Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Gets A New Sonic Screwdriver

The sonic sunglasses were an interesting concept on Doctor Who, but now, it appears as though the sonic screwdriver will be making a return.

Prior to Peter Capaldi joining Doctor Who, the sonic screwdriver was an ever present part of the show. Seemingly every situation involved the screwdriver needing to be used, to the point where the sonic was on screen almost as frequently as the TARDIS. When the Twelfth Doctor came into his own, that reliance on the sonic screwdriver dissipated.

Then, the Doctor found something that truly seemed to fit his persona – the sonic sunglasses. They were quirky and a bit different, but fit the motif of the punk rock Doctor. The shades just fit better than a sonic screwdriver.

Now, the Doctor will once again have sonic screwdriver. In the images for the Christmas Special, The Husbands of River Song, new sonic devices can be seen for both the Doctor and River. The sunglasses appear to be gone, with the standard sonic screwdriver in his hand. It is also worth noting that this screwdriver looks a lot closer to the one that River had in the library during her first appearance in ‘Silence in the Library.’

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Speaking of River’s new sonic device, instead of a screwdriver, she now has what could best be described as a sonic trowel*. This certainly fits her, as she is a time travelling archaeologist, giving her a device appropriate for her personality and something that would be a better fit as a tool than the screwdriver… which isn’t really shaped like one at all. The sunglasses may have simply been an accessory, but they fit with the Twelfth Doctor. The trowel fits with River Song. Hopefully, moving forward, the sonic devices will fit more with the user than just being a slightly different, vaguely wand looking object.

The Twelfth Doctor has his own sonic screwdriver now, and it is one that we saw back when we first met River Song. It is going to be interesting to see how she ends up with it.

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*At first glance, it looked like River was holding a model of the Starship Enterprise with a handle instead of a trowel, but that may have simply been the angle of the photograph.