Doctor Who: Every Sonic Screwdriver Ranked Worst To Best
2. The Third Doctor’s Sonic (1971 - 1973)
Though introduced in the Second Doctor’s era, the sonic only really came into its own alongside Jon Pertwee.
He wasn’t granted a model of his own immediately (though we do see the Doctor and Liz use a suspiciously sonic-esque device to open doors in Inferno), but the one he did eventually end up with starting in Colony in Space was a huge improvement on the original – a proper, looks-the-part gadget with distinctive yellow and black stripes on the upper half and thick black detailing on the handle.
Admittedly, it was still part of the trend of the production team skimping on prop design due to using elements from Gerry Anderson productions as its basis – which means that the sonic screwdriver has technically featured in Thunderbirds.
But the design is so good that it doesn’t matter. And even if it wasn’t, anything would've been better than a penlight!
This sonic established the “silver body, ringed emitter and suspended bullet” template that would endure until the 2005 revival. It was also the first to be placed front-and-centre, not just being used to open doors, but to ward off monsters like Sea Devils and Drashigs.
It’s easily the snazziest and most iconic sonic of the classic era.