The sonic screwdriver has been part of Doctor Who lore since 1968, and while its importance in the Classic era varied depending on who was playing The Doctor, it’s become an integral aspect of the show’s modern run. From being able to unlock nearly every lock (deadbolts are a no-go) to being able to study strange energy readings, this is an integral tool in the adventuring Time Lord’s arsenal, and its look frequently changes with each regeneration. This will be the case with David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor, whom we met when Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor regenerated last year, and the sonic screwdriver he’ll be using looks, as the Tenth Doctor would often say, brilliant for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary.
We still have four months to go until the three episodes celebrating Doctor Who’s 60 years on Earth are celebrated, but a special video has been released showing off the sonic screwdriver this new Tennant-played incarnation of The Doctor will wield. Take a look:
This is a pretty elaborate design, even by Doctor Who standards, though it appears to be for good reason. This latest sonic screwdriver looks like it’s a morphing of all the sonic screwdrivers used in the show’s modern era. The bottom half looks primarily influenced by the sonic screwdriver the Ninth and Tenth Doctors used, while the top half looks like a blending of elements from the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor years, and the gold finish Is reminiscent of the yellow light the Thirteenth Doctor’s version of the tool emitted. Because the Fourteenth Doctor is leading the 60th anniversary specials, it’s only fitting that he use a sonic screwdriver that pays tribute to the show’s revival era, which launched in 2005.
Now that this new sonic screwdriver has been revealed, there’s a specific question that’s popped up in my head: how much will we see of it? Yes, the Fourteenth Doctor will almost certainly have it for the entirety of the 60th anniversary specials, but will that be all we see of it, or Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor keep using it? Remember, in Peter Capaldi’s first season as the Twelfth Doctor, he continued using the sonic screwdriver that Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor had, and it wasn’t until the end of the following season that he finally obtained one of his own from the TARDIS, as he’d been relying on sonic sunglasses for a while. This is quite an intricate piece of craftsmanship to only be shown off in for only three episodes, so my money’s on it staying in the Fifteenth Doctor’s hands, at least for his first season.
Although specific airdates for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary episodes haven’t been announced yet, we’ll get to see the Fourteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver in action this November. While Man subscribers still have accessed to the released Doctor Who seasons of the modern era, remember that unless you’re in the United Kingdom or Ireland, you’ll need a Disney+ subscription to watch new episodes going forward. Along with David Tennant, the Doctor Who 60th anniversary cast includes Catherine Tate, Neil Patrick Harris and Yasmin Finney, to name a few.
