Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'Oxygen'
4. Is The Sonic Screwdriver Coming Back?
With the exception of last week’s wood filled episode (Knock, Knock) where it was reduced to a torch, the Doctor’s latest model of sonic screwdriver has featured prominently in series 10. It was quite a shock then to see the gadget destroyed.
The Sonic Screwdriver’s longest break from the series came after its destruction in the 1982 Peter Davison episode, The Visitation. Producer John Nathan-Turner was not a fan and deliberately had the plot saving device written out. We didn’t see it again until the 1996 TV Movie, but it has been a mainstay of the show ever since (with the notable exception of series 9). It has performed a bewildering number of functions, but above all it has stood as a symbol for the Doctor’s pacifism, so surely it will be back again soon?
To be fair, the sonic has been far from indestructible since 2005 and as we’ve seen in his office in St Luke’s the Doctor has amassed quite a collection, which even includes the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor’s screwdriver, which was rendered inoperative in The Magician’s Apprentice.
Can it be a coincidence that the screwdriver has gone in the very episode in which the Doctor loses his eyesight and needs to revert back to his sonic shades? The sunglasses took over from the screwdriver in series 8 until the TARDIS made a nice shiny new one in Hell Bent.
If it does make a return, as seems likely, will it be connected to the Doctor’s sight returning and will it be a completely different model?