* As a microphone. ([[DW]]: ''[[The God Complex]]'')
* Switching off CCTV monitors. ([[DW]]: ''[[The God Complex]]'')
* Creating a high pitched noise to grab attention. ([[DW]]: ''[[The God Complex]]'')
* Detecting electrical interference. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
* Scanning for lifesigns. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
* Repairing and activating a lift. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
* Fusing the controls of a [[Cyberman#Cybermen of the Cyber Legions|Cyberman]] teleporter. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
* Overloading/imploding a Cybermat. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]])''
* Taking apart a [[Supreme Dalek]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* Scanning a Dalek's database for information. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* Freezing the ''Teselecta'' in place. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* Scanning a Headless Monk head box to confirm its contents. ([[DW]]:'' [[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* Scanning Albert Einstein's mutating liquid. ([[DW]]: ''[[Death Is the Only Answer]]'')


=== Mark ? ===
[[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]]: {{cs|The Next Doctor (TV story)}})
In the Doctor's personal future relative to being called to [[the Library]] in the [[51st century]], he upgraded the screwdriver with, in addition to Mark VI settings, "red settings" and "damper settings". He gave it to [[River Song]] and, unknown to her, included a [[Data Chip|Neural Relay]], which saved River's [[Data Ghost]] for uploading into [[Charlotte Lux|the main computer]] of the Library. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'', ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'').


==== Known uses ====
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]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Waited (TV story)}})
* Activating and disabling gravity platforms. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
* Fixing light bulbs. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
* Storing the consciousness of an individual (specifically River's). ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
* Increasing mesh densities to over 800%. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')


== Related tools ==
[[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]]: {{cs|The Crystal Throne (comic story)}})
* [[Liz Shaw]] had her own version of [[Third Doctor|the Doctor]]'s "door handle" device, which she used to open the door to the Doctor's shed. ([[DW]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* A [[Second Doctor (clone)|clone of the Second Doctor]] also possessed a sonic screwdriver, which he used along with the [[Fourth Doctor]]'s to send [[Hexford]] home. ([[AG]]: ''[[Survivors in Space]]'')
* [[Romana II]] constructed her own sonic screwdriver. Her version so impressed the Doctor that he unsuccessfully attempted to swap sonic screwdrivers with her. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon]]'') She later gave it to the Doctor. ([[NA]]: ''[[Lungbarrow]]'') ''This resembled a smaller, slimmer version of the Doctor's Mark II.''
* The [[Fifth Doctor]] had a device called a sonic prodder, although he didn't consider it a tool like "his beloved sonic screwdriver" ([[ST]]: [[Falling from Xi'an]])
* [[The Master (Harold Saxon)|The Master]] had a similar tool, called a '''[[laser screwdriver]]'''. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
* 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 (TV story)|Fragments]]'')
* [[Matron Cofelia|Miss Foster]] had a '''[[sonic pen]]''' with a design similar to the [[Tenth 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]]'')
* The Doctor mentioned that he once had a '''[[laser spanner]]''' as well, but [[Emmeline Pankhurst]] took it from him. ([[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')
* [[Mrs Wormwood]] was in possession of a ring called a '''[[Phonic disruptor]]'''. ([[SJA]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane]]'')
* The [[Sixth Doctor]] defeated [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] using a [[sonic lance]], similar in function to the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor was also able to use it as a weapon. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
* The [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Eleventh_Doctor Eleventh Doctor] used a '''[[sonic cane]] '''to contact [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]] while they were miniaturised inside the [[Teselecta]] and to scan the Teselecta. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
* While trapped on [[Apalapucia]] for thirty-six years, [[Amy Pond]] cobbled together a sonic screwdriver from various pieces of technology, although she insisted on calling it a '''"[[sonic probe]]"'''. She later admitted it was a sonic screwdriver. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')
* [[Jackson Lake]] carried what is likely the most primitive iteration of the sonic screwdriver. His version was a regular [[19th century]] screwdriver, which he claimed was sonic by virtue of it making a sound when it was struck against a surface. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'')
* [[Gabriel (The Pirate Loop)]] created a device that was made out of [[Gun]]'s ([[NSA]]: ''[[The Pirate Loop]]'').


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
* The sonic screwdriver was retired during the Fifth Doctor serial ''[[The Visitation]]'', as it was felt that it had been overused. It was absent for the Sixth Doctor era and all of the Seventh, except in ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'', in which the Seventh Doctor used it to lock the Master's remains away; 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. It has since appeared in many Seventh and Eighth Doctor audio adventures from [[Big Finish Productions]].
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.
* For unexplained reasons, the Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver had a green casing in ''[[The Infinite Quest]]''.
* 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 apart. The production team secured moulds of the toy replica in order to make a more reliable prop for the next season.
* 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 featured 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.
* 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 feature was also dropped from the eventual prop model.
* There are two main versions of the Mark VI 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.
* When the Doctor handles the screwdriver, the clinking noises produced (when he throws and catches it) are created by repeating the motions with a corkscrew, the handles of which bump against the casing to produce the required noise. These noises are then dubbed over the footage.
* A toy of the Mark VII (Matt Smith version) was seen in "Light Echoes", an edition of [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mk7h "The Sky at Night"] broadcast on [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc4 BBC4] on Wednesday 5th October 2010. The screwdriver was (jokingly) used to scan a part of the [http://www.lofar.org.uk LOFAR] radio telescope, then under construction in Chilbolton, Hampshire, UK.
* In the original script for ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'', the Doctor referred to the Mark VI Screwdriver as "Level 4000" technology.
* The Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver toy has a total of four sound effects, two of which alternate with every other button press. The third is activated by pressing twice, and holding on the third button push. The fourth is activated with three presses and a hold on the fourth push. However, in some models of the toy, over-use of the hidden sound effects causes the sound functions to eventually break, leaving only the LED functional.


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv31/sonicscrewdriver.html "Is That A Sonic Screwdriver in your Pocket, Doctor?" article by Jon Preddle]
* [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv31/sonicscrewdriver.html "Is That A Sonic Screwdriver in your Pocket, Doctor?" article by Jon Preddle]
* [http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/8cff Sonic Screwdriver toy on ThinkGeek]
{{Template:Sonic devices}}
* [http://theautogadgets.com/unique-screwdriver.html New sonic screwdriver 2010]
* [http://www.denofgeek.com/television/290333/doctor_who_new_pics_of_matt_smith-and_new_sonic_screwdriver.html New Doctor New Screwdriver]
[[es:Destornillador Sónico]]


[[Category:The Doctor's items]]
[[cs:Sonický šroubovák]]
[[Category:Gallifreyan technology]]
[[Category:Sonic screwdrivers| ]]
[[Category:Sonic devices|*]]
[[Category:Previous Featured Articles]]

Latest revision as of 22:44, 20 November 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 [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"]) and a version of Amy Pond who had been stuck on Apalapucia for 36 years. (TV: The Girl Who Waited [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Waited (TV story)"]) The Tenth (TV: Doomsday [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"]) and Eleventh (TV: The Girl Who Waited [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Waited (TV story)"]) Doctors openly disliked this and corrected those who did so. The Ninth (TV: The Doctor Dances [+]Loading...["The Doctor Dances (TV story)"]) and Twelfth Doctors (TV: The Husbands of River Song [+]Loading...["The Husbands of River Song (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"]) the sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced Gallifreyan technology, (PROSE: Heart of TARDIS [+]Loading...["Heart of TARDIS (novel)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"]) During the Dalek-Movellan War, Davros dismissed the sonic screwdriver as a "simple" tool. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros [+]Loading...["The Triumph of Davros (audio story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Unknown (audio story)"]) and to have copyright on the design. (AUDIO: The Quantum Possibility Engine [+]Loading...["The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["A Christmas Carol (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Doctor Dances (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"]) and the sonic blaster used first by Captain Jack Harkness (TV: The Empty Child [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"] / The Doctor Dances [+]Loading...["The Doctor Dances (TV story)"]) and later River Song. (TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"] / Forest of the Dead [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"]) Sarah Jane Smith had her sonic lipstick, (TV: Invasion of the Bane [+]Loading...["Invasion of the Bane (TV story)"], etc.) and the Doctor himself once used a sonic cane. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"]) Even Missy used a sonic umbrella. (TV: World Enough and Time [+]Loading...["World Enough and Time (TV story)"]/The Doctor Falls [+]Loading...["The Doctor Falls (TV story)"]) River Song also had her own sonic screwdriver (TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"] / Forest of the Dead [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"]) that the Twelfth Doctor gifted her. (TV: The Husbands of River Song [+]Loading...["The Husbands of River Song (TV story)"])

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

Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a deadlock seal. (TV: School Reunion [+]Loading...["School Reunion (TV story)"], The Night of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Night of the Doctor (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"]) It also couldn't unlock the doors to the TARDIS if they had been manually locked at the console. (TV: Utopia [+]Loading...["Utopia (TV story)"]) Some or all versions were ineffective against wood. (TV: Night Terrors [+]Loading...["Night Terrors (TV story)"], The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe [+]Loading...["The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)"], The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"], Empress of Mars [+]Loading...["Empress of Mars (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"], PROSE: Catastrophea [+]Loading...["Catastrophea (novel)"])

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 [+]Loading...["Venusian Lullaby (novel)"]) and second incarnations, (TV: Fury from the Deep [+]Loading...["Fury from the Deep (TV story)"]) before upgrading in their third. (TV: The Sea Devils [+]Loading...["The Sea Devils (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Twice Upon a Time (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Fugitive of the Judoon (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Visitation (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Doctor Who (TV story)"], Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"], The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"], Hell Bent [+]Loading...["Hell Bent (TV story)"], The Woman Who Fell to Earth [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"], 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 [+]Loading...["Doctor Who Evergreen (illustration)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Sea Devils (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"]) Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality, such as the ability to hack into computers, (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) provide geolocation (TV: Evolution of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Cold Blood (TV story)"]) The tool could create powerful frequencies and signals, (TV: Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"], Thin Ice [+]Loading...["Thin Ice (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"]) as well as shoot green sonic energy waves to briefly incapacitate or stun a target. (TV: The Doctor Falls [+]Loading...["The Doctor Falls (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Horns of Nimon (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Horns of Nimon (TV story)"]) Her version also included a silencer. (AUDIO: Luna Romana [+]Loading...["Luna Romana (audio story)"]) She later gave it to the Doctor. (PROSE: Lungbarrow [+]Loading...["Lungbarrow (novel)"]) Nonetheless, during the final term of her presidency, her third incarnation used a sonic screwdriver. (AUDIO: Intervention Earth [+]Loading...["Intervention Earth (audio story)"])

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

Main article: River Song's sonic screwdriver
River receives her sonic screwdriver. (TV: The Husbands of River Song [+]Loading...["The Husbands of River Song (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Husbands of River Song (TV story)"], Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"], 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 [+]Loading...["The Beginning (audio story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["Survivors in Space (audio story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Quantum Possibility Engine (audio story)"])

Ace had a sonic screwdriver which she took with her to Outpost Delta. (AUDIO: Enemy Lines [+]Loading...["Enemy Lines (audio story)"])

Doctor Ogron built his own sonic screwdriver. (AUDIO: Planet of the Ogrons [+]Loading...["Planet of the Ogrons (audio story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Next Doctor (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Waited (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Crystal Throne (comic story)"])

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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