The Doctor doesn’t always rely on the sonic screwdriver. Often, his solutions to problems are far more ingenious…

FEATURE BY MARK WRIGHT

Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, tinkering with technology in a publicity shot from The Ice Warriors (1967).

The Doctor (David Tennant) offers his past self a sonic screwdriver in Time Crash (2007).

The Doctor (William Hartnell) constructs a machine for defeating the Daleks, while Ian (William Russell) looks on in The Chase (1965).

The Doctor carves a wheel, which intrigues his fiancée Cameca (Margot Van der Burgh) in The Aztecs (1964).

Anne Travers (Tina Packer) helps the Doctor to build a device that will take command of Yeti control spheres in The Web of Fear (1968).

IF THERE’S ONE DOCTOR WHO TRULY DELIGHTS IN THE CREATION OF LASH-UPS, IT’S THE SECOND.

In the 2007 Comic Relief mini-episode Time Crash, there’s a moment when the Tenth Doctor passes comment on the Fifth Doctor declining to use the offered sonic screwdriver. “Oh no, of course, you liked to go hands-free, didn’t you? Like hey, I’m the Doctor. I can save the universe with a kettle and some string.”

Aside from being a funny line, there’s a note of commentary here, not only on how the abilities of the sonic screwdriver have increased in modern Doctor Who, but also on one of the Doctor’s defining characteristics. He has an uncanny ability at lashing up whatever bits and pieces of technology are lying around – or stuffed in his pockets – to provide a quick, day-saving solution, whether it be the means to fight off a monster, locate a crucial element or control an enemy’s resources. It’s another indication of how the Doctor has traditionally relied on his wits rather than fists – although some of the technological rattlebags he comes up with can inflict quite devastating results.