Sonic Screwdriver

The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans, remotely controlling other devices and tracking alien life. It can, with the exception of a deadlock seal or wooden lock, open any type of lock and operate many computers, whether their origin is alien or human.

Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme; spinoff media such as The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood have replicated its functions in devices such as the sonic lipstick, sonic blaster, sonic pen and sonic modulator.

The sonic screwdriver was first introduced in 1968, and was used regularly throughout the Second Doctor's tenure. It became less prominent from the beginning of the Third Doctor's tenure until 1977. It was written out of the series in 1982 due to the limitations it caused when writing for the show. It then featured briefly in the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie, before making a full return in the 2005 continuation of the series.

Throughout the series, there have been many different versions of the sonic screwdriver, as with subsequent Doctors the design of it was changed. It has also been destroyed on a number of occasions, thus leading to the introduction of the next model. Not all iterations of the Doctor have used the sonic on screen; the Fifth Doctor in fact opted not to replace his after it was destroyed.