Doctor Who Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Review

For Valentine's Day, I received the Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver and I thought it would be a fun and unique item to review for my blog. It's not like anything I've reviewed before, so I'll do my best to show you the neat features this toy possesses and try to keep it within a similar structure to my doll reviews. :)

I know I've been posting a whole lot of Doctor Who things lately and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

The Sonic Screwdriver arrives in large, clear plastic packaging with some raised up designs, such as the Doctor Who title.

The screwdriver doubles as a pen, which we'll look into later.

The package is marked for ages 5 and up.

Here is a description of the features:

The bottom of the package bears a depressed looking David Tennant, the length of his reign as Doctor, a choking hazard warning, and "The Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver."

Does this Time Lord need a hug? 'Cause he sure looks like it...

The screwdriver itself is packaged next to two little black and silver pen nubs.

Here's the back of the package:

The back is fairly similar to the front, but with an additional two paragraph description of what the screwdriver does.

Lots of battery and copyright info, as well as a diagram showing how to change the batteries.

Removing the packaging...

... was an absolute NIGHTMARE.

I mean, really, do you see this mangled disaster? You need a Sonic Screwdriver to open your Sonic Screwdriver!!!

The colorful backdrop for the package is just a piece of paper. Here it is outside of the plastic shell:

The sad looking Ten is on a separate paper:

REALLY, DOCTOR... WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

The screwdriver, its pen nubs, and the user's manual are in a separate diamond of clear plastic.

The Sonic Screwdriver pops out easily, and the manual is in a plastic bag that just needs to have the tape removed that attaches it to the bottom of the plastic.

Here's everything right out of the package:

Here's the paperwork out of the bag:

Well, he looks a bit happier...

Lots and lots of instructions here.

Now for the fun part... the screwdriver itself!!!

The two pen nibs are identical except that the invisible ink nub comes shrink wrapped.

The shrink wrap is easy to remove, and the UV Ink label is on the silver part of the little pen so that you can tell the two apart (instead of coming off with the shrink wrap.)

The ball point nub:

Here's the Sonic Screwdriver itself.

To put a pen on the screwdriver, you insert the silver end of the pen into the end of the screwdriver.

This is a very tight fit, so it stays on really well.

The pen cap comes off fairly easily, but it stayed on without falling off for the entire duration of my review.

The ball point pen writes easily and clearly.

As for the invisible ink pen, it attaches to the screwdriver in the same manner and the cap comes of the same way as the ball point pen.

It seems pretty invisible to me...

... and the light from the screwdriver makes it clear as day!

As for activating the Sonic Screwdriver's light and sound, you have to press one of the two buttons.

When the screwdriver is in its shortest position, the bottom button works.

To change the screwdriver's length, move the slider up.

The top button will work when the screwdriver is fully extended. Both buttons cause the same thing to happen, the only difference is the location. Also, neither button will work when the slider is in the middle.

When the screwdriver is extended, a clear plastic tube with a black plastic cord inside is revealed.

The Sonic Screwdriver makes four different noises, and I took a video to demonstrate these:

I like how the pitches of the sounds change, just like the real thing.

The blue end of Ten's Sonic Screwdriver is a jewel-like, bright sapphire plastic partial sphere.

The screwdriver may be all lightweight plastic, but it has a careful attention to the details of the original.

Everything looks very realistic (or as realistic as a Sonic Screwdriver can look, anyway.)

The middle section has an odd texture that adds some contrast to the rest of the screwdriver.

The square on the slider pops off to reveal a small screw so you can replace the batteries. Yes, you need a screwdriver for your screwdriver. Actually, the screwdriver comes with batteries in it so I didn't need to open the battery compartment or anything yet.

Overall, I give the Sonic Screwdriver a 9.5 out of 10. It's a great prop and I love the different noises it makes. It fits comfortably in a hand and its dual functionality as a pen makes it something fun AND useful. I'm knocking off half a point because of how awful the packaging was and the fact that it feels like the plastic might not last well for intense play since it's so lightweight. However, I feel that it will have a long life under my roof. I would recommend it for any Doctor Who fan who can take good care of it.

ALLONS-Y!