Doctor Who Series 11: Everything We Know So Far
8. There's A Story Behind That New Sonic Screwdriver
Attracting more than its fair share of media interest is the latest model of the sonic screwdriver. The provocative design, whilst a good way of keeping Doctor Who in the news in the absence of significant spoilers, has unfortunately highlighted the continued divisions within fandom over the decision to cast a female actor as the Time Lord. It’s never been a big issue before, so why now, say the Jodie Whittaker supporters, concluding it must be because she’s a woman. Nonsense, say the others, it looks even more like a sex toy than it ever did before, even in the innuendo laden The Curse of Fatal Death.
We all know what it looks like, regardless of where we stand on the female Doctor issue. What’s more interesting is that how the Doctor comes by this sonic is integral to the plot of the first episode in the series. The last two models of the sonic screwdriver were created by the TARDIS, but having ejected the thirteenth Doctor in Twice Upon a Time, we’ve no idea exactly when or how the time traveller and her ship will be reunited.
It looks like the Doctor will be forced into assembling the gadget herself, using different spare parts - one of which looks suspiciously like a robotic finger. But, you know, that thing everyone thinks it looks like, we can pretty confidently write that one off the list of recycled components.