The Doctor's Only Weapon

The Doctor has had many screwdrivers during his lifetime. From 2005, A redesigned sonic screwdriver appears in the new series, with a blue light in addition to the sound effect. In its first incarnation, the prop used in the new series was fragile and prone to breakage. The toy version (made by Character Options Ltd.) was slightly larger to accommodate a pen (with swappable standard and ultraviolet ink nibs) and batteries. It also includes an ultraviolet light for viewing messages written in the ultraviolet ink. The Doctor Who production team at BBC Wales were so impressed by how much more resilient the toy sonic screwdriver was than the real prop, that they obtained moulds of the original prototype of the toy to use in the 2006 series.

 

Image: The Screwdriver for the ninth and tenth Doctor

In contrast with Nathan-Turner's attitude that the sonic screwdriver should not be used as a cure-all, the new production team gave it even more functionality than previous versions. Some of the uses in the new series include: repairing electronic equipment; detecting, intercepting and sending signals; remotely operating the TARDIS; burning, cutting, or igniting substances; fusing metal; scanning and identifying substances; amplifying or augmenting sound; modifying mobile phones to enable "universal roaming”; disabling alien disguises. It is sometimes used to disassemble robotic enemies or turn other objects into weapons. In "The Long Game", "The Parting of the Ways" and "Utopia" it is used to operate the TARDIS controls remotely; when the Doctor attempts to counteract the Master's theft of the TARDIS, it is used to limit the TARDIS' destination. In "Doomsday", the Doctor states that the sonic screwdriver does not kill, wound or maim; however, it is sometimes brandished in a threatening manner, such as in "The Christmas Invasion", "The Runaway Bride", "The Lazarus Experiment", The Infinite Quest and The Impossible Planet. In "World War Three", when confronted by a group of Slitheen, the Doctor threatens to "triplicate the flammability" of a bottle of port wine with the sonic screwdriver, though one of the Slitheen realises he is bluffing.

The sonic screwdriver has been the subject of jokes: in "The Doctor Dances", Jack Harkness mocked the concept by asking, "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?", and later exclaims to the Doctor that "in a pinch, you could put up some shelves!" In "Smith and Jones", Martha Jones asked if the Doctor also had a "Laser Spanner", to which he replied that he had, until it was stolen by Emmeline Pankhurst.

In "Smith and Jones", the sonic screwdriver burns out after the Doctor uses it to amplify the radiation output of a hospital X-ray machine. In the "Series Three concept Artwork Gallery", when referring to the burnt out sonic screwdriver, Peter McKinstry says "the green crystal structure visible under the shattered dome refers back to the TARDIS console crystal. It's the same technology - the TARDIS's little brother." Though initially saddened at the loss of the screwdriver, the Doctor obtains a new one at the conclusion of the episode.

In "The Eleventh Hour", the malfunctioning sonic screwdriver is destroyed when the Doctor tries to signal the Atraxi ships. The Doctor later receives a new one, which emerges from the newly-regenerated TARDIS console. The Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver is larger than its predecessor; it has a green light and metal claws that extend with a flick of the wrist.

 

Image: Matt Smiths Sonic Screwdriver

 

 

Known Uses

• To destroy the controls of an elevator. (DW: Rose)
• Detecting and stopping telepathic signals. (DW: Rose)
• Interfacing with a computer. (DW: The End of the World)
• As a medical scanner and diagnostic tool. (DW: The Empty Child)
• Obtaining money from a cash machine. (DW: The Long Game)
• Battery charging. (DW: Father's Day)
• Completely corroding thin metal (e.g. barbed wire) so that it crumbles into rust. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
• Re-connecting barbed wire. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
• Reversing teleport devices. (DW: Boom Town)
• To destroy a television camera. (DW: Bad Wolf)
• Dematerialising the TARDIS and initialising TARDIS processes from outside the craft. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
• Blowing up a remote control christmas tree. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
• To transfer its powers to the viewer's remote control. (DW: Attack of the Graske)
• To create small flames. (DW: The Girl in the Fireplace)
• To make the Cybermen turn away from the Doctor's direction. (DW: The Age of Steel)
• To cut rope. (DW: The Age of Steel)
• To threaten the Wire. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)
• To partially reverse the Abzorbaloff's absorption of Ursula Blake. (DW: Love & Monsters)
• Partially cracking glass so it can be smashed with the push of a finger (DW: Army of Ghosts)
• Detonation of an explosive device. (DW: Doomsday)
• Get money from cash machine, at both regular and extra-high rates of ejection (DW: The Runaway Bride)
• Able to summon the Tardis using Huon Particles (DW: The Runaway Bride)
• To destroy the Robot Santas with sound (used in conjunction with a professional sound system). (DW: The Runaway Bride)
• To increase the radiation output of a device such as an x-ray scanner; this action burned out the screwdriver. (DW: Smith and Jones)

• To 'check out' his new sonic screwdriver. (DW: The Eleventh Hour)
• Scanning starship U.K.'s engine room. (DW: The Beast Below)
• As a torch. (DW: The Beast Below)
• To force a Star Whale to regurgitate by overloading its chemo-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 an Android's controls, (unsuccessfully) attempted to defuse the bomb inside it. (DW: Victory of the Daleks)
• To increase a signal strength. (DW: The Time of Angels)
• To scan Father Octavian's Computer. (DW: The Time of Angels)
• To open a mechanical door (unsuccessful when combating the Weeping Angels). (DW: The Time of Angels)
• Opening the entrance hatch of a space ship. (DW: Flesh and Stone)
• Isolating the lighting so that the Weeping Angels 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 the cracks throughout time and space. (DW: Flesh and Stone)
• To send a signal through to Amy's communicator to help guide her to the right spot in the forest in order to teleport her. (DW: Flesh and Stone)
• Uploading software, specifically a proximity detector to Amy's communicator. (DW: Flesh and Stone)

 

The Doctor's Future Screwdriver

In series 4, when River Song is first introduced, she has the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver from the future. In the Doctor's personal future, he would upgrade the screwdriver with, in addition to the Mark VI settings, red settings and damper settings. He gave it to River Song, both for her use and because it served as a way to save River's Data Ghost for uploading into the main computer of the Library. (DW: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)

The nature of the red or damper settings is not yet clear; however, it is suggested that a red setting is a more powerful setting than the blue one and maybe dampers reduce outside interference with the sonic - similar to a bio damper. The 'TARDIS return switch' seen on the prop design may use similar technology to a Stattenheim remote control.

Given that the Mark VI has been destroyed and replaced with the Mark VII it is either a newly created (albeit similar looking) device with additional modifications or a heavily repaired and upgraded Mark VI .

 

Image: The Doctors Future Screwdriver

 

 

Buy A Sonic Screwdriver

Since the popularity of the Doctor Who show has grown, there has been many great merchandise being released for Doctor Who fans. And of course, what Doctor Who fan wouldn't feel complete with out a Sonic Screwdriver!

 

Matt Smiths Sonic Screwdriver - BBC Shop UK (£13.49) - BBC Shop USA ($34.98)	David Tennants Sonic Screwdriver - Amazon UK (£19.99) - Amazon USA ($19.99)

 

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