Doctor Who: 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Defined Thread!

[DemonFire]

farely nice view of it here. Not the toy versions but the prop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPt84GwXuB4

EDIT:

Nice review, one that u can actually see it pretty well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ihYMEyQE5M&feature=related

 

[sebmodio]

The silver knurled part (all four of them) look like they have come from an architect's kit of drawing implements, a compass or something similar. Or even a scalpel. The ones where you have a screw fitting to tighten all four parts together as they grip a lead or blade or something. I had something like it back at school.

It sounds like you're talking about an X-Acto knife. I mean it's plausible, but you'd have to cut it into four pieces and over all it seems more work than it's worth. I attached a picture so you can see what I'm talking about. Plus, the knurled sections look flatter than I imagine a quadrant from an X-Acto would be. However, it's highly possible that this was the inspiration for that section.

 

[elvisgump]

It is so phall1c I suppose it does look like a d1ld0, but a very PAINFUL d1ld0 at that. Which is I think what the starred out entry was trying to suggest. It doesn't help that the sound that a sonic makes sounds very much like a d1ld0 when it's running.

As to the Exacto debate, LOTS of tools have knurled markings and I suspect that was simply a detail machined into the prop because the shape doesn't remotely match any Exacto machining.

I don't know if many have noticed but if one puts one thumb on the CO toy and slightly pulls back one can activate the two main sounds or if you pump back twice and then hold it you can activate the blaster sound or if you pump back three times and hold you can activate the pulsing variation where the light flickers bright and dim. This can also be done in closed mode by pulsing the handle or end buttons.

If only instead of the end button it contained a pen...

 

[Xxblackbird]

It is so phall1c I suppose it does look like a d1ld0, but a very PAINFUL d1ld0 at that. Which is I think what the starred out entry was trying to suggest. It doesn't help that the sound that a sonic makes sounds very much like a d1ld0 when it's running.

Yeah... it was obvious what the "starred out" word was. I was making fun of him for his insightful and helpful comment.

Anyway, the new sonic feels a bit over-done to me. I don't understand why the prongs pop out and it's just so huge looking.
I do like that the Doctor seems to look at the green... uh... tube? gem? whatever the green thing is inside to sort of read what it's telling him.
He'll scan something then flip it open and look at the exposed green section like he's reading something. Or maybe looking at the green crystal causes his mind to connect with the screwdriver so he can interpret it. I'm not talking about the green tip (which is shaped like the moving part of the TARDIS console) I'm talking about the part that is exposed in the handle when the prongs pop out and the steel casing slides up.
I like the green light (since RTD seemed to really go overboard with the blue LED) and the brass fittings are nice. It really looks like a piece of the TARDIS and actually kind of looks like a screwdriver.

 

[Perigee]

Twice in Demon's posted interview with Smith, he (Smith) points out specifically where the "Readout" is supposed to be - The Doctor now has a Tric, no doubt about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPt84GwXuB4

 

[elvisgump]

Twice in Demon's posted interview with Smith, he (Smith) points out specifically where the "Readout" is supposed to be - The Doctor now has a Tric, no doubt about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPt84GwXuB4

Right and if you watch closely at one point in "The Eleventh Hour" he even looks at the acrylic shaft of the old sonic the same way like he's reading something in it. Of course it could just be 11's way of "reading" some sort of telepathic readout from it.

One could well imagine that the sonic functions as a 'tric' functioning as the highly focused and localized emitter/detector of the TARDIS's own scanners. Obviously the TARDIS "translation circuit" is doing some sort of telepathic broadcast so it would stand to reason the sonic can function as an extension of the TARDIS too. A wireless probey thingy; hideously advanced technology indistinguishable from magic.

Makes you wonder he wasn't half bluffing with that cookie last Saturday. Bog knows what frightful ends TimeLords got up to with their jam weaponry. Prolly could pelt a whole solar system with deadly jelly donuts and wipe out entire civilizations. Weapons of Marmalade Destruction.

Prolly where the expression "Saints preserve us!" came from...

 

[Perigee]

Right and if you watch closely at one point in "The Eleventh Hour" he even looks at the acrylic shaft of the old sonic the same way like he's reading something in it. Of course it could just be 11's way of "reading" some sort of telepathic readout from it.

One could well imagine that the sonic functions as a 'tric' functioning as the highly focused and localized emitter/detector of the TARDIS's own scanners. Obviously the TARDIS "translation circuit" is doing some sort of telepathic broadcast so it would stand to reason the sonic can function as an extension of the TARDIS too. A wireless probey thingy; hideously advanced technology indistinguishable from magic.

Makes you wonder he wasn't half bluffing with that cookie last Saturday. Bog knows what frightful ends TimeLords got up to with their jam weaponry. Prolly could pelt a whole solar system with deadly jelly donuts and wipe out entire civilizations. Weapons of Marmalade Destruction.

Prolly where the expression "Saints preserve us!" came from...

From a narrative standpoint, I think it's a smart move - The Doctor no longer has to rely on characters for exposition, which is probably going to be important as 'the crack' becomes more and more part of the story arc. I know I've missed several series, but my memory of the Doc is that he gains most of his expository information from third parties and previous knowledge, none of which is likely to help this time.

It's kind of refreshing to see The Doctor using his own technology for information gathering (Although, I guess K9 actually acted as a self-propelled Tricorder on occasion).

 

[Primrodo]

He's used the sonic for reading details for while...Ten used it to scan Donna when he first met her as well.

 

[Architect]

I seem to recall the 9th using it as a probe from time to time as well. did he not point it at rose right be for he knocked on her forehead while asking if she was made of plastic?

 

[MacMantis]

I think I posted this link somewhere before but here's a useful list of Classic Who SS Uses.

 

[Xxblackbird]

He's used the sonic for reading details for while...Ten used it to scan Donna when he first met her as well.

He always seemed to be looking at something on the handle... Like he was reading off some little screen we didn't see.
Either that or he was looking at a clear tube with a couple of wires in it and somehow interpreting the information from that, which I never really understood. It looked and felt a bit like he was miming it, especially since he didn't always check the sonic after scanning something and it wasn't always in any specific position (collapsed or extended) during or after a scan, so it was a bit inconsistent. Usually he'd scan something then extend it and look at the wires or something on the handle, but not always.
The dark green inside this screwdriver, which is only exposed in its open position, is somehow more convincing to me.
The unknown makeup of this crystal-looking substance (probably the same that's in the Tardis), the size of the exposed portion (an actual area to read something), the way Smith cocks his head to read it and the fact that it appears to be very dark in color helps make it seem a bit more plausible (you can almost imagine text appearing on it... maybe like a magic 8 ball or something, as opposed to a clear tube).
If I had to guess I'd say the sonic acts as a sort of probe for the Tardis. It scans something and relays it to the Tardis. The Tardis then computes everything and telepathically makes that info available to the Doctor, who can read it by focusing on a certain point of the screwdriver.
Text may not physically appear on the sonic, but focusing on the green crystal creates a psychic bond with the Tardis and enables him to pick up that information.
Or something. I don't know.

 

[Tom Starkiller]

I always just assumed that the screwdriver is an extension of the TARDIS, as it had the corral etc.

The Screwdriver, TARIDS and the Doctor were all linked together and the TARDIS just relays the information to him.

 

[Perigee]

Holy Moley - I can't believe I've been out of the loop for five Doctors already; tempus fugit. Colin Baker took me out of the series, and Then the Trek series had rebooted and carried me well into middle age.

That does explain my ignorance of current Timelord Tech, though - a lot has changed since Davidson. Now I have to go back and check out Tennant, who people seem to think was tremendous. Never saw a single episode. Lucky me - a few years worth of quality stuff to discover now. Thanks for the update, guys!

 

[sebmodio]

Check out this picture of the sonic. Shows where it breaks. Very interesting....at least to me.

 

[silverskyes402]

Matt Smith seems giddy lol

 

[elvisgump]

From a narrative standpoint, I think it's a smart move - The Doctor no longer has to rely on characters for exposition, which is probably going to be important as 'the crack' becomes more and more part of the story arc. I know I've missed several series, but my memory of the Doc is that he gains most of his expository information from third parties and previous knowledge, none of which is likely to help this time.

It's kind of refreshing to see The Doctor using his own technology for information gathering (Although, I guess K9 actually acted as a self-propelled Tricorder on occasion).

Speaking of exposition, the most TEDIOUS part of story telling, well, one of the very favorite stories of most people and still my all time favorite is "BLINK" because it turns the exposition around. The story is a cool yet maddening mystery right until the Doctor as Easter Egg explains it all in the last ten minutes leaving Larry and Sally running for their lives.

This isn't new really as most murder mysteries give clues and the hero detective explains the deduction as exposition at the end. "You thought the butler did it? Crikey, he's so dumb it's a wonder he can keep from drooling. The reverend is the killer! It's always the quiet, pious types you know."

 

[Perigee]

Speaking of exposition, the most TEDIOUS part of story telling, well, one of the very favorite stories of most people and still my all time favorite is "BLINK" because it turns the exposition around. The story is a cool yet maddening mystery right until the Doctor as Easter Egg explains it all in the last ten minutes leaving Larry and Sally running for their lives.

This isn't new really as most murder mysteries give clues and the hero detective explains the deduction as exposition at the end. "You thought the butler did it? Crikey, he's so dumb it's a wonder he can keep from drooling. The reverend is the killer! It's always the quiet, pious types you know."

I've been moving backwards through the series now - "Blink" is on track for sometime two weeks from now.

I've been sucking the series down rather intensively, which tends to aggravate flaws; The Doctor's encyclopedic knowledge takes the place of Treknobabble, offering an easy out too often. Sure, he's 900 years old, but does he Have to trip over Dalek Dimension Vaults and Tritovore antigravity couplings and type-4 terraforming globes in the last ten minutes - and know exactly what they are and how they work - in order to deus ex machina a solution? So far, the "Waters of Mars" is a real standout for me, as well as pt.2 of "The End of Time." But, happily, I have years of broadcasts to discover yet. I've never been so happy to have NOT watched a show for so long.

 

[Risu]

Please don't watch it in reverse, you'll ruin some very good parts for yourself.

 

[TheNickFox]

Please don't watch it in reverse, you'll ruin some very good parts for yourself.

I'm trying to convince a friend of mine of this very thing. It's not working. He's meandering through all series without any real purpose. I told him that's like cutting up a feature length movie into 10 minute chunks, mixing them up in a bag, pulling them out at random, and trying to watch a movie that way. Sure you'll piece it all together, but it'll lack the full effect.

Stop watching them in reverse, and (at least) go back to Eccleston's first episode.

-Nick

 

[Perigee]

I'm trying to convince a friend of mine of this very thing. It's not working. He's meandering through all series without any real purpose. I told him that's like cutting up a feature length movie into 10 minute chunks, mixing them up in a bag, pulling them out at random, and trying to watch a movie that way. Sure you'll piece it all together, but it'll lack the full effect.

Stop watching them in reverse, and (at least) go back to Eccleston's first episode.

-Nick

OK - Reversing reverse course; thanks, guys!