Sonic screwdriver

The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Its most common function is to operate virtually any lock, mechanical or electronic, and thus open doors for escape or exploration. It has also been used for repairing equipment, as an offensive weapon, and occasionally even used to drive screws. Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme, and is intimately associated with the Doctor.

Related Topics:
Fictional - Tool - British - Science fiction television - Doctor Who - Drive screws - TARDIS - Doctor

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The sonic screwdriver made its first appearance in the 1968 Second Doctor serial, Fury from the Deep and was used by the Doctor as a multi-purpose tool from that point onwards, with occasional variations in appearance over the course of the series.

Related Topics:
1968 - Second Doctor - Fury from the Deep

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Its abilities varied somewhat from story to story and the way it worked was never explicitly explained. However, the name implies that it operates through the use of sound waves to remotely exert physical forces on objects, such as the mechanisms inside locks. In The Sea Devils the Doctor used it to detonate land mines from a distance. This particular model had a movable section that bobbed up and down when in use.

Related Topics:
The Sea Devils - Land mine

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The Doctor's Time Lady companion Romana constructed a sonic screwdriver of her own, first seen during the Fourth Doctor serial The Horns of Nimon(1979). It was smaller and sleeker than the Doctor's, and he was sufficiently impressed with her design that he attempted (unsuccessfully) to swap screwdrivers with her.

Related Topics:
Time Lady - Romana - Fourth Doctor - The Horns of Nimon - 1979

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The sonic screwdriver was written out of the series in 1982 when it was destroyed by a Terileptil in the serial The Visitation. This was done by Eric Saward on the instructions of producer John Nathan-Turner, who felt that the device had become an easy way out for writers, since the Doctor could use it to get out of just about any situation.

Related Topics:
1982 - Terileptil - The Visitation - Eric Saward - John Nathan-Turner

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Saward had written out the sonic screwdriver believing that the Doctor would simply get a replacement from the TARDIS. However, Nathan-Turner did not want such a scene at the end of this story, or any others. The series remained sonic screwdriver-free until it ceased production in 1989 (althought the Sixth Doctor was occasionally seen using a "sonic lance") and it was not until the 1996 Doctor Who telemovie that the Doctor was seen to have a sonic screwdriver again, with a design that could be telescoped out for use and collapsed again when done.

Related Topics:
TARDIS - 1989 - Sixth Doctor - 1996 - ''Doctor Who'' telemovie

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A completely redesigned sonic screwdriver prop, with a glowing blue light in addition to the sound effect, appeared in the 2005 series revival. The new sonic screwdriver exhibited more functions than previous versions. Aside from opening locks, new uses included: to detect and stop thought signals projected by the Nestene Consciousness (Rose); as a computer interface tool (The End of the World); to extract credit from a cash machine (The Long Game); as a medical scanner (The Empty Child); to repair barbed wire (The Doctor Dances); to intercept teleportation signals (Boom Town); to destroy a television camera (Bad Wolf) and to remotely activate an "emergency programme" in the TARDIS (The Parting of the Ways). The setting to reattach barbed wire was setting 2428D, implying that it has at least that many functions.

Related Topics:
2005 - Nestene Consciousness - Rose - The End of the World - The Long Game - The Empty Child - Barbed wire - The Doctor Dances - Teleportation - Boom Town - Bad Wolf - The Parting of the Ways

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The new prop was notoriously fragile and was prone to breaking at the slightest strain. The Doctor Who production team at BBC Wales were so impressed by how much more resilient the toy sonic screwdriver (produced under license by Character Options) was than the real prop, that they asked for and obtained the toy model and moulds for the upcoming 2006 series. The toy version is slightly larger to accommodate a working pen, sound effects and batteries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/07/26/20763.shtml

Related Topics:
BBC Wales - 2006

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Sonic Screwdriver is also the name of a fanzine published by the Doctor Who Club of Victoria.

Related Topics:
Sonic Screwdriver - Fanzine - Victoria

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