“Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, this could be a little more sonic?” Why, only the Doctor of course. Here’s every sonic screwdriver ranked from worst to best.
Where would The Doctor be without the sonic screwdriver in Doctor Who?
Over the last 60 years, the handy device has helped to get Time Lord out of plenty of scrapes, with its ability to break locks, turn on machines and sometimes just blow things up.
Always managing to do what the Doctor needs – unless wood is involved, of course – the sonic has become as important to the time traveller as the TARDIS, human friends, and a bold taste in coats.
Yet, despite being a constant in The Doctor’s life, the sonic had changed many times, having nearly as many faces as its ancient owner. So, what better way to remind ourselves of all those incarnations than by ranking them?
In honour of the faithful gadget, we’ve put together a list of every Doctor Who sonic screwdriver ranked from worst to best. We’ll be basing our rankings on elements like: what each sonic can do, how it’s been used and its basic design. Plus, we’ll be linking out to our favourite sonic replicas and toys so you can buy one for yourself.
So, let’s get sonic-ed up and take a closer look at everyone’s favourite multi-tool.
Every Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver ranked from worst to best
12. Second Doctor
The first sonic screwdriver appeared in 1968’s Fury of the Deep and was literally used for unscrewing screws. Later on it did get put to other uses, like amplifying companion Victoria’s screams to destroy a parasitic seaweed, as well as unlocking a few doors, hatches, and panels across the Second Doctor’s adventures.
We thank this sonic for its service, especially as the first one, but ultimately, the simple pen design just doesn’t do it for us and the device was only used a few times before being reinvented for Pertwee years.
11. Fifth Doctor
Although the Fifth Doctor’s screwdriver shared the iconic red and silver look that many fans of the classic series will love, it only appeared once or twice before being destroyed by a Terileptil in 1982. After that, it didn’t return until the Seventh Doctor’s era.
We’ll give the Doctor points for saying “I feel like you’ve just killed an old friend” when it was destroyed. But we can’t quite forgive him for those sad sonic-less years.
Buy Fifth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £44.99 at Ebay
10. Twelfth Doctor
After switching from the Eleventh Doctor’s green screwdriver to the sonic sunglasses of series nine, the Twelfth Doctor only got around to having his own screwdriver during his last season on the show.
When he finally did, we weren’t that impressed. Although this sonic has all the hallmarks of a classic sci-fi McGuffin – bright lights, whirring noises, etc – for us it’s almost too perfect and shiny, feeling far more like a lightsaber than a screwdriver. Plus, it doesn’t fit with the overall edginess of Capaldi’s Doctor, which came out more as the seasons progressed.
Buy Twelfth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £38.07 at Etsy
9. War Doctor
In the 50th anniversary special, the War Doctor said that sonic screwdrivers were “scientific instruments, not water pistols,” and while this may be true, we can’t really get on board with his plain metal rod of a screwdriver.
There’s no denying that it fits the straightforward soldier that is John Hurt’s regeneration – but the flamboyance and pointless flashiness of the sonic is exactly what makes it so great. So all in all we’d say: keep pointing your sonics like that boys, we all enjoy it.
Buy War Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £67 at Amazon
8. Seventh/Eighth Doctor
With its sleek silver base and red sensor at the top, this sonic screams modern, while also harking back to the classic series. Used by the seventh and eighth Doctors in the TV movie, the device is used to seal The Master’s urn as well as repairing parts of the TARDIS console.
It also makes a reappearance in the 50th anniversary minisode, Night of The Doctor, where we get to see it has a collapsible casing, much like the Ninth and Tenth Doctor’s. With that in mind, we think this version is the perfect bridge between old and new, but not quite iconic enough to be higher up the list.
Welcome to 60 Days of Doctor Who, RadioTimes.com’s ultimate celebration of all things Who as the show gears up for its 60th anniversary. We’ll be bringing you 60 days of exclusive Doctor Who content, from interviews and newsletter takeovers with the show’s stars to the hottest takes from our team of Doctor Who superfans. Stay tuned!
7. Fourteenth Doctor
We may have seen the face before, but every new Doctor should get a sonic screwdriver of their own. The Fourteenth Doctor’s sonic was revealed to us in July and, although we haven’t seen it in action yet, that doesn’t mean we can’t pass judgement on its latest design.
In a special reveal clip, it was shown that this new sonic screwdriver has a similar look and feel to David Tennant’s first one, glowing blue at the end with a mainly grey and black handle. However, in Matt Smith style, the top of the screwdriver also opens up and even rotates when activated. Is it a bit flashy? Yes. But it’s also an exciting new twist on what’s come, and we can’t wait to see it in the 60th anniversary specials.
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Pre-order Fourteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £36.99 at Amazon
6. Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver was a perfect encapsulation of his era of the show. Part scientific device, part magic wand, this was the first screwdriver to work through telepathy. Rather than having settings, the Doctor would tell his companions to simply “point and think” when using it.
But while this made the sonic more accessible and exciting for young viewers, it also made it a bit too convenient for whatever The Doctor needed. Yes, the sonic is an incredible piece of technology, but it’s not the Infinity Gauntlet, and it always works best when it feels ever-so-slightly rubbish.
Buy Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £44.99 at Amazon
5. Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver became the archetype for so many others, as it was the first to feature the classic silver handle with the red ring emitter on top.
The tip also had a black bolt inside that would be used for everything from setting off fire alarms to destroying Sutekh’s forcefield in Pyramids of Mars. It also picked up a ton of new functions, like the ability to interface with computers and activate land mines. In short, it was iconic and well worth a place in the top five.
Buy Fourth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £24.99 at Ebay
4. Thirteenth Doctor
Who doesn’t love a bit of Sheffield Steel? The Thirteenth Doctor’s weird and whacky sonic felt more alien than ever before, but was still grounded by the fact that it had been made on Earth. Also, hello, she made it herself!
We loved seeing the new sonic forged in Jodie Whittaker’s first episode and across her three seasons it did everything from defusing DNA bombs to being a tin opener.
Buy Thirteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver for £29.99 at Amazon
3. Ninth/Tenth Doctor
Used by both the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, the strength of this sonic screwdriver lay in its versatility. For the first time, the sonic was more than just an occasionally useful tool and instead became an extension of the Doctor’s own powers, being able to repair barbed wire, control the TARDIS and even make money fly out of cash machines.
The design of the screwdriver matched the slightly grungy feel of the modern Who era but it still always felt like a piece of sci-fi equipment. We also love how its seemingly unassuming design would reveal an extendable section, meaning it was always more than met the eye.
Buy Tenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver from £39.99 at Amazon
2. River Song’s screwdriver
Anything you can do I can do better seems to apply to a lot of things in The Doctor and River Song’s relationship, the sonic screwdriver included. The Twelfth Doctor gave River (Alex Kingston) this version of the sonic on their last day together, just before she entered The Library. It shares much of the same features as David Tennant’s screwdriver except for a few extra functions like dampers and a red setting.
Plus, it accomplishes the little task of saving River Song’s life. After she dies in Forest of the Dead, The Doctor is able to use the screwdriver’s neural relay to upload River’s data ghost into The Library’s main computer, forever keeping her alive in the show (and our hearts). So for that reason, it deserves its place as our runner up.
Buy River Song’s sonic screwdriver from £12 at Ebay
1. Third Doctor
It may not have been the first, but this was the screwdriver that started it all.
It was during Jon Pertwee’s era on the show that the sonic screwdriver went from a nifty but rarely-used gadget to a full-blown part of the Doctor’s image.
Mostly silver, with a black-and-yellow striped section that had to pulled down to activate the device, the design was almost as memorable as his look. The red emitter head could also be swapped to provide different functions such as emitting fire, hypnotising others and, yes, reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.
With all these features, the sonic acted as the perfect accompaniment to Pertwee’s action-first Venusian Aikido-wielding Doctor. It also saved his and Jo’s lives several times, but never fell into the trap of being overly powerful, which is why, for us, this is the ultimate sonic screwdriver.
Buy Third Doctor’s sonic screwdriver with sound fx for £40.79 at Amazon
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