Doctor Who once used the sonic screwdriver as a weapon - and it actually made sense. The Doctor has always been something of a man of peace, even if he does constantly find himself drawn into conflict. As such, it’s entirely appropriate that the Doctor’s favorite weapon has always been a sonic screwdriver, rather than a gun.
For all that’s the case, though, the Doctor has a habit of brandishing the sonic screwdriver like a weapon. The 50th anniversary special even mocked it, with John Hurt’s War Doctor asking David Tennant and Matt Smith, “What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet with them?” He had a point; when confronted by armed enemies, the best solution really isn’t to wave a screwdriver at them as though it can beat off a gun or a sword. Surprisingly, this tendency isn’t new; it was introduced back during the Jon Pertwee era in the ’70s. It’s important to remember that Pertwee was positioned as something of an action hero, with Doctor Who reinventing the renegade Time Lord in the vein of James Bond. That was why they introduced a new martial art, Venusian Aikido, and gave the Doctor a range of distinctive vehicles - peaking in Pertwee’s so-called “Whomobile,” a car that looked like a flying saucer. It also included regular shots of the Doctor pointing the sonic screwdriver as you would a gun.
There was, however, one story in the Pertwee era where this made sense; “The Sea Devils,” written by Malcolm Hulke and with the beloved Terrance Dicks serving as script editor. In “The Sea Devils,” the Doctor and his companion Jo Grant found themselves in a difficult spot when they learned the Master had taken over the prison he was held in, and formed a loose alliance with the titular Sea Devils. The two made an escape of their own, but wound up trapped between the prison guards and a Sea Devil. Their only way out was to cross a minefield, but fortunately the Doctor was able to use the sonic screwdriver as a mine detector to ensure they found a safe path.
Unfortunately, of course, the Master didn’t intend for the Doctor and Jo to escape. He had built a device that coerced a Sea Devil into obeying his will, and he used it to tell the creature to pursue the fugitives. The Doctor, however, wasn’t worried; he simply made a few adjustments to the sonic screwdriver, and pointed it in the Sea Devil’s direction. That led to one of the most spectacular uses of the sonic screwdriver, as he used it to trigger mines in the Sea Devil’s proximity. The aquatic creature couldn’t understand what was happening, or why the ground kept exploding around it; it presumably believed that whatever the Doctor was holding was actually shooting formidable shells of some kind at it. The Sea Devil retreated, allowing the Doctor and Jo to escape.
This is the one time when the sonic screwdriver really did serve as an effective weapon. Note, of course, that as usual the Doctor avoided killing; he triggered mines near to the Sea Devil, but never close enough to kill it. As such, it was perfectly in character for the life-loving, gun-hating Time Lord. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming Doctor Who series 12 will present more opportunities to use the sonic screwdriver creatively.
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