Doctor Who: Why the Sonic Sunglasses Fit
By David Hill
The Twelfth Doctor is a different being than the previous Doctors before him. He’s a bit rough around the edges, thoroughly harsh more often than not and needs flash cards to help him remember how to commiserate with humanity (this is a brilliant idea incidentally, and something that I need myself). He brings a bit of an old school punk persona to Doctor Who, which is evident in more than Peter Capaldi playing guitar and his former status as the frontman of the Dreamboys.
With this being the case, the Doctor needs accessories that will fit his personality. The wardrobe changes and the TARDIS have both mirrored his sensibilities quite well, but there is one final piece that really had not been seen – his screwdriver. We finally found out why the Twelfth Doctor’s own screwdriver had been missing, since he tossed it to a young Davros, but he failed to get the device back.
Yet, where would he Doctor be without his trusty sonic device? Naturally, this led to some changes, and now, a pair of sonic sunglasses. While this was a fun plot point in The Witch’s Familiar, these sunglasses appear as though they will be around for some time, as the Doctor wore them again in Under the Lake.
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As peculiar, and somewhat amusing, of a device they may be, the sonic sunglasses fit the Twelfth Doctor quite well. The screwdriver is, after all, molded to be a part of their persona, and it is an essential part of who they are. Yet, a screwdriver just does not seem as though it would fit with the Twelfth Doctor. A pair of sunglasses, however, are far more in line with his personality.
It may be that, in time, the sonic sunglasses go the way of the Eleventh Doctor’s fez and fade away in history. However, strange fashion choices have always been a part of the Doctor’s outfit. After all, who can forge the stalk of celery from the Fifth Doctor or the Seventh Doctor raiding The Riddler’s closet? Sunglasses, while different than what we have seen the Doctor use before, are definitely not that outlandish.
Even if the sonic sunglasses are, at this point, not exactly popular amongst Whovians, they simply fit the Twelfth Doctor quite well. With all of the wardrobe changes on Doctor Who, and the different designs to the TARDIS, why not change what the screwdriver can be? Sonic sunglasses are cool, just like a fez or a bowtie.