Seventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver: Difference between revisions

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 (audio story)|Love and War]]'') and another, which claimed he acquired it from himself on [[Silurian Earth|a parallel Earth]] where the species [[Silurian|Homo Reptilicus]] had conquered the Earth and killed [[Third Doctor|his third incarnation]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]'', ''[[First Frontier (novel)|First Frontier]]'') The Doctor himself claimed that he had only recently built one shortly before re-encountering {{Champion}}, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[No Future (novel)|No Future]]'') and that he received it as compensation after suing the [[Terileptil]]s for [[criminal]] damage; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[GodEngine (novel)|GodEngine]]'') the Terileptils having destroyed the [[Third Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] used by the [[Fifth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]'') The [[Eighth Doctor]] claimed that this screwdriver was a spare model that had "rolled under the TARDIS console and remained there" until the Seventh Doctor found it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Frontier Worlds (novel)|Frontier Worlds]]'')

This model, identified as the "'''Mark 5'''" by the Eighth Doctor, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'') looked similar to the screwdriver used by his [[Third Doctor|third]], [[Fourth Doctor|fourth]] and [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] incarnations: 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 and handle. 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 (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') The Seventh Doctor claimed he patented the sonic screwdriver. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Unknown (audio story)|The Unknown]]'') Once, while suffering from amnesia, the Eighth Doctor was able to operate this sonic screwdriver on instinct. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[EarthWorld (novel)|EarthWorld]]'') This version remained in the Eighth Doctor's use throughout his life, up until its destruction at the hands of a [[Cyber-Leader (The Flood)|Cyber-Leader]] on Earth. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'')  

The Eighth Doctor would later replace it with [[Eighth Doctor's second sonic screwdriver|a drastically redesigned model]] that featured a diode-tip ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Great War (audio story)|The Great War]]''); a feature that become the standard for his later incarnations. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'', ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'', ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') He eventually resumed using the Seventh Doctor's 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 (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') At one point, he commented that he felt undressed without his sonic screwdriver. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Sontaran Ordeal (audio story)|The Sontaran Ordeal]]'')  

A version of this screwdriver was kept in the [[Twelfth Doctor]]'s [[The Doctor's office (The Pilot)|office]] at [[St Luke's University]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pilot (TV story)|The Pilot]]'')

The sonic screwdriver could interact with a variety of locks, including those for caskets, ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') doors, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') security gates, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nightshade (audio story)|Nightshade]]'') and bank vaults. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Trading Futures (novel)|Trading Futures]]'') It could also open service ducts ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Excelis Decays (audio story)|Excelis Decays]]'') and create "doorways" in forcefields. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[EarthWorld (novel)|EarthWorld]]'')

The sonic screwdriver had a number of scanning functions, being able to analyse energy forms ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nightshade (audio story)|Nightshade]]'') and bodies for life signs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') It could perform maintenance on the TARDIS console, ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') hack into computers, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Harvest (audio story)|The Harvest]]'') melt ice ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Magic Mousetrap (audio story)|The Magic Mousetrap]]'') and briefly disable [[electron bomb]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Tomorrow Windows (novel)|The Tomorrow Windows]]'') It could also disrupt control signals ([[PROSE]]: ''[[To the Slaughter (novel)|To the Slaughter]]'') and [[Gunstick|Dalek weapons]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Legacy of the Daleks (novel)|Legacy of the Daleks]]'')

The sonic screwdriver affected creatures in sometimes lethal ways, as it could destroy a [[Dalek]]'s brain when placed against the casing's head ([[PROSE]]: ''[[War of the Daleks (novel)|War of the Daleks]]'') and was once used to decapitate the [[King of Beasts]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'') It could also repel ghosts, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Vanderdeken's Children (novel)|Vanderdeken's Children]]'') subdue hostile dogs, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Deadstone Memorial (novel)|The Deadstone Memorial]]'') turn [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] against each other ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'') and hold back creatures infected by [[the Void]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Lost Dimension (comic story)|The Lost Dimension]]'')