The Evolution Of The Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver
The Fourth Doctor kept the design, though he gave it a different paint job, wrote Geek and Sundry. He started using the sonic screwdriver to open doors, which became a primary use for later versions.
Unfortunately, the sonic screwdriver disappeared after the Fifth Doctor saw his destroyed by an enemy called the Terileptil. In reality, the showrunner for the Fifth Doctor's run thought the sonic was akin to a magic wand and forbade its return. The next few Doctors didn't have their own sonic, though the Seventh Doctor used a sonic for one episode. It was this sonic screwdriver that the Eighth Doctor also had in his two on-screen appearances. In the audio dramas, he creates a whole new one that had a wooden casing. So when the War Doctor came along (it's a complicated story why there's a War Doctor), he modified that one.
By the time the Ninth Doctor came around, he was sporting a whole new sonic screwdriver. Nine was the first of the modern era's Doctors (not counting the War Doctor, again, complicated), and his design was simple. Its base was made of cracked coral, much like the design of his time-space machine, the TARDIS, and had a telescopic top with a blue gemstone.
Nine's sonic had a major drawback that's hobbled later incarnations. It didn't work on wood. Sure, it can scan anything, heal someone, and act as a remote control, but forget about opening wooden doors.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2Fj29raWhfqbWmecSvpqWtpJ68r3nOn2StoJVisbCv06iprGWjpLuqr4ysmqudp5m%2FqsLEq2Y%3D