Nearly every incarnation of the Doctor has utilized a version of this iconic gadget. With few exceptions, a Doctor Who cosplay is incomplete without a sonic screwdriver—my broken screwdriver is one reason I won’t do my Eleventh Doctor cosplay right now. The sonic has a long and somewhat contradictory history.
The first appearance of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver was during the Second Doctor’s era. And it was possibly the only time the sonic was used to drive screws. In that version, it didn’t do much beyond screws.
The sonic screwdriver was a consistent feature of Doctor Who for the lives of the Third and Fourth Doctor and into the Fifth Doctor era, until the Tereliptils destroyed it. He was “hands free” until the Seventh Doctor returned for the TV movie. Since that time, each Doctor had a version of the sonic screwdriver (even if it was in the form of the sonic sunglasses designed by the Twelfth Doctor).
Designed to never maim or injure, the sonic had plenty of other uses. The Third Doctor could detonate bombs with his. The War Doctor was able to complete complex computations in the background over thousands of years. The Ninth Doctor used it as a medical scanner. And pretty much all the Doctors used it for opening doors, locks, hatches, and anything else openable (unless it was wooden).
With its versatile nature, the sonic screwdriver can be a deus ex machina. That was one of the reasons it was removed play under the Fifth Doctor. But at the same time it’s iconic for a reason. While not a magic wand, it can be whatever the Doctor needs it to be. Point and think. Essentially it’s a plot device; whatever the story, the sonic can push things along. Plus they’re just cool… which reminds me… I need to figure out where to buy a new sonic screwdriver for my Eleventh Doctor cosplay.
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