I'm a fan of Capaldi's short-lived sonic screwdriver. Great list. What I'd like to see next for the sonic screwdriver is for actually to do wood but a specific type; one that's super rare or found only on one planet.
I liked both of his sonics the glasses and his own season 10 design his actual sonic screwdriver is a good fidget device cause it’s shaped u can twirl it through your fingers sort of like a drummer does with a drumstick and cycle through the 4 settings
The shot of Ten "shooting a laser beam" at the Cybermen from 'The Age of Steel' wasn't the sonic screwdriver, it was the recharging TARDIS power crystal. 🤦
Hold on just a minute. The Cybermen did try wood. However, the 11th(ish) Doctor tricked that Cyberman into self-destructing even though the sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood.
Well it was never stated that the wooden cybermen were actually fully wooded as in there still could’ve been metal mechanisms inside that the sonic was able to manipulate in making it fire on itself as to saying nice try using what looked like a wooden cybermen cause the sonic was still able to detect it wasn’t fully wood
@@kevin10001 The Sonic doesn't work on wood at all, it wouldn't be able to detect metalic parts, if those were hidden beneath the wooden shell. Like Superman's greatest weakness (apart from a piece of his planet) is lead, any items hidden behind a lead plate won't be seen by his x ray vision. So Doctor's Sonic doesn't do wood. He was in the field of truth, he couldn't lie, so he told the wooden Cyberman exactly what he did, he sent a signal (that did nothing, because he didn't tell the Cyberman, that it doesn't work on wood), the Cyberman got tricked into aiming at itself and to destroy itself. Plain simple.
Interestingly, the screwdriver is literally anything but a weapon. It does basically everything apart from attack things. As River once said: River: "What are you doing?" Doctor: "I'm helping!" River: "You've got a screwdriver go build a cabinet!" Doctor: "That's really rude!" If the screwdriver really was a weapon it wouldn't be used by more pacifist doctors like Tennant and Capaldi. And instead each version of the screwdriver reflects the personality of the Doctor it belongs to. 9 and 10's being minimalist and rustic, like scrap thrown together. 11's being large and showy, 12's being futuristic and academic (hence the marker) and later becoming epic sunglasses (don't dis the shades) when 12 is blind and slowly deteriorating into a sort of unhinged depression. And then 13's being practical and multipurpose "like a sonic Swiss army knife only without the knife. Only idiots carry knives." Again, not a weapon. I think Tennant sums it up best in "Doomsday": "It doesn't wound, it doesn't kill, it doesn't maim. That's why I like it. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good... at opening doors."
Literally anything can become a weapon if used with the intent to harm. Also, I've had the good fortune to spend time with members of some rainforest communities who use bush knives several times a day, and they are certainly not idiots. I was not a fan of how narrow-minded and simplistic that line of dialogue for Thirteen was. Ir was also pretty insulting to people like my dad, who carries a Swiss army knife everywhere he's allowed to, and has never once become involved in violence, but many times proved a very useful and ingenious craftsperson. Sure, I know the ham-fisted point that was trying to be made about not carrying a weapon around. It's not a bad message.
Very true, pocket knives can be very useful for many utilities and that does not necessarily mean that the carrier has intent to harm. I am also not a fan of many haphazardly thrown in lines in 13th's dialogue intended to set an "example." I think the writer's wanted to express their disapproval of weapons being carried around as you mentioned, however, I was merely using the quote as an example to support my point. The point of the screwdriver is a multipurpose tool, similar to a pocket knife but without the possibility of it being used to intentionally cause harm. Hopefully with RTD back in charge, the writing will swing the show back to its Sci-Fi roots, instead of making weak attempts to better the country through poor lines of dialogue and massive plot-hole episodes like Orphan-55. @@DavidBeddard
@@orangutanboi23 Doctor Who should always try to make the world better, any good sci-fi worth its salt shows us the truth of ourselves through imagining what could be, but there's really no excuse for sloppy flagship television like what Chibnall presided over.
I'm surprised that Romana's sonic screwdriver wasn't mentioned. Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember it being more advanced than what the doctor had at the time.
Romana’s was definitely her own design and a fair bit more advanced. It was even equipped with a “silencer” which means it didn’t emit a ‘whirr’ like a normal Sonic Probe!
0:10 actually it wasn't the screwdriver iin this episode, il was the thing that gave the TARDIS enough power to leave the parallel planet (2x05 and 2x06)
They explained the wood thing in the 50th special. It was about the time it took to match the frequency resonance or something like that. Thats why the war doctor scanned it, the 10th was still processing and the 11th was able to do it. Obvs it wasnt locked anyway but still. It makes more sense that it can do it but it takes so long its unusable than the lack of communication with the trees having anything to do with it. Especially as that episode decided that trees DO communicate...
A Sonic Baseball Bat would be incredibly cool. Ace is back in the game, so we could definitely see the Companion Family get their own gadgets much like Sarah Jane and her Sonic Lipstick! What would Tegan get though?
Hey love the videos, I think the Sonic isn't a weapon and I'm gonna use a line from the 10th doctor in Doomsday to tell you why..... "Doesn't kill doesn't Wound doesn't maim, but ill tell you what it DOES do, it is very good at opening doors". In my opinion the sonic doesn't do any of that so its not a weapon. Its a tool to aid in my eyes 😊
I've been a Thunderbirds fan since I was a kid in the 60s as well as a Doctor Who fan. A few years ago my wife found me a 3rd Doctor's screwdriver for Christmas. Now I know why there was something familiar about it.
Is the sonic a weapon? Welp, in the words of the 10th Doctor,”Oh, yes. Harmless is just a word. That’s why I like it. Doesn’t kill, doesn’t wound, doesn’t maim.”
1. Do we count the “sonic baton” used by the conductor during Doctor Who Night at the BBC Proms? 2. My head canon: the First Doctor did have a sonic screwdriver as seen in “An Unearthly Child.” (You didn’t think he was using a penlight to find the Tardis door keyhole, did you?) 3. The vulnerability to wood: Since I’m a comics nerd, i’m always reminded of the Golden Age Green Lantern, whose power ring also couldn’t affect wood. 4. I *love* the idea that Pertwee’s Sonic has a Thunderbirds connection!
The Sonic didn’t open the TARDIS doors from the outside not because they were manually locked with the mechanism shown in the clip you used, but because the doors were *deadlocked* from the TARDIS console. I don’t know if this is a thing with the editor using the wrong clips, because it also happened when it was stated thr screwdriver could shoot lasers, and the clip showed something that was NOT the screwdriver.
Loved Sarah jane's sonic lippy (actually had the set with the watch as a kid) also not mad at having thunderbirds are go go round my brain as i love that song especally as it pays hommage to the puppet version of thunderbirds (as did the live action film as puppets were used for some close up shots )
The sonic screwdriver a weapon? Well, a regular screwdriver is not intended as a weapon, but can be used as one. I think the same goes for the sonic screwdriver.
@@BMJgunner remember how it was used in Partners in crime to create a strong soundwave? It clearly looked like it hurt. So like I said, it's not a weapon, but can become one, if misused. Just like a regular screwdriver.
@@BlueSpring3 I was making a joke about when River told The Doctor to Sonic a Cabinet at the silence. But I agree. It's most likely why the doctor keeps it on his person at all times. In the wrong hands it could very well be dangerous
Yes, it’s also a weapon. It’s in the name; screwdriver. As a tool, it can make/remove, assist with tasks, and indirectly kill too. I personally always like 9/10’s sonic the best as both design and an example to being the true definition of its small-term usefulness and deadlines.
5:03 Anything can be used as a weapon if used with the intent to harm. I recommend not dwelling on that thought for too long, though, as it can take you to some pretty dark places. On the flip side, for similar oddly similar reasons, anything can be used as a musical instrument. That you _can_ dwell on for as long as you like, and that takes you to some really cool places!
One thing you forgot to mention is that the sonic screwdriver is one part of a larger, standard, TARDIS maintenance and repair kit (ref. A Doctor Who Technical Manual from the early 1980’s).
I assumed that the 9th and 10th doctor's sonic worked through settings because in "The Doctor Dances" the doctor gave the sonic to Rose and told her a setting, which she did by extending it a specific amount. After "Let's kill Hitler" I just assumed that the Doctor's screwdriver was updated with new technology when he got this new one. Also, side note, 13th's sonic doesn't seem like it has a psychic interface because of how cobbled together it feels and the fact she only had human technology with a bit of Stenza tech but I don't see a way to change the settings on it.
Human technology were mostly the spoons aka Sheffield steel, maybe some sort of whatever she could find in the workshop, but the most tech was from the Stenza, which was pretty much advanced, even for the Doctor to completely understand it. It's an amazing feature on its own, that the Doctor was able to cobble together a working tool from an unknown tech. Yea, I'm almost sure it had various setting, probably even a psychic interface, since the Doctor did lots of readouts from it and there was no visible display. The Doctor sonicked things, then looked at the screwdriver and said whatever it shown her. If that doesn't scream psychic interface, then what does?
@@WhoCulture "Up for debate" is very generous of you. Mid-life crisis vibes. We're lucky he didn't use the chameleon circuit to turn the TARDIS into a Ferrari.
A "weapon" is defined as something intended to cause bodily harm or physical damage, and the Doctor has explicitly stated it's not for that purpose - he even says "Harmless is just the word: that's why I like it! Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim." It's not a weapon, it's a tool.
I think Ellie was having a bit too much fun with this one. Can’t say I blame her, though. TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! What’s you fav. Screwdriver? I would guess River’s for her. 4 or 11/12 for me.
About enemies not creating vast wooden armies to defeat the Doctor... I know it's not an army per say, but isn't this exactly what the Cybermen did to try and sneak past Trenzalore's defences in Twice Upon A Time? :)
It's The Time of the Doctor, not Twice upon a time. But yea, that's where the Cybermen found out, that a wooden army wouldn't work. Also why do people assume, that every single enemy has any knowledge about how exactly a sonic device works, or what materials it does or doesn't do? I find it strange, that the Cybermen would know about the sonic's weakness. They tried wood, because the Doctor outlawed any technology from Trenzalore, except his own, which was only his screwdriver and the TARDIS, if she ever decided to return to him. No other tech was allowed, a regular Cyberman would be quickly detected, while a wooden came as a surprise. It's not that they specifically tried to outsmart the Doctor by taking advantage of the sonic's weakness. They just tried to sneak past the defences.
3:02 Guy with a degree in Theoretical Physics here, with some personal headcanon about The Doctor's magic wand. What is "sonic"? Sound, right? What is sound? Pressure waves. What are waves? Oscillations. What are oscillations? Back and forth movements. Literal wibbly-wobbly! At a quantum level, _everything_ is wibbly-wobbly, oscillating, waving. So if the sonic screwdriver can emit, stimulate, resonate with, and detect quantum oscillations, then it can interact with matter and energy at the quantum level. So it can detect the quantum states of the semiconductors in computers, it can resonate concrete, it can set up vibrational modes in screws. The psychic interface means you point and think, and it feeds back to your brain as if you'd seen, heard, or smelled the information.
Ha! Your plan has been foiled, Ellie. I don't know what that Busted song sounds like, so it's not stuck in my head. And you would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't know any music from those pesky kids.
According to the “War Doctor” he say in the 50th Anniversary special “why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that, it’s a scientific instrument not a weapon.” Or something to that effect. So it’s a SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT 😊😊😊
I want to point out, the 11ths had a psychic interface, the visual dictionary says 9-10s has gallifreyan circuitry which makes a dial or some similar adjusting device where small movements can make a huge change, hence why 9 tells Rose to use setting 1412B (or some such number) to reattach the barbed wire
My head canon is that the Sonic outsources some of its processing capabilities to the TARDIS and they're basically tethered to some extent. Would be neat to see that explored more!
Is the sonic screwdriver a weapon? IMO, its a tool that can be used as a weapon. A regular screwdriver, used to turn screw, can be used as a weapon. Similarly, a hammer. And thank you, Ellie, for "Stop it!" Best laugh Ive had today! : )
Seeing as I take the "Fallout Who Regenerated" mod for Fallout 4 as headcanon to the whoniverse... the answer is yes. Yes, the sonic screwdriver can be weaponized. (Though I believe the "sonic" version only stuns in combat) I like the "voltaic" screwdriver variation, m'self. Using the casing for River Song's screwdriver, because it looks amazing.
I can be used as a weapon. In the 50th they used it against the Daleks, in Fall of the Doctor it was used against the Cybermen and it was also used as a sonic counter during Matt Smiths era. You'd have to imagine that anything based on sonic technology could have destructive possibilities. And the Doctor has even treated it like one before as they did when 10 and 11 came face to face with the War Doctor.
I always interpreted the effectiveness of the three sonics against the Dalek in The Day of The Doctor as being because they were inside a painting, not because they could do that to a real Dalek. But, yes, it absolutely can be used as a weapon. Literally anything can be if used with the intent to cause harm. Just watch Home Alone.
@@StephenLeGresley A real sonic in an artificial environment. It's not that the sonic's abilities change, it's that they're interacting with Time Lord art. The three sonics aren't repulsing a real Dalek, they're resonating magic Time Lord time paint within a frozen moment of time. Of course, none of it makes any sense if you stop to think about it for more than a second, but that's not really the point. My point is that it's not a real Dalek any more than that's the real city of Arcadia trapped in the "painting".
I really like how it was established that the Doctor's sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood, but they released a toy called the Trans-Temporal Sonic Screwdriver that had a get this, a "wood" setting.
My favourite was when the 3 Doctors were locked in the Tower of London, when they realized they were technically all carrying the same Sonic. So they used the time that had passed in their lifetimes to run a programme to figure out how to unlock the door... ...which they hadn't even checked, to see if it was locked, as Clara asked disbelievingly! I wonder what the new "desktop" is going to look like?
From what I remember the tenth doctor firing at the cyberman in the cyberman episodes, that wasn't the sonic screwdriver, that was something to do with the tardis's power thing
I'm surprised that there wasn't a mention of Romana II's Sonic Screwdriver, which was featured in "Horns of Nimon" way back in the Classic era's 17th season.
The sonic used in the classic series was destroyed by Tereleptils in the story "The Visitation", because producer John Nathan-Turner thought it was being over used and wanted the writers to find other ways to get the Doctor out of trouble. So the Sixth and Seventh Doctors didn't have one. It's interesting that Seven was going to make one for Ace. I had never heard that. In Larry Niven's Tales of Known Space series of books, police use "sonic stunners" to knock out criminal suspects. Sometimes these are equipped on drones, or mounted on walls near gates. I always wondered if the sonic screwdriver had that capability. Romulans
Did you know that the sonic screwdriver was actually part of the TARDIS standard tool kit? according to the BBC printed manual that I had as a kid in the late 70s the TARDIS's all came with a standard toolkit which included a sonic screwdriver, amongst other nice tools). This book would have been written during John Pertwee's time by which time the sonic had become cannon in the Doctor Who world.
The sonic screwdriver is very much a weapon, though since it has a psychic link to him, it never resorts to violence or destruction, unless it is absolutely necessary, such as in Closing Time, when it fired a high-energy beam to destroy a cybermat. The sonic is shown to have the same functionality as a laser screwdriver, possibly being more powerful, so it definitely should be considered a weapon.
"YOU HAVE A SCREWDRIVER, GO BUILD A CABINET!" "THAT'S REALLY RUDE 😢😢😢!" Also 10:25, would said unlimited snacks be automatically thrown away when they go off/rotten/mouldy/icky?
I had made the same mistake before thinking it was the sonic screwdriver that the Doctor used in the Age of Steel to fire the beam at the Cybermen. No, it's a Tardis power cell. It's the same device he used previously to store regenerative energy to begin the charging process so the Tardis could get back to their universe. The sonic screwdriver never fires an energy beam out of it. It's always only sound.
No. The sonic is not a weapon. It is a tool, designed to assist. A perfect fit for a man with two hearts, who travels around in a living machine, that has “for help and assistance ” written on the outside…. This is paraphrased from something Moffat once said, and I consider it to be the only useful thing he contributed to the show during his time as show runner.
Hi Elle I love your videos. To answer your question. Is a sonic screwdriver a weapon? A normal screwdriver is definitely a weapon I asked chat GPT for a few examples and it was able to give four below, so on the basis that anything can become a weapon if used as one, including an ordinary sheet of paper and a pen being mightier than the sword. A sonic is definitely a weapon, but mostly just a tool. In 2015, a man in Chicago was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing his roommate with a screwdriver during a dispute. In 2017, a man in the United Kingdom was convicted of murdering his partner by stabbing her multiple times with a screwdriver. In 2018, a woman in California was arrested and charged with murder for allegedly using a screwdriver to kill her husband. In 2020, a man in India was accused of fatally stabbing his coworker with a screwdriver during an altercation.
I don't know if you make this comparison in the video, but it makes me think of KNIGHT RIDER's K.I.T.T.'s ability to unlock doors & manipulate radio-signals etc. Maybe KNIGHT RIDER is a 'prequel' to Doctor Who?
Joanna Lumley as The Doctor noted that _her_ sonic screwdriver had three speed settings... Imagining on our own Doctor Who episode where conjoined twins Cathy and Ann Odine of the Acme Intergalactic company offer to help repair the Tardis chameleon circuit and ask for the sonic screwdriver. Upon trying to use it, the underside of the console erupts into _spitzensparkens_ followed by _bloodiphuquenscreamin_ from the twins. "Oy! You circuit bent this! That's a EULA violation!" Speaking of EULA violations, The Master tried to zap them with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, but they just snatch it out of his hands. They bring up the device's usage logs and, clamping onto The Master's ear, drags him to his Tardis to make him 'unsquish everyone he'd squished'. Seems the Acme TCI is reversible and is used for saving space on passenger or cargo spaceships.
I have to chuckle when people object "it doesn't work on wood!" when the sonic is used on a wooden door/window, because doors and windows usually have locks made of metal inside them. There's no reason, therefore, why the sonic screwdriver couldn't be used to unlock a wooden door/window on that basis.
I know there's a bunch of comments here but I hope you see this. Also I know this is the wrong video but it's your most recent. Why is no one talking about how Donna won the lottery? In her final moment on screen the doctor gives her a lottery ticket as a wedding present. Donna states it's a triple rollover. I know it doesn't say she won but it really would be a bad present if she didn't. Anyway I hope RTD addresses this. Thanks
definatly a tool, that like manny tools in history can double as a weapon (think wood axe, pitch fork, meat cleaver, sledge hammer) can be a realy dangerous tool
I would say no because war doctor once said here we go at the pointing again. They're scientific instruments, not water pistols, which would technically indicate weapons a little bit of a stab in the dark, but hey.
Doesn’t 9 imply that, in conversation with Captain Jack, he got his Sonic Screwdriver from the same factory as Jack’s Sonic Blaster in “The Doctor Dances”? I knew the screwdriver was in the OG show but I haven’t watched much of it so I thought it was a plot hole that the Tardis would give him a knew one and that if (when) he broke it that he’d have to repair it himself.
Is the sonic a weapon? Nah! The War Doctor kinda pointed that out with "What are you going to do, build a cabinet against them?" And didn't River point out while fighting The Silence, "You've got a screwdriver!" Besides, the Doctor shuns weapons. Cheers....
Of course The Doctor would argue that the Sonic is not a weapon, but that's like arguing that a hatchet isn't a weapon because you don't use it that way. It's all perception.
I'm a fan of Capaldi's short-lived sonic screwdriver. Great list. What I'd like to see next for the sonic screwdriver is for actually to do wood but a specific type; one that's super rare or found only on one planet.
It needs to be able to do apple wood, but only after someone points out to the doctor that he is holding it wrong.
@@zakpappnasethe person that says that HAS to be River.
Like how she lectures him on the fact that he doesn't know how to fly the TARDIS.
I liked both of his sonics the glasses and his own season 10 design his actual sonic screwdriver is a good fidget device cause it’s shaped u can twirl it through your fingers sort of like a drummer does with a drumstick and cycle through the 4 settings
The shot of Ten "shooting a laser beam" at the Cybermen from 'The Age of Steel' wasn't the sonic screwdriver, it was the recharging TARDIS power crystal. 🤦
First thing I wanted to say.
Yeah. Not the same but In closing time a sort of beam comes out and hits a cybermat.
@DanBen07 and also day of the doctor all 3 of the doctors create some type of beam to destroy the dalek
I imagine the script was written with the scenes from Closing Time in mind and the editor just got a tad muddled
Right. It does seem to fire off laser beams in Day of the Moon against the Silence, at least.
Hold on just a minute. The Cybermen did try wood. However, the 11th(ish) Doctor tricked that Cyberman into self-destructing even though the sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood.
I understood what he did as placebo.
Well it was never stated that the wooden cybermen were actually fully wooded as in there still could’ve been metal mechanisms inside that the sonic was able to manipulate in making it fire on itself as to saying nice try using what looked like a wooden cybermen cause the sonic was still able to detect it wasn’t fully wood
@@kevin10001 The Sonic doesn't work on wood at all, it wouldn't be able to detect metalic parts, if those were hidden beneath the wooden shell. Like Superman's greatest weakness (apart from a piece of his planet) is lead, any items hidden behind a lead plate won't be seen by his x ray vision. So Doctor's Sonic doesn't do wood. He was in the field of truth, he couldn't lie, so he told the wooden Cyberman exactly what he did, he sent a signal (that did nothing, because he didn't tell the Cyberman, that it doesn't work on wood), the Cyberman got tricked into aiming at itself and to destroy itself. Plain simple.
Interestingly, the screwdriver is literally anything but a weapon. It does basically everything apart from attack things. As River once said:
River: "What are you doing?"
Doctor: "I'm helping!"
River: "You've got a screwdriver go build a cabinet!"
Doctor: "That's really rude!"
If the screwdriver really was a weapon it wouldn't be used by more pacifist doctors like Tennant and Capaldi. And instead each version of the screwdriver reflects the personality of the Doctor it belongs to. 9 and 10's being minimalist and rustic, like scrap thrown together. 11's being large and showy, 12's being futuristic and academic (hence the marker) and later becoming epic sunglasses (don't dis the shades) when 12 is blind and slowly deteriorating into a sort of unhinged depression. And then 13's being practical and multipurpose "like a sonic Swiss army knife only without the knife. Only idiots carry knives." Again, not a weapon. I think Tennant sums it up best in "Doomsday":
"It doesn't wound, it doesn't kill, it doesn't maim. That's why I like it. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good... at opening doors."
I wouldn’t say the sonic is a weapon, more of a tool or utility
Literally anything can become a weapon if used with the intent to harm. Also, I've had the good fortune to spend time with members of some rainforest communities who use bush knives several times a day, and they are certainly not idiots. I was not a fan of how narrow-minded and simplistic that line of dialogue for Thirteen was. Ir was also pretty insulting to people like my dad, who carries a Swiss army knife everywhere he's allowed to, and has never once become involved in violence, but many times proved a very useful and ingenious craftsperson. Sure, I know the ham-fisted point that was trying to be made about not carrying a weapon around. It's not a bad message.
Very true, pocket knives can be very useful for many utilities and that does not necessarily mean that the carrier has intent to harm. I am also not a fan of many haphazardly thrown in lines in 13th's dialogue intended to set an "example." I think the writer's wanted to express their disapproval of weapons being carried around as you mentioned, however, I was merely using the quote as an example to support my point. The point of the screwdriver is a multipurpose tool, similar to a pocket knife but without the possibility of it being used to intentionally cause harm. Hopefully with RTD back in charge, the writing will swing the show back to its Sci-Fi roots, instead of making weak attempts to better the country through poor lines of dialogue and massive plot-hole episodes like Orphan-55. @@DavidBeddard
@@orangutanboi23 Doctor Who should always try to make the world better, any good sci-fi worth its salt shows us the truth of ourselves through imagining what could be, but there's really no excuse for sloppy flagship television like what Chibnall presided over.
@@DavidBeddard Exactly
I'm surprised that Romana's sonic screwdriver wasn't mentioned. Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember it being more advanced than what the doctor had at the time.
Yeah, right? When it mentioned Ace's almost, I expected her's, but alright, I guess
Romana’s was definitely her own design and a fair bit more advanced. It was even equipped with a “silencer” which means it didn’t emit a ‘whirr’ like a normal Sonic Probe!
Yeh it was in horns of the nimon episode, Romana made the screwdriver herself.
Didn't she leave it in the control room / cockpit of the ship they landed on?
@@geoffroi-le-Hook I think? But she’s built countless others since then in expanded media.
0:10 actually it wasn't the screwdriver iin this episode, il was the thing that gave the TARDIS enough power to leave the parallel planet (2x05 and 2x06)
They explained the wood thing in the 50th special. It was about the time it took to match the frequency resonance or something like that. Thats why the war doctor scanned it, the 10th was still processing and the 11th was able to do it. Obvs it wasnt locked anyway but still. It makes more sense that it can do it but it takes so long its unusable than the lack of communication with the trees having anything to do with it. Especially as that episode decided that trees DO communicate...
Ellie, not only do I have the Thunderbirds theme stuck in my head it's actually my ringtone! 🤯🚀
4:44 i love the round things
"What ARE the round things?"
@@VinnieBartilucci No idea
Surely if Ace was to get a Sonic device, it would have to be slightly larger than a screwdriver, say more baseball bat sized.
Ace would most likely have a sonic baseball bat.
A Sonic Baseball Bat would be incredibly cool. Ace is back in the game, so we could definitely see the Companion Family get their own gadgets much like Sarah Jane and her Sonic Lipstick! What would Tegan get though?
was not expecting the Thunderbirds to be in this. Fair play
Hey love the videos, I think the Sonic isn't a weapon and I'm gonna use a line from the 10th doctor in Doomsday to tell you why..... "Doesn't kill doesn't Wound doesn't maim, but ill tell you what it DOES do, it is very good at opening doors". In my opinion the sonic doesn't do any of that so its not a weapon. Its a tool to aid in my eyes 😊
"the sonic has always maintained the same basic design" well THAT didn't age well did it
I've been a Thunderbirds fan since I was a kid in the 60s as well as a Doctor Who fan. A few years ago my wife found me a 3rd Doctor's screwdriver for Christmas. Now I know why there was something familiar about it.
according to the Doctor Dances, the SS has a twisty number setting with specific numbers performing different unique functions.
i'm really very sorry to interrupt our programming, but Ellie doing Thunderbirds was just too cute for words..
Is the sonic a weapon? Welp, in the words of the 10th Doctor,”Oh, yes. Harmless is just a word. That’s why I like it. Doesn’t kill, doesn’t wound, doesn’t maim.”
1. Do we count the “sonic baton” used by the conductor during Doctor Who Night at the BBC Proms?
2. My head canon: the First Doctor did have a sonic screwdriver as seen in “An Unearthly Child.” (You didn’t think he was using a penlight to find the Tardis door keyhole, did you?)
3. The vulnerability to wood: Since I’m a comics nerd, i’m always reminded of the Golden Age Green Lantern, whose power ring also couldn’t affect wood.
4. I *love* the idea that Pertwee’s Sonic has a Thunderbirds connection!
Young me loved the 2000s thunderbird movie and that song, haven't thought about it in so long
Awww love that the sonic is related to the TARDIS, so cute and love your "urhhhs" in this 😅
Always love your lists!
The Sonic didn’t open the TARDIS doors from the outside not because they were manually locked with the mechanism shown in the clip you used, but because the doors were *deadlocked* from the TARDIS console.
I don’t know if this is a thing with the editor using the wrong clips, because it also happened when it was stated thr screwdriver could shoot lasers, and the clip showed something that was NOT the screwdriver.
Loved Sarah jane's sonic lippy (actually had the set with the watch as a kid) also not mad at having thunderbirds are go go round my brain as i love that song especally as it pays hommage to the puppet version of thunderbirds (as did the live action film as puppets were used for some close up shots )
The sonic screwdriver a weapon? Well, a regular screwdriver is not intended as a weapon, but can be used as one. I think the same goes for the sonic screwdriver.
What is he gonna do, sonic a cabinet at them
@@BMJgunner remember how it was used in Partners in crime to create a strong soundwave? It clearly looked like it hurt. So like I said, it's not a weapon, but can become one, if misused. Just like a regular screwdriver.
@@BlueSpring3 I was making a joke about when River told The Doctor to Sonic a Cabinet at the silence. But I agree. It's most likely why the doctor keeps it on his person at all times. In the wrong hands it could very well be dangerous
@@BMJgunner I know what you meant. The sonic is not surposed to be a weapon, but it can be.
Yes, it’s also a weapon. It’s in the name; screwdriver. As a tool, it can make/remove, assist with tasks, and indirectly kill too. I personally always like 9/10’s sonic the best as both design and an example to being the true definition of its small-term usefulness and deadlines.
A wonderful episode featuring the erudite elegant and effervescent Ellie Littlechild 😁
5:03 Anything can be used as a weapon if used with the intent to harm. I recommend not dwelling on that thought for too long, though, as it can take you to some pretty dark places. On the flip side, for similar oddly similar reasons, anything can be used as a musical instrument. That you _can_ dwell on for as long as you like, and that takes you to some really cool places!
One thing you forgot to mention is that the sonic screwdriver is one part of a larger, standard, TARDIS maintenance and repair kit (ref. A Doctor Who Technical Manual from the early 1980’s).
That TARDIS repair kit made an appearance in Mawdryn Undead, I think.
I assumed that the 9th and 10th doctor's sonic worked through settings because in "The Doctor Dances" the doctor gave the sonic to Rose and told her a setting, which she did by extending it a specific amount. After "Let's kill Hitler" I just assumed that the Doctor's screwdriver was updated with new technology when he got this new one. Also, side note, 13th's sonic doesn't seem like it has a psychic interface because of how cobbled together it feels and the fact she only had human technology with a bit of Stenza tech but I don't see a way to change the settings on it.
Human technology were mostly the spoons aka Sheffield steel, maybe some sort of whatever she could find in the workshop, but the most tech was from the Stenza, which was pretty much advanced, even for the Doctor to completely understand it. It's an amazing feature on its own, that the Doctor was able to cobble together a working tool from an unknown tech. Yea, I'm almost sure it had various setting, probably even a psychic interface, since the Doctor did lots of readouts from it and there was no visible display. The Doctor sonicked things, then looked at the screwdriver and said whatever it shown her. If that doesn't scream psychic interface, then what does?
THE SONIC SUNGLASSES ARE FANTASTIC!!!!! 🥲🥹
THAT IS UP FOR DEBATE
@@WhoCulture "Up for debate" is very generous of you. Mid-life crisis vibes. We're lucky he didn't use the chameleon circuit to turn the TARDIS into a Ferrari.
Ellie, Fantastic Pod!
A "weapon" is defined as something intended to cause bodily harm or physical damage, and the Doctor has explicitly stated it's not for that purpose - he even says "Harmless is just the word: that's why I like it! Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim." It's not a weapon, it's a tool.
Ace should have a Sonic baseball bat.
Totally agree!
Little attention to detail, Tennant holds the Sonic like Pertwee when he locks the Tardis in Utopia trying to stop the Master before the cliffhanger.
"STOP IT" Omg Ellie hahaaaaa!!! Great video. Forgot Romana's sonic though.
I think Ellie was having a bit too much fun with this one. Can’t say I blame her, though. TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! What’s you fav. Screwdriver? I would guess River’s for her. 4 or 11/12 for me.
River's is Ellie's favourite for sure!
About enemies not creating vast wooden armies to defeat the Doctor... I know it's not an army per say, but isn't this exactly what the Cybermen did to try and sneak past Trenzalore's defences in Twice Upon A Time? :)
It's The Time of the Doctor, not Twice upon a time. But yea, that's where the Cybermen found out, that a wooden army wouldn't work. Also why do people assume, that every single enemy has any knowledge about how exactly a sonic device works, or what materials it does or doesn't do? I find it strange, that the Cybermen would know about the sonic's weakness. They tried wood, because the Doctor outlawed any technology from Trenzalore, except his own, which was only his screwdriver and the TARDIS, if she ever decided to return to him. No other tech was allowed, a regular Cyberman would be quickly detected, while a wooden came as a surprise. It's not that they specifically tried to outsmart the Doctor by taking advantage of the sonic's weakness. They just tried to sneak past the defences.
3:02 Guy with a degree in Theoretical Physics here, with some personal headcanon about The Doctor's magic wand. What is "sonic"? Sound, right? What is sound? Pressure waves. What are waves? Oscillations. What are oscillations? Back and forth movements. Literal wibbly-wobbly! At a quantum level, _everything_ is wibbly-wobbly, oscillating, waving. So if the sonic screwdriver can emit, stimulate, resonate with, and detect quantum oscillations, then it can interact with matter and energy at the quantum level. So it can detect the quantum states of the semiconductors in computers, it can resonate concrete, it can set up vibrational modes in screws. The psychic interface means you point and think, and it feeds back to your brain as if you'd seen, heard, or smelled the information.
Ha! Your plan has been foiled, Ellie.
I don't know what that Busted song sounds like, so it's not stuck in my head.
And you would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't know any music from those pesky kids.
According to the “War Doctor” he say in the 50th Anniversary special “why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that, it’s a scientific instrument not a weapon.” Or something to that effect.
So it’s a SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT 😊😊😊
I want to point out, the 11ths had a psychic interface, the visual dictionary says 9-10s has gallifreyan circuitry which makes a dial or some similar adjusting device where small movements can make a huge change, hence why 9 tells Rose to use setting 1412B (or some such number) to reattach the barbed wire
5:01 in the words of the war doctor “they are screwdrivers not instruments of war, what are you going to do?! Assemble a cabinet at them?!!”
My head canon is that the Sonic outsources some of its processing capabilities to the TARDIS and they're basically tethered to some extent. Would be neat to see that explored more!
Imagine a sonic screwdriver made out of wood. But it still doesn't work with wood 😂
Is the sonic screwdriver a weapon? IMO, its a tool that can be used as a weapon. A regular screwdriver, used to turn screw, can be used as a weapon. Similarly, a hammer.
And thank you, Ellie, for "Stop it!" Best laugh Ive had today! : )
Seeing as I take the "Fallout Who Regenerated" mod for Fallout 4 as headcanon to the whoniverse... the answer is yes.
Yes, the sonic screwdriver can be weaponized. (Though I believe the "sonic" version only stuns in combat)
I like the "voltaic" screwdriver variation, m'self.
Using the casing for River Song's screwdriver, because it looks amazing.
I can be used as a weapon. In the 50th they used it against the Daleks, in Fall of the Doctor it was used against the Cybermen and it was also used as a sonic counter during Matt Smiths era. You'd have to imagine that anything based on sonic technology could have destructive possibilities.
And the Doctor has even treated it like one before as they did when 10 and 11 came face to face with the War Doctor.
I always interpreted the effectiveness of the three sonics against the Dalek in The Day of The Doctor as being because they were inside a painting, not because they could do that to a real Dalek. But, yes, it absolutely can be used as a weapon. Literally anything can be if used with the intent to cause harm. Just watch Home Alone.
@@DavidBeddard How would being inside the painting effect the sonic's abilities?
@@StephenLeGresley A real sonic in an artificial environment. It's not that the sonic's abilities change, it's that they're interacting with Time Lord art. The three sonics aren't repulsing a real Dalek, they're resonating magic Time Lord time paint within a frozen moment of time. Of course, none of it makes any sense if you stop to think about it for more than a second, but that's not really the point. My point is that it's not a real Dalek any more than that's the real city of Arcadia trapped in the "painting".
I appreciate the Busted shoutout
I really like how it was established that the Doctor's sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood, but they released a toy called the Trans-Temporal Sonic Screwdriver that had a get this, a "wood" setting.
My favourite was when the 3 Doctors were locked in the Tower of London, when they realized they were technically all carrying the same Sonic. So they used the time that had passed in their lifetimes to run a programme to figure out how to unlock the door...
...which they hadn't even checked, to see if it was locked, as Clara asked disbelievingly!
I wonder what the new "desktop" is going to look like?
Should we start pitching episode titles for if the sonic screwdriver has the whole energy shoved into a human body thing to it like the tardis did
"The Doctor's Tool" doesn't really sound appropriate does it
@@danthemeegs8751 sounds like something you would see on phub
Loved Capaldi’s sonic sunglasses
4:03 Oh, the innocence of youth.
From what I remember the tenth doctor firing at the cyberman in the cyberman episodes, that wasn't the sonic screwdriver, that was something to do with the tardis's power thing
I'm surprised that there wasn't a mention of Romana II's Sonic Screwdriver, which was featured in "Horns of Nimon" way back in the Classic era's 17th season.
The sonic used in the classic series was destroyed by Tereleptils in the story "The Visitation", because producer John Nathan-Turner thought it was being over used and wanted the writers to find other ways to get the Doctor out of trouble. So the Sixth and Seventh Doctors didn't have one. It's interesting that Seven was going to make one for Ace. I had never heard that.
In Larry Niven's Tales of Known Space series of books, police use "sonic stunners" to knock out criminal suspects. Sometimes these are equipped on drones, or mounted on walls near gates. I always wondered if the sonic screwdriver had that capability.
Romulans
Did you know that the sonic screwdriver was actually part of the TARDIS standard tool kit? according to the BBC printed manual that I had as a kid in the late 70s the TARDIS's all came with a standard toolkit which included a sonic screwdriver, amongst other nice tools). This book would have been written during John Pertwee's time by which time the sonic had become cannon in the Doctor Who world.
The sonic screwdriver is very much a weapon, though since it has a psychic link to him, it never resorts to violence or destruction, unless it is absolutely necessary, such as in Closing Time, when it fired a high-energy beam to destroy a cybermat. The sonic is shown to have the same functionality as a laser screwdriver, possibly being more powerful, so it definitely should be considered a weapon.
Just noticed that the new 14th Doctor's sonic screwdriver has a similar build to River Song's sonic trowel. Coincidence?
I liked the sonic glasses because they made sense. They acted as a HUD for the info the sonic picked up.
"YOU HAVE A SCREWDRIVER, GO BUILD A CABINET!"
"THAT'S REALLY RUDE 😢😢😢!"
Also 10:25, would said unlimited snacks be automatically thrown away when they go off/rotten/mouldy/icky?
I had made the same mistake before thinking it was the sonic screwdriver that the Doctor used in the Age of Steel to fire the beam at the Cybermen. No, it's a Tardis power cell. It's the same device he used previously to store regenerative energy to begin the charging process so the Tardis could get back to their universe. The sonic screwdriver never fires an energy beam out of it. It's always only sound.
No. The sonic is not a weapon. It is a tool, designed to assist. A perfect fit for a man with two hearts, who travels around in a living machine, that has “for help and assistance ” written on the outside…. This is paraphrased from something Moffat once said, and I consider it to be the only useful thing he contributed to the show during his time as show runner.
The Sonic is as much a weapon as hairspray or oil on their own. But, combine it with something else and it could definitely do some damage.
"Pays homage to just about every single previous version of the prop" *goes on to list the whopping amount of two previous versions* XD
The sonic screwdriver is also a cure for writer's block in the "How are they gonna' get outta' this?" situation... ;-P
04:57 No, the sonic screwdrivers are not weapons. They are scientific instruments, not water pistols.
Hi Elle I love your videos. To answer your question. Is a sonic screwdriver a weapon? A normal screwdriver is definitely a weapon I asked chat GPT for a few examples and it was able to give four below, so on the basis that anything can become a weapon if used as one, including an ordinary sheet of paper and a pen being mightier than the sword. A sonic is definitely a weapon, but mostly just a tool.
In 2015, a man in Chicago was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing his roommate with a screwdriver during a dispute.
In 2017, a man in the United Kingdom was convicted of murdering his partner by stabbing her multiple times with a screwdriver.
In 2018, a woman in California was arrested and charged with murder for allegedly using a screwdriver to kill her husband.
In 2020, a man in India was accused of fatally stabbing his coworker with a screwdriver during an altercation.
Brilliant. Wonderfully FUN. Thanks.
I don't know if you make this comparison in the video, but it makes me think of KNIGHT RIDER's K.I.T.T.'s ability to unlock doors & manipulate radio-signals etc. Maybe KNIGHT RIDER is a 'prequel' to Doctor Who?
A weapon? "What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?"
Joanna Lumley as The Doctor noted that _her_ sonic screwdriver had three speed settings...
Imagining on our own Doctor Who episode where conjoined twins Cathy and Ann Odine of the Acme Intergalactic company offer to help repair the Tardis chameleon circuit and ask for the sonic screwdriver. Upon trying to use it, the underside of the console erupts into _spitzensparkens_ followed by _bloodiphuquenscreamin_ from the twins.
"Oy! You circuit bent this! That's a EULA violation!"
Speaking of EULA violations, The Master tried to zap them with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, but they just snatch it out of his hands. They bring up the device's usage logs and, clamping onto The Master's ear, drags him to his Tardis to make him 'unsquish everyone he'd squished'. Seems the Acme TCI is reversible and is used for saving space on passenger or cargo spaceships.
4:42 and the best part yet: it _does not_ resemble a marital aid!
Explicitly not a weapon, it’s a tool. Like a normal screwdriver, it can be USED as a weapon, but it’s a tool. Also, where’s Romana’s screwdriver here?
you got the song stuck in my head
The fact that the real "sonic screwdriver" was designed for Doctors to use is just icing on the cake!
Wouldn't we all love to hear The Doctor say, "Sonic Knickers!"?!?
I have to chuckle when people object "it doesn't work on wood!" when the sonic is used on a wooden door/window, because doors and windows usually have locks made of metal inside them. There's no reason, therefore, why the sonic screwdriver couldn't be used to unlock a wooden door/window on that basis.
I know there's a bunch of comments here but I hope you see this. Also I know this is the wrong video but it's your most recent. Why is no one talking about how Donna won the lottery? In her final moment on screen the doctor gives her a lottery ticket as a wedding present. Donna states it's a triple rollover. I know it doesn't say she won but it really would be a bad present if she didn't. Anyway I hope RTD addresses this. Thanks
we need an episode of the dolphin series about the tardis
It really REALLY needs to open deadlock seals
“Doesn’t sound doesn’t kill doesn’t maim” not a weapon
The subtext of a man in a box cruising the universe and picking up women and wielding his sonic screwdriver needs to be mentioned.
Love the shades
A sonic screwdrivers could be used as a weapon much in the same way a normal screwdriver could be used as a weapon
To your question 'is the sonic screwdriver a weapon?'-The sonic is a tool, but tools can be used as weapons
definatly a tool, that like manny tools in history can double as a weapon (think wood axe, pitch fork, meat cleaver, sledge hammer) can be a realy dangerous tool
the sunglasses were why i dipped as a fan lmfaoooo
I would say no because war doctor once said here we go at the pointing again. They're scientific instruments, not water pistols, which would technically indicate weapons a little bit of a stab in the dark, but hey.
Doesn’t 9 imply that, in conversation with Captain Jack, he got his Sonic Screwdriver from the same factory as Jack’s Sonic Blaster in “The Doctor Dances”? I knew the screwdriver was in the OG show but I haven’t watched much of it so I thought it was a plot hole that the Tardis would give him a knew one and that if (when) he broke it that he’d have to repair it himself.
At this point I’ve stopped calling the device the "Sonic Screwdriver" and privately been dubbing it the "Muguffin Multi-tool".
trees do communicate though, all plants do
Is the sonic a weapon? Nah! The War Doctor kinda pointed that out with "What are you going to do, build a cabinet against them?" And didn't River point out while fighting The Silence, "You've got a screwdriver!" Besides, the Doctor shuns weapons. Cheers....
Why am I now tempted to make a sonic trowel? It's not even the sonic device in question.
You forgot to mention Romania’s sonic screwdriver…she made it herself, but unfortunately leaves it behind the one episode she uses it
Of course The Doctor would argue that the Sonic is not a weapon, but that's like arguing that a hatchet isn't a weapon because you don't use it that way. It's all perception.
Sonic screwdriver aren't weapons, I would call them simply a tool. 10th outright said 'Doesn't kill, Doesn't wound, doesn't maim, doesn't harm'
The new "Ultimate" sonic (& 14's Costume) is clearly designed for the actor swapping cameos in the specials
Wishful thinking, but not out of the realm of possibility! 14 being the retro-regen Doctor would be awesome!
No, the sonic was never used to cook a turkey. LOL!
What about Iris Wildthyme's sonic corkscrew from the extended media?