With the recent flurry of information about this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, a lot of details have surfaced about The Doctor's reunion with his wife – Professor River Song. Yet buried in the announcement of the episode's title, “The Husbands Of River Song,” as well as the first promotional poster for the episode, there's something that BBC America was keen on sharing with us. That something is the first look at The Doctor and River Song's new Sonic Screwdrivers, which you can see below:
No sooner had fans started to seemingly quiet down about this season's introduction of the Sonic Shades that the powers that be made this announcement, which will obviously thrill tons of the show's fans. Even more exciting is the fact that River has her own Sonic device, though hers' looks different from most other screwdriver designs in the Doctor Who canon. Dubbed by fans as the “Sonic Trowel,” it's definitely more out there than The Doctor's new design.
Speaking of designs, let's focus on the particular qualities of The Doctor's new Sonic Screwdriver. As you'll see in the graphic included below, Twelve's Sonic is a little more of an open design than Eleven's more encased design that he received in his debut outing. If the Sonic Screwdriver was a smartphone, Eleven's would be an Apple product, while Twelve's would be a Samsung – especially with the gorgeous blue coloring running through the design.
Most importantly, the new Sonic Screwdriver in The Doctor's possession has some features that look oddly familiar. The blue light, as well as the handling loop on the side of the unit, point to the design being one step closer to that of the screwdriver River is found with when the Tenth Doctor first meets her in Season 4's Silence In The Library. We might not see the end of the character this holiday season, but we are still reminded that her time is running down with each subsequent appearance. For now though, let's go back to that Sonic Trowel design and see what we can find there.
River's Sonic Trowel definitely lives up to its name, as the device has a pointed end that looks good for both combat and horticultural applications. As far as the handle goes, it looks like there's a beautifully colored wooden component that lends for a smooth, if not totally secure, handling on the unit itself. Unfortunately, the angle that the trowel is being held at is a bit obscuring when it comes to discerning any other features this new hardware might possess.
Christmas is usually a whimsical time on Doctor Who, so we'll assume that the brand new toys The Doctor and River have found under the tree will be used for more fun than fearful uses. Still, you never know what's possibly in the works, as danger lurks in every corner of the galaxy, and the show is known for making fans smile one moment – only to cry minutes later. We'll see what “The Husbands Of River Song,” bring to Christmas dinner when the episode airs in BBC America's Christmas night line-up.
