Editing Sonic screwdriver (section)

=== 2005–2010 ===
{{overly detailed|section|date=November 2013}}
A redesigned sonic screwdriver appears in the new series, with a blue light in addition to the sound effect. In its first incarnation, the prop used in the new series was fragile and prone to breakage. Over the course of the next two years, the props were continually repaired and modified, with some additions being a new thumb slider design and different colours of wires used in the clear channel when extended.

For [[Doctor Who (series 4)|series 4]] (2008), a new design of Screwdriver was commissioned by the BBC. [[Nick Robatto]] was hired to make two new props. These featured the final slider design, and redesigned body ridges, among other smaller changes. This design debuted in 2008's "[[Partners in Crime (Doctor Who)|Partners in Crime]]" and continued to be used until the Screwdriver's ultimate destruction in 2010's "[[The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)|The Eleventh Hour]]". This later design has gained the nickname "Series 3–4 Sonic" (relating to the fact that at the start of Series 3, in "Smith and Jones", the first Sonic Screwdriver was supposedly destroyed), even though strictly speaking it first appeared in Series 4.<ref>{{cite news | title=Toys and Games | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/07/26/20763.shtml | publisher=BBC | date=26 July 2005 | access-date=29 October 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061216031526/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/07/26/20763.shtml | archive-date=16 December 2006}}</ref>

In contrast with Nathan-Turner's attitude that the sonic screwdriver should not be used as a cure-all, the new production team gave it even more functionality than previous versions. Some of the uses in the new series include: repairing electronic equipment; re-attaching materials such as barbed wire; detecting, intercepting and sending signals; remotely operating the TARDIS; burning, cutting, or igniting substances; fusing metal; scanning and identifying substances; amplifying or augmenting sound; modifying mobile phones to enable "universal roaming"; disabling alien disguises; resonating concrete; reversing teleportation of another entity. It is sometimes used to disassemble robotic enemies or turn other objects into weapons; healing cuts and wounds. In "[[The Parting of the Ways]]" (2005) and "[[Utopia (Doctor Who)|Utopia]]" (2007), it is used to operate the TARDIS controls remotely; when the Doctor attempts to counteract the Master's theft of the TARDIS, it is used to limit the TARDIS' destination. In "[[Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Doomsday]]" (2006), the Doctor states that the sonic screwdriver does not kill, wound or maim; however, it is sometimes brandished in a threatening manner, such as in "[[The Christmas Invasion]]" (2005), "[[The Impossible Planet]]" (2006), "[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]" (2006), "[[The Lazarus Experiment]]" (2007), "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" (2013), and ''[[The Infinite Quest]]'' (2007). In "[[World War Three (Doctor Who)|World War Three]]" (2005), when confronted by a group of [[Slitheen]], the Doctor threatens to "triplicate the flammability" of a bottle of [[port wine]] with the sonic screwdriver, though one of the Slitheen realises he is bluffing. In "[[Closing Time (Doctor Who)|Closing Time]]" (2011), ringed energy beams are seen emitted from the device, giving it a more weapon-like appearance, particularly when used to disable a weakened [[Cyberman]] at a distance.

In "Smith and Jones", the sonic screwdriver burns out after the Doctor uses it to amplify the radiation output of a hospital [[x-ray generator|X-ray machine]]. In the "Series Three concept Artwork Gallery",[https://web.archive.org/web/20080227031917/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/concept_2007/index.shtml] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080227182534/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/concept_2007/2.shtml] when referring to the burnt out sonic screwdriver, Peter McKinstry says "the green crystal structure visible under the shattered dome refers back to the TARDIS console crystal. It's the same technology – the TARDIS's little brother."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/concept_2007/2.shtml BBC – Doctor Who – Series Three concept Artwork Gallery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227182534/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/gallery/concept_2007/2.shtml |date=27 February 2008 }}</ref> Though initially saddened at the loss of the screwdriver, the Doctor obtains a new one at the conclusion of the episode.

The sonic screwdriver is unable to open a "deadlock seal", used as a [[plot device]] to prevent an easy solution. Russell T Davies once mentioned that he would never make the sonic screwdriver the solution to an episode. In "[[Silence in the Library]]" (2008), while trying to open a wooden door, the Doctor tells Donna that the sonic screwdriver will not work because the door is made of wood, a fact later restated in "[[The Hungry Earth]]" (2010); when Rory complains about this, the Doctor counters to not "diss the sonic." The sonic screwdriver's inability to work on wood is clarified in "[[In the Forest of the Night]]" (2014), when the Doctor states that the sonic screwdriver works by manipulating the moving parts in various machinery: since plant tissue lacks said moving parts, it is unaffected by the sonic screwdriver. In "[[The Parting of the Ways]]" (2005), the Doctor mentions that when Emergency Program One was activated, the sonic screwdriver would receive a signal from the TARDIS. In "[[Forest of the Dead]]" (2008), he claims that a few hair-dryers can interfere with the device, though he states that he is "working on that".