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A sonic screwdriver was owned by the Fifteenth Doctor. (AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"], TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
Appearance and technology
As all of the Doctor's sonic screwdrivers had the same software despite their outwards appearance changing over time, (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...{"timestamp":"41:58","1":"The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"}) this screwdriver was functionally the same as the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The Eleventh Doctor told Nora Wicker that they were the "same sonic screwdriver". (AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])
This sonic screwdriver bore less of a physical resemblance to a screwdriver than previous models, as it looked more like a remote control. It had two large bulbous sections joined in the middle with a circular emblem inscribed with a poem in Gallifreyan. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
Uses
- Operating on the same frequency as a hard-light hologram of the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver to create a crack in a Time Bubble. (AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])
- Changing a traffic light from red to green. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
- Detecting a 2 carat diamond ring in the pocket of a policeman. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
- Open several doors in the Sundays' home. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
- Function as a torch. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
- Generating a sonic pulse. (COMIC: Mancopolis [+]Loading...["Mancopolis (comic story)"])
History
On 16 December 2033, the Fifteenth Doctor brought his sonic screwdriver with him to help the hard-light hologram of the Eleventh Doctor free Nora Wicker from a Time Bubble placed over her home, intended just to contain the World Tree that had landed on Earth on 19 August 1987. After the Eleventh Doctor told Nora the plan and exited into her garden, both Doctors readying to use their screwdrivers in sync to create a frequency to create a crack in the bubble, Nora confided that she wanted to remain in the bubble to look after the World Tree; this momentary distraction caused the Eleventh Doctor to be fractionally too slow and prevented the crack from being opened. The Fifteenth Doctor lowered his screwdriver and returned to his TARDIS. (AUDIO: The World Tree [+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])
Behind the scenes
- Props maker Michael van Kesteren revealed to Doctor Who Magazine that the Fifteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver was a distinct model from the model owned by the Fourteenth Doctor; Russell T Davies had certain requirements for the Fifteenth Doctor's to fulfil — unlike the Fourteenth Doctor's — with the main brief being "something every kid would want for Christmas."[1]
- The Gallifreyan poem inscribed on the screwdriver translates into a Rwandan proverb, meaning "The sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior".