10 Ways Doctor Who Was Almost Completely Different

2. The Sonic Screwdriver Was Nearly Gone For Good

Michael Jackson Doctor Who
BBC Studios

The sonic screwdriver is a familiar Doctor Who staple today, but that hasn't always been the case.

While NuWho audiences associate the sonic with the Doctor as much as we associate fish with chips, things were a bit different in the Classic Who days. The sonic didn't actually appear until 1968 - five years after the show began to air - and in the 1982 story The Visitation, it was written out of the series completely.

In this Fifth Doctor serial, the sonic is destroyed by a reptilian alien called a Terileptil. This was done because then-producer John Nathan-Turner had issues with the device: he believed that the sonic was too useful, and could help the Doctor out of practically any situation. It didn't make for compelling viewing, and as a result, the Doctor's gadget did not return for the rest of the classic episodes.

Had the makers of the revival adopted Nathan-Turner's mentality, the sonic may have become just another part of Doctor Who legend, instead of the Doctor Who trope it is today. The show just wouldn't be the same without it (even if it is overused at times), and thankfully, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.