Doctor Who: 10 Big Questions After The Witch's Familiar
4. Is The Sonic Screwdriver Gone Forever?
And so one marketable piece of merchandise is gone forever; the Doctor gives up his sonic screwdriver to save the child Davros only to replace it with - surprise - a new pair of sonic sunglasses. He had been wearing them since last week and used him here in spectacular style to resurrect the TARDIS and get Clara and himself out of the crumbing Dalek city.
But is the sonic screwdriver gone forever? The sunglasses might suit the Twelfth Doctor's new playful persona but I can't imagine every Doctor for years to come wearing them. Will we get sonic keys? A sonic mug? A sonic toothbrush? Perhaps this is the start of something new. The sunglasses might also allow the 'sonic' to be used more sporadically in the future; quelling regular moans that it is used as a deux machina for every situation.
After all, the sonic screwdriver has been in existence since the days of the Second Doctor but it is only in 'Nu Who' that it has been part of almost every episode.