# The new Doctor Who sonic screwdriver **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411 "2018-07-23T03:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/21 "2018-07-23T14:24:24Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > You could say the same of the old sonic screwdriver, couldn’t you? [Oh, look! It’s got three settings!](https://youtu.be/GlQ2U-Ks67I?t=2m50s) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/22 "2018-07-23T15:48:39Z")
Non-Doctor fan here. I bring no biases. That new one looks like a lost relic from the lost age. Something from Middle Earth. The crude shape, the pitted surface and the irregular crystal-like thing at the end makes it look like it come from the Hyborian Age. All it needs are some Runes and it would be complete. I would expect the Doctor to have smooth tech, not stone knives and bearskins. Something more like [this](http://www.jasonhuselton.com/sttosmagneticprobe3.jpg). No visible controlling buttons, no writing, no obvious clue as to how it works, yet it does look like it does something. Something futuristic. Somehow. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/23 "2018-07-23T15:59:06Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I would expect the Doctor to have smooth tech, not stone knives and bearskins. There’s certainly a middle ground. The Doc has long been the spit and baling wire type, and a big fan of cobbling shit together. Not to mention that a common Maguffinism in the show has been “stuff that looks like bricks but are super high-tech” (the Pandorica comes to mind). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/24 "2018-07-23T16:00:31Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Seriously? It buzzes, rotates, and is curved at the end… I’m calling vibrator. \*"Behold, the famous Sonic Screwdriver. 1001 uses. Now 1002."\* ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/25 "2018-07-23T16:13:51Z")
I think this is, “much ado about nothing”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/26 "2018-07-23T16:19:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I would expect the Doctor to have smooth tech, not stone knives and bearskins. When a half-century-old show defies my expectations, that’s a feature, not a bug. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/27 "2018-07-23T16:24:17Z")
> [@andros](#): > > There’s certainly a middle ground. The Doc has long been the spit and baling wire type, and a big fan of cobbling shit together. Not to mention that a common Maguffinism in the show has been “stuff that looks like bricks but are super high-tech” (the Pandorica comes to mind). Then again this tradition was well established back in the history of the shoe, by those outstanding early production values, that seemingly consisted of “use whatever’s lying about in the BBC prop room”. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/28 "2018-07-23T16:38:05Z")
Is the new Doctor a [cow?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ComedyCemetery/comments/59ayiv/cow_tools_the_far_sides_most_notoriously/) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/29 "2018-07-23T16:47:22Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Then again this tradition was well established back in the history of the shoe, by those outstanding early production values, that seemingly consisted of “use whatever’s lying about in the BBC prop room”. [Including chairs](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vXrAK6sUZ_0#). ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/30 "2018-07-23T17:04:42Z")
> [@sage rat](#): > > nsfw if you scroll down. > > smith was popular with all [the lady echidnas](https://curiouscox.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/echidna-penis-i-echid-you-not/). SWEET terrifying penis JESUS! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/31 "2018-07-23T17:55:28Z")
I don’t see anything girly about it. I _do_ think it looks a bit crappy, but that’s BBC production values for you. The original Daleks were just upside-down garbage cans with studs and a broom stuck out the front. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/32 "2018-07-23T18:04:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t see anything girly about it. I _do_ think it looks a bit crappy, but that’s BBC production values for you. The original Daleks were just upside-down garbage cans with studs and a broom stuck out the front. [Plunger, wasn’t it?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-9M69-rdE8) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/33 "2018-07-23T22:49:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham's sig](#): > > “Mr. Chambers! Don’t get on the ship! We translated the book, and it’s a TENNIS MANUAL!” Is that signature new? It took me a second, but that’s pretty funny! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/34 "2018-07-23T22:58:39Z")
I am lost as to how this is “feminine.” It looks like a giant alien claw, like something animalistic and brutal. Pretty much the \*opposite \*of “girly.” ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/35 "2018-07-23T23:07:38Z")
It looks crude and ugly. Not what I’d call feminine. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/36 "2018-07-23T23:35:32Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Is that signature new? It took me a second, but that’s pretty funny! He’s had that one up for several months. They DO tend to be pretty good, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/37 "2018-07-24T00:11:47Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I am lost as to how this is “feminine.” It looks like a giant alien claw, like something animalistic and brutal. Pretty much the \*opposite \*of “girly.” ‘Insectoid’ was my reaction (specifically a wasp or an ant) - the handle’s the abdomen, the main body the thorax…the holes where the legs and head were removed. \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/38 "2018-07-24T00:32:23Z")
I think it has an H. H. Giger feel… not feminine at all, unless the Alien queen counts. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/39 "2018-07-24T02:00:22Z")
[Old Sonics](https://drwhostuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sonic-screwdriver-theme.jpg) [New Sonic](https://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/screwdriver-600x278.jpg?x70969) I’ll say it, since nobody else will, it looks like a GD dildo. I’ve never been a “Whovian” but this is just offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411/40 "2018-07-24T03:09:02Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > [Old Sonics](https://drwhostuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sonic-screwdriver-theme.jpg) > > [New Sonic](https://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/screwdriver-600x278.jpg?x70969) > > I’ll say it, since nobody else will, it looks like a GD dildo. I’ve never been a “Whovian” but this is just offensive. 😕 :rolleyes: Half the ones in your first link look like dildos. Who is the new one supposedly offensive towards? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-doctor-who-sonic-screwdriver/818411.md?page=3)