'Doctor Who' Introduces The Fifteenth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver

It’s never too late to cover the latest iteration of the Doctor’s trusty devices

It’s Christmas Eve. One day until Doctor Who’s first Christmas special since 2017, “The Church on Ruby Road”. Which means it’s finally time to cover the showcase of the newest Sonic Screwdriver, wielded by the Fifteenth Doctor played by Ncuti Gatwa, before his first full adventure in which it debuts.

While briefly seen in the teaser for the special, the showcase gave viewers a glance from every angle, giving a deep look at all of its features. It is certainly the Doctor’s least screwdriver-y of all his Sonic screwdrivers, let alone the wand the War Doctor decried it as, so magic-y that it was infamously written out during Fifth Doctor Peter Davison’s era and didn’t return until the revival. It’s looking like it could allow a “universal remote” to really emphasize the universe. Plenty of Click references have already been made. Gatwa describes the device for those unfamiliar as "a magnificent piece of Gallifreyan technology that helps the Doctor through all his scrapes and has lots of useful nooks and crannies."

With a color palette of dark blue, gold and silver, the Sonic contains a Rwandan proverb written in Gallifreyan symbols. It’s an obvious personal touch for the Rwanda-born actor, and the proverb translates to "the sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior". It’s powered by a purple crystal, and has a piece that might look like a magnifying lens to some is actually a connector to other technologies in a manner Gatwa describes as akin to a USB port.

“The Church on Ruby Road” marks the Fifteenth Doctor’s first starring adventure following his game of catch with the Fourteenth Doctor and the Toymaker in “The Giggle”. He will pick up his first companion, Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, facing a shipful of singing goblins. The supporting and guest cast includes Michelle Greenidge as Ruby’s mother Carla, Angela Wynter as Ruby’s grandmother Cherry and Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood, as well as Gemma Arrowsmith and Mary Malone. The special airs at 5:55 PM on the BBC in the UK and Ireland, streaming in the United States and Canada on Disney+ simultaneous to it, release times ranging from 9:55 AM Pacific to 1:55 PM Atlantic (12:55 PM Eastern).