Sonic screwdriver

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference

The sonic screwdriver, also called a sonic probe or simply the sonic, was a highly versatile tool used by the Doctor. He modified and ostensibly upgraded it over the years, giving it an increasing number of applications. Early versions were used mainly for the picking of locks and for projecting sound so as to, for example, detonate objects and fry circuitry. By the time of the Ninth Doctor, the sonic was able to also be used as a sophisticated scanning device, with medical applications. Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality, such as the ability to hack into computers, provide geolocation 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. The tool seemed to have electromagnetic properties and abilities, as it could be used to electrify the nervous system, and could create powerful frequencies and signals, 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 while working together or shoot green sonic energy waves.

All of these incarnations utilised the same software, though they used different cases. 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)

While almost always referred to as a sonic screwdriver, it has on occasion been referred to as a sonic probe by people other than the Doctor, such as Dalek Sec and a version of Amy Pond who had been stuck on Apalapucia for 36 years. The Tenth Doctor openly disliked this, and corrected those who did so. (TV: Doomsday, The Girl Who Waited)

Technology and functions

The sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced Gallifreyan technology. (PROSE: Heart of TARDIS)

The Doctor claimed that he either invented or designed the specific sonic screwdriver which he owned. 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. Now, go." (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 Ninth Doctor 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 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, et. al.) and the Doctor himself once used a sonic cane. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

At least one version of the screwdriver used a crystal similar to the Metebelis crystal sought after by the Eight Legs of Metebelis III. (COMIC: The Forgotten) There were also electrical components. (COMIC: The Halls of Sacrifice)

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 (TV: Army of Ghosts) and used 34-H to sink a ship. (COMIC: Second Wave) It had a setting 85 that undid security codes to unlock doors. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment) The Ninth Doctor told Rose to use setting 2428D to re-attach barbed wire. (TV: The Doctor Dances) Sarah Jane used the Theta Omega setting to melt plastic vines. (TV: The Android Invasion) The Twelfth Doctor told Clara to use setting number 41 to send out random bursts of helicon energy to distract the Skovox Blitzer. (TV: The Caretaker) The Twelfth Doctor himself used setting sixty-one to knock out a cybernetically augmented dinosaur with a "sonic brainstorm". (COMIC: Spirits of the Jungle) However, at least one version of the screwdriver was able to use thoughts as well as settings. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler, Death in Heaven)

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; (TV: The End of the World) medical diagnostics (TV: The Empty Child) and repair of organic parts; (TV: The Vampires of Venice) cutting, but also re-attaching materials such as barbed wire; (TV: The Doctor Dances) operating Earth machinery such as computers (TV: School Reunion) and even cash machines (at regular and high eject speeds); (TV: The Runaway Bride) creating a spark to light a candle (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace) or Bunsen burner; (TV: Evolution of the Daleks) opening and holding doors with acoustic locks; (TV: The Rings of Akhaten) and, on the rare occasion, driving screws without touching them. (TV: The War Games, The Ark in Space, The Doctor's Wife)

Although it was primarily a tool, the sonic screwdriver could also be used as a defensive weapon. The Tenth Doctor put it in a sound board to destroy the Robot Santas by overloading their sensors. (TV: The Runaway Bride) The Eleventh Doctor used it to bounce sound waves off a knife held by Melody Pond, knocking it out of her hand. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) The sonic screwdriver was also capable of holding off sound waves from creatures who relied on sound in order to attack such as the Vigil. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten) The Doctor also used it to try and help River Song defeat a group of Silents although River teased him by saying it would be better if he used it to "build a cabinet". However, the Doctor implied that although it couldn't actually hurt the Silents it could weaken the power of their electricity, therefore allowing him to provide River with a certain degree of protection while she shot down their foes. (TV: Day of the Moon)

Although the Eighth Doctor once claimed the device could destroy a Dalek's brain if held directly against the casing when activated, (PROSE: War of the Daleks) according to the Tenth Doctor, the device could not be used to wound, maim or kill living things. (TV: Doomsday, The Doctor's Daughter) It could destroy non-living objects or mechanisms or place living creatures in circumstances where they might die, if the situation required. (TV: The End of the World, The Christmas Invasion) The War Doctor claimed that it was a scientific instrument rather than a water pistol. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

From time to time, the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged. (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, 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) However, it was up to the owner to collect the parts for reassembly.

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) Some or all versions were ineffective against wood, or in the presence of some models of hairdryers. (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, The Hungry Earth, Night Terrors, The Time of the Doctor, PROSE: Catastrophea)

During his lifetime as the Twelfth Doctor, the Time Lord claimed to have abandoned sonic screwdrivers in favor of wearable technology like his sonic sunglasses. (TV: Under the Lake) However, after returning to Gallifrey and departing again, he resumed using them, as his TARDIS fashioned a new one for him as a gift. Furthermore, after the Doctor had lost sight of who he was, Clara Oswald left him a reminder to "be a Doctor" after leaving his company. As part of his role of being a Doctor to use a sonic screwdriver, the Doctor accepted the TARDIS's gift. (TV: Hell Bent)

Variants of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver

The earliest version of the sonic screwdriver in use. (TV: The War Games)

The First and Second Doctors' sonic

One sonic screwdriver, a small, simple metal rod similar to a penlight, was used by the First (PROSE: Venusian Lullaby) and Second (TV: Fury from the Deep) Doctors. It was also used by the Eighth Doctor after being destroyed "centuries ago", with the Doctor claiming to his companion Samantha Jones that this was possible because "It's a Time Lord tool. Time doesn't work the same way for Time Lord tools." (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

The Eighth Doctor carried a similar model near the end of his life. Cylindrical and silver, with a blue emitter diode tip, he used it in a surgical procedure to scan his patient and to seal incisions. This model could glow with an "almost white" light and emit great heat, be used to sharpen surgical instruments and be turned "on" and "off". (PROSE: Osskah)

Uses

The Third, Fourth and Fifth Doctors' sonic

The Third Doctor's sonic. (TV: Carnival of Monsters)

The Third Doctor's most-used model of the sonic screwdriver was much larger than the one his first and second incarnation used; its elaborately detailed silver collar featured black and yellow stripes and red trim, and could be pulled down to active the screwdriver. It had a removable burgundy emitter head which the Doctor would change with others, each performing a different function. (TV: The Sea Devils)

The Third Doctor later 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. This refit left the metal mostly unpainted, with a dark red emitter ring. The head of this model could be extended. (TV: Frontier in Space)

The Fourth Doctor with the sonic. (TV: The Sontaran Experiment)

Before this model met its demise, its head was repainted twice after the original coat wore off. (TV: The Keeper of Traken, Castrovalva) It was ultimately destroyed when a Terileptil leader forced the Fifth Doctor to drop the screwdriver inside a holding cell, then incinerated it with a laser gun — causing the Doctor to remark "I feel as though you've just killed an old friend." (TV: The Visitation) The Doctor went without a sonic screwdriver for some time after this model, with Nyssa lamenting his decision not to replace it. (TV: Snakedance) The Tenth Doctor also lightly mocked his past incarnation for going "hands-free" following this incident when their TARDISes accidentally collided. (TV: Time Crash)

This sonic operated at a frequency of 80 kilohertz. (PROSE: Light Fantastic)

The Doctor, leaving UNIT, left behind a prototype. UNIT scientists then tried to use reverse-engineering to understand its workings; this went on into the 21st century. Despite them trying to keep it quiet from the Doctor, he was well aware of the project by his seventh incarnation. (AUDIO: Persuasion)

Uses

Used by the Sixth Doctor

The Sixth Doctor once carried an unspecified replacement model for the sonic screwdriver, but had to leave it tied to the side of a video camera in a dungeon cell in order for it to keep the visual feed disabled. (PROSE: The Nightmare Fair) He later carried another sonic model during his adventures with Crystal, Jason, and Zog. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

Uses

The Seventh and Eighth Doctors' sonic

This section's awfully stubby.

As per Thread:133842, there is a sonic in the Doctor's possession by the time of his travels with Benny in the NAs. Info needs to be added from these sources, as well as numerous Big Finish audio dramas.

Chang Lee discovers the sonic screwdriver amongst the things he stole from the Seventh Doctor. (TV: Doctor Who)

The Seventh Doctor acquired a sonic screwdriver at an unspecified point of his life. Many contradictory accounts existed, including one which claimed he had acquired it at some point before meeting Bernice Summerfield, (AUDIO: Love and War et al.) and another, which claimed he acquired it from himself on a parallel Earth where the species Homo Reptilicus had conquered the Earth and killed his third incarnation. (PROSE: Blood Heat, First Frontier) The Doctor himself claimed that he had only recently built one shortly before re-encountering the Monk, (PROSE: No Future) and that he received it as compensation after suing the Terileptils for criminal damage. (PROSE: GodEngine)

This model looked similar to the screwdriver used up until his fifth incarnation: it was silver with a brass trim ring in the lower grip and a handle that resembled that of the previous sonic screwdrivers', now with a flat base. Its upper section was able to undergo telescopic collapse for ease of carrying, and, at its top, it held an emitter with a silver ring and a red bullet-shaped crystal at its centre. (TV: Doctor Who) Once, while suffering from amnesia, the Doctor was able to operate this sonic screwdriver on instinct. (PROSE: EarthWorld) This version remained in the Eighth Doctor's use throughout his life, up until its destruction at the hands of a Cyber-Leader on Earth. (COMIC: The Flood)

The Eighth Doctor had resumed using this model by the end of his life during the Last Great Time War. It was the second and final model the Doctor used thus far that bore an emitter-ring head. (TV: The Night of the Doctor) The Eighth Doctor's other choice of a diode-tipped model would become the standard for his later incarnations. (TV: The Day of the Doctor, Rose, The Christmas Invasion, The Eleventh Hour, Deep Breath)

Uses

Replacement on Ha'olam

During his imprisonment by INC on Ha'olam, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver was confiscated. After his escape, he briefly used a replacement screwdriver resembling a slender metal rod with a crystal at its tip. (PROSE: Seeing I)

Uses

The Eighth Doctor's second screwdriver

The Eighth Doctor's second screwdriver. (COMIC: The Pictures of Josephine Day)

Later in his eighth incarnation, the Doctor carried a sonic screwdriver with a wooden handle. It had a metallic tip with six prongs that nested a clear diode at the end, which glowed blue when activated. (AUDIO: The Great War) Its handle doubled as a torch. (AUDIO: Sword of Orion) The Doctor claimed that he made this version of the sonic screwdriver to do more than open doors and blow up land mines. (AUDIO: X and the Daleks) He later made further modifications to the screwdriver. (AUDIO: Beachhead)

It was referred to as a pennywhistle by numerous World War I medics. (AUDIO: The Great War) The Doctor possessed it as early on as his travels with Charley Pollard, (AUDIO: The Light at the End) and was still using it in the early part of the Last Great Time War. (PROSE: Natural Regression) He had returned to using his original model by the end of his life. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)

Uses

The War Doctor's sonic

The War Doctor's sonic screwdriver. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

By the end of his life, the War Doctor used a sonic screwdriver with a simple metallic handle and a red diode at the end. It appeared to be a further upgraded version of the Eighth Doctor's first sonic screwdriver, adapted for battle, which he kept strapped in a bandoleer on his chest. It shared the same casing type as the screwdriver used by the Fourth Doctor, but had an extending diode head instead of an emitter head, and an additional piece added to the end of the handle that looked like a small red cap. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

Uses

The Ninth and Tenth Doctors' sonic

The Ninth Doctor's sonic screwdriver. (TV: Boom Town)

By his ninth incarnation, the Doctor possessed yet another sonic screwdriver model. This one had a cream handle with a "cracked-porcelain" texture, silver metal at both the handle and the tip and was capped off with a black pommel. This model was carried by the Ninth Doctor, who used it far more frequently than his previous incarnations had done before. (TV: Rose) The Tenth Doctor also used this model, as he liked tinkering with technology to make devices he needed.

A replacement sonic used by the Tenth Doctor after overloading the former model. (TV: Human Nature)

This version was burnt out by accident after the Tenth Doctor used it to modify an X-ray output to over 5000%, but he replaced it with a similar model with a light grey handle, (TV: Smith and Jones) though it reverted back to its cream handle during his time with Queen Elizabeth (TV: The Day of the Doctor) and appeared to have a blue handle following his regeneration. (TV: The Eleventh Hour) The model underwent several changes in shape[source needed] and colouration, some inadvertent. (COMIC: Laundro-Room of Doom) This version of the sonic screwdriver was also the first to be shown to have a direct connection to the Doctor's TARDIS (TV: Aliens of London) and could be used to override its functions. (TV: Utopia) The Tenth Doctor had this screwdriver on his person during his regeneration, but it was damaged repeatedly afterwards, leading to many malfunctions. Despite the damage, the Eleventh Doctor used it to overload technology in an attempt to alert the Atraxi to Prisoner Zero's location. This fried it into useless, charred metal, much to his growing annoyance and anger. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)

Uses

Security
Medical
Diagnostic
Technology
Amplification
Utility

The Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors' sonic

The Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver (TV: The Hungry Earth)

After the loss of the previous sonic screwdriver, the TARDIS gifted the Doctor with a new model. Differing radically from the last with its extendible "claws" and green crystalline emitter resembling the inner structure of the TARDIS's new time rotor, it also had copper plating similar to the new control room. (TV: The Eleventh Hour) A psychic interface allowed its user to point it at a target and think of the function they wanted. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler, Death in Heaven) Having been mentioned to be more than sonic, (TV: Night Terrors) this screwdriver also shot beams of green energy in the shape of sonic waves. (TV: Day of the Moon, Closing Time) By at least the time of the Doctor's thirteenth regeneration, it had a voice-activation feature, which the Doctor forgot about when he needed it. (TV: Deep Breath) It had a charge that could last centuries; it once lasted 300 years before the Doctor could charge it in the TARDIS. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

Retaining ineffectiveness against wood, it also didn't work against Peg Dolls (TV: Night Terrors) or the Wooden King and Queen. (TV: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe) The Doctor considered it embarrassing and said that "I need to invent a setting for wood." (TV: Night Terrors) In similar situations, he yelled at it in panic; "Aliens made of wood, you know this was always going to happen!", "Yes, I know it's wood. Get over it!" (TV: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe) Though aware of this flaw, he was still able to successfully bluff a Wooden Cyberman into destroying itself. (TV: The Time of the Doctor) Oddly, he defended once, saying "Oi! Don't diss the sonic!" (TV: The Hungry Earth) At some point it had an anti-freeze setting. (TV: The Snowmen) This screwdriver was also shown to have a "red setting", (TV: Cold War) similar to River's sonic screwdriver.

The sonic screwdriver and psychic paper on the TARDIS console. (TV: Flatline)

This model was lost and replaced by the Doctor repeatedly, having been bitten in half by a sky shark and left behind, (TV: A Christmas Carol) left with the Ganger Doctor, (TV: The Rebel Flesh) destroyed by Danny Fisher (COMIC: The Blood of Azrael) and, in one instance, simply burnt out due to overuse. In the latter instance, a replacement was given to him by Santa Claus. (COMIC: Silent Knight) One of the Twelfth Doctor's sonic screwdrivers was incinerated by the Governor when he was admitted into the Prison. Clara Oswald attempted to give him a new one disguised as a large candle in a birthday cake, but the Governor refused to give the cake to the Doctor. He created a sonic spoon in the interim. (PROSE: The Blood Cell) Ultimately, he left one of his screwdrivers with Davros after abandoning him as a child. Davros had it in his possession for many years after, until Colony Sarff returned it to the Doctor. By this point, it was no longer of any real use to him, as it had become heavily damaged and inoperable, visibly weather-beaten from exposure to war and conflict, and with one of the clawed prongs broken off. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)

The Doctor eventually declared that he was "over" sonic screwdrivers, saying that they "spoil the line of your jacket". He replaced the screwdriver with a pair of sonic sunglasses. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)

However, he did not keep this promise, as he used this sonic screwdriver several times afterwards. (COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death, The Fourth Wall)

When the Eleventh Doctor met the Tenth Doctor in England, 1562, upon the latter realising that the former was a future incarnation of himself, they both got out their sonic screwdrivers. The Eleventh Doctor immediately showed off how much bigger his was, to which the Tenth Doctor claimed that his future incarnation was compensating, remarking that "regeneration, it's a lottery." (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

Uses

Security
Medical
Diagnostic
Technology
Amplification
Other

The Twelfth Doctor's second screwdriver

After spending a period of time using a combination of sonic sunglasses and his green-emitter sonic screwdriver, (COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death) the Twelfth Doctor was gifted a new model by the TARDIS.

While one account showed him gaining it after he had found Gallifrey at the end of the universe, (TV: Hell Bent) another account depicted him using it whilst travelling with Clara Oswald. (COMIC: The Day at the Doctors)

This new model had a TARDIS blue metal handle with multiple emitters, once again resembling the inner structure of the time rotor itself. The emitter was once again blue in colour, and the ring of emitters all lit up in a circling motion when activated. (TV: Hell Bent) He continued to use his sonic sunglasses as well, thus giving him two choices of sonic instruments. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

While it usually emitted a blue light, this screwdriver could also glow red (COMIC: Robo Rampage) or green. (COMIC: Gallery)

The Doctor sometimes attached this screwdriver to his guitar so that he could use both at the same time. (COMIC: The Pestilent Heart)

Uses

Security
Diagnostic
Technology
Utility
Other

Others' sonic screwdrivers

River's 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) This version of the sonic screwdriver had the settings of the Tenth Doctor's model when he met her at the Library, along with "dampers" and a "red setting" that allowed it to work without interference from 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) It was the first gift the Twelfth Doctor personally gave to River face-to-face, after seeing that she was using a sonic trowel, which he found "embarrassing". (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

File:Everybody lives? - Doctor Who - BBC
The Tenth Doctor figures out the true purpose of River's screwdriver. (TV: Forest of the Dead)

Unbeknownst to her, this version included a neural relay which would save her data ghost for uploading into the main computer of the Library. (TV: Forest of the Dead)

Uses

Other screwdrivers

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 his eleventh incarnation. (COMIC: The Crystal Throne)

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

Romana II constructed her own sonic screwdriver. Her version was so impressive that the Doctor offered to swap sonic screwdrivers with her. (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)

Jackson Lake carried a 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. (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)

Related tools

The Fifth Doctor had a device called a sonic prodder, although he didn't consider it a tool like "his beloved sonic screwdriver" (PROSE: Falling from Xi'an)

The Fifth Doctor also kept a Molenski Univarius in the TARDIS for repairs. He described it as a Gallifreyan "Swiss Army knife". While exploring the Axis, he carried it with him and used it in the same fashion as later models of the sonic screwdriver, once even using the sonic properties to fend off creatures with sound waves before it ran out of power and was discarded. (AUDIO: The Axis of Insanity)

The Eighth Doctor, despite having lost his memories, built a device he called a sonic suitcase using technology from Earth in the 1980s. (PROSE: Father Time)

The Saxon Master had a similar tool, called a laser screwdriver. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Captain Jack Harkness had a sonic blaster, (TV: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances) which was later used by River Song. (TV: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)

Using stolen and incomplete UNIT design plans, Toshiko Sato created a sonic modulator. (TV: Fragments)

Miss Foster had a sonic pen with a design similar to the Tenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver. (TV: Partners in Crime)

Sarah Jane Smith possessed a sonic lipstick, a similar tool. (TV: Invasion of the Bane)

The Doctor claimed that he once had a laser spanner as well, but Emmeline Pankhurst took it from him. (TV: Smith and Jones)

Mrs Wormwood was in possession of a ring called a phonic disruptor. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)

The Sixth Doctor defeated Cybermen using a sonic lance. It was similar in function to the sonic screwdriver, but a weapon. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)

Banto Zame, a con artist who posed as the Doctor, used a psychic screwdriver to seemingly foil an attack on Generios 1 by the Skelloids, which were infact a holographic illusion created by him. (AUDIO: The One Doctor)

The Eleventh Doctor used a sonic cane to scan the Teselecta and to contact Amy Pond and Rory Williams, who were miniaturized inside. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

Gabriel created a similar device that was made out of guns. (PROSE: The Pirate Loop)

While in the Prison, the Twelfth Doctor created a sonic spoon when his sonic screwdriver was destroyed by the Governor. He created it from items in the Prison workshop and a spoon he took from mealtime. (PROSE: The Blood Cell)

The Twelfth Doctor eventually tired of using sonic screwdrivers and instead created a pair of sonic sunglasses. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)

River Song used a sonic trowel before she was given a sonic screwdriver by the Doctor. (AUDIO: The Boundless Sea, TV: The Husbands of River Song)

Behind the scenes

The sonic screwdriver prop

  • 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 and Seventh Doctor's eras, except in the TV Movie, 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. After appearing in many Seventh and Eighth Doctor audio adventures from Big Finish Productions, 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 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 to make a more reliable prop for the next season.
  • There are two main versions of the Tenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver — one which has a slide feature with button, and one which does not slide and has a fixed button. The two prop types varied each episode.
  • The War Doctor's sonic screwdriver prop was created by modifying a Fourth Doctor's sonic screwdriver replica toy.
  • 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 dubbed over the footage.

Concept art

  • Early conceptual art of the modern era sonic screwdriver features a different "tube" section. Notes refer 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.

Sonic screwdriver toy

  • A toy of the Eleventh Doctor's version was seen in "Light Echoes", an edition of "The Sky at Night" broadcast on BBC4 on Wednesday 5th October 2010. The screwdriver was (jokingly) used to scan a part of the LOFAR radio telescope, then under construction in Chilbolton, Hampshire, UK.
  • 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.
  • The customiseable toy sonic screwdriver set featuring three screwdrivers with interchangeable parts can produce up to eight sound effects: the first two are the basic screwdriver sound, with slightly different pitches, and alternate each time the button is pressed. The other six effects are achieved in a similar manner to those of the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver toy, and are accompanied by a flashing lights instead of a constant light.
  • Since the War Doctor's sonic screwdriver prop was created by modifying a toy replica, the toy version that was subsequently produced is screen accurate.

The Visual Dictionary

Attack of the Graske

In NOTVALID: Attack of the Graske, the Tenth Doctor appears to break the fourth wall by noting the player at home's been watching his adventures. Later, he points the sonic screwdriver at the television screen, transferring its powers to the player's digital remote control. This, along with having the player choose multiple endings to this game, disqualifies it as a valid source on this wiki.

Other matters

  • In the original script for The Eleventh Hour, the Doctor referred to his screwdriver as "Level 4000" technology.
  • Scientists at the University of Dundee invented a device which turns objects with ultrasonic waves, an invention which has been described as a real-world version of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.[1]

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dr Who's sonic screwdriver 'invented' at Dundee University
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