Science fiction stories, especially those that run for decades, often treat advanced technology like magic. Arthur C. Clarke's rule on the subject remains true. Doctor Who features one of the most salient examples of modern memory. The Doctor has encountered every problem, and the solution looks almost exactly like a magic wand. His sonic screwdriver has undergone many changes, but it's critical to the Doctor's adventures.
Every version of the Doctor enjoys a few changes. A new actor portrays the character, new companions follow them on their journey, and their sonic screwdriver takes on a new look. The constant evolution has kept this 60-year-old franchise fresh and engaging. The sonic screwdriver changes appearance, but its endless list of purposes and uses keeps growing longer.
Doctor Who: The History Of The Sonic Screwdriver
The Doctor's Sonic is iconic, but has it always been such a well-loved gadget?
In the Classic Series
The Second Doctor was the first to use a sonic screwdriver. The First Doctor used one in a novel but never on-screen. It first appeared in the sixth episode of the fifth series, "Fury from the Deep." That six-part serial is the most recent lost episode of the series. The Second Doctor used it several more times. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Doctors enjoyed their sonic screwdrivers, but each iteration reduced its application. Writers and producers felt the multipurpose tool was too creatively stifling. The Doctor could solve any problem with the screwdriver. The Fifth Doctor lost his screwdriver and never replaced it. Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner saw it written out of the series in 1982. It didn't reappear until the 1996 TV movie. The creatives behind the show struggled with the sonic screwdriver, but they found plenty of ways to use it.
The classic Doctors used the sonic screwdriver as a tool in various scenarios. In its first appearance, the Doctor used it to analyze a pipe and diagnose the sound it made. It worked as a screwdriver, lockpick, and welding torch during the Second Doctor's tenure. It could amplify screams and fire laser waves to scare away foes. The Third Doctor used it to detonate landmines from a distance. He also introduced the idea of reversing the device's polarity, which solved numerous problems. Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor could create holes in force fields, pull fire alarms, and crack safes with his sonic screwdriver. The Fifth Doctor rarely used his screwdriver before a Terileptil alien destroyed it. He compared its loss to the death of an old friend. The sonic screwdriver was usually used to open doors, but writers found other ways to apply the glowing tool.
In the Modern Series
The new Doctor Who meticulously adapted iconic elements from the original series. The creatives behind the first few decades of the show didn't care for the tool, but fans always enjoyed it. Nathan-Turner's fear of using the screwdriver as a cure-all was thrown aside. The sonic screwdriver does almost everything in the new series. It has some limitations, usually related to organic matter like wood or leaves. Otherwise, it's the all-purpose plot solution previous showrunners feared. Here's a list of some of its new powers:
- Repairing electronic equipment
- Re-attaching materials
- Intercepting and sending signals
- Operating the TARDIS
- Burning, cutting, or igniting matter
- Modifying mobile phones to enable "universal roaming"
- Disabling alien disguises
- Resonating concrete
- Reversing teleportation of another entity
- Disassembling robotic enemies
- Healing wounds
- Turning objects into weapons
- Hacking ATMs
- GPS tracking
- ETC.
The sonic screwdriver did whatever the Doctor needed it to do. It contained all information, replaced all tools, and functioned as the magic wand it always resembled. That list covers only some of its uses. It becomes safe to assume anything is within its purview.
How the Sonic Screwdriver Shaped Doctor Who
The sonic screwdriver was initially imagined as a one-off device. Doctor Whoinvented dozens of tools and toys to get the Doctor out of situations. In a way, broadening the sonic screwdriver's capabilities streamlines the narrative. Instead of creating a new sci-fi gadget, the screwdriver gains whatever power it needs to move things forward. It's an iconic prop seen in most depictions of the character. Other characters produced countless knock-offs to replicate the screwdriver's function in the new and old series. Fans complain about the overuse of the sonic screwdriver, but does it really change the effect if the Doctor uses one toy instead of a thousand? Sure, it's a little strange to see one object do everything, but both sides have a valid argument.
The problem with the sonic screwdriver is that it makes the Doctor seem less resourceful. Instead of a brilliant improviser who can save the world with scrap metal and string, he's an alien with a device that does everything. The solution would be writing strong stories in which the Doctor finds a unique and believable answer. That's too hard to do, so the show has introduced countless gadgets and settled on its favorite as an all-purpose tool. The sonic screwdriver is exactly what early showrunners feared, but it remains a reliable narrative device.