The new Eighth Doctor Sonic Screwdriver from Character may miss a key bit of functionality, but is regardless one of their prettiest sonics yet
The Doctor, it seems, can never have enough sonic screwdrivers. Neither can fans, going by the perpetual popularity of the many toys and replicas down the years. One of the latest waves of sonic screwdriver toys from Character Options celebrates Paul McGann’s version from the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie. That it should get such love is all the more remarkable considering its very few on-screen appearances. Though there are some more compromises than usual this time out.
Almost all the sonics of the 20th century run of Doctor Who kept to a broadly similar design. The proportions may have subtly evolved, and the detailing been tweaked over time, but they retained an instantly recognizable silhouette. The 1996 model, however, while keeping the overall look had two fundamental changes. It didn’t feature the distinctive action of Doctor using his thumb to retract the outer cowl to activate the tool. But it substituted the ability for the whole top half of the screwdriver to be snapped down into the lower half for storage, a precursor to the extendable sonics of the revival.
Can you ever really have too many sonic screwdrivers?
The Character Options toy reflects one change but unfortunately not the other. The four variant sounds are now triggered by a relatively discreet button on the back, selected by how many times you press it. Slightly disappointingly, it doesn’t retract like the real thing, making this the most static sonic screwdriver from Character Options.
Static it may be, but it is very, very pretty. All this current wave of classic screwdrivers uses the same electroplating technique as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctor’s. It makes for a beautifully shiny object for a much more convincingly steel look, despite being plastic.
Regretfully, Blogtor’s own copy had a very slightly bent emitter head. However, that’s something most would only notice with a close examination, and as far as we can tell, isn’t a widespread issue.
You may well already have several similar toys. Yet, can you ever really have too many sonic screwdrivers? The only danger is that when one looks as beautiful as this one, you might feel compelled to start upgrading your others to the electroplated versions too…
You can order your Eighth Doctor Sonic Screwdriver now, direct from character-online.com, Forbidden Planet, the Who Shop, and other retailers.
