Sonic Srewdriver

Got to start with a confession ,the Sonic Screwdriver i didn’t grow up with on TV ,In the 80s Who there was no sonic anything
i did eventually later see a repeat and Collin with a sonic lance.
On my VHS tho the doctor had this wonderful tool he used from time to time mainly locks to escape being gassed in a locked room or other machinery “Deactivating a generator loop without the correct key is like repairing a watch with a hammer and chisel. One false move and you’ll never know the time again.” or detecting floors that are charged with high voltage , so i new of it just wasn’t on the show when i watched it

 

On a recent trip to Liverpool where there are no less than 2 Forbidden planet stores both companies .CO.uk and .COM  and both shops have a vastly superior stock to mine in Manchester i saw the sonic wave two collection and not owning one classic sonic ( i know a shame to the colors) and choice of a few odd color ecclestone tennant version and smith capaldi variant i went with the fourth fifth doctors variant although on the label it has a pic of season 21 fifth who had no sonic, and only says fifth doctor sonic ,
it was £11 so a bargain these came out at originally £25 and i passed we were being a tad ripped off , there’s two sounds and occasionally a third a soft rubber head and designed well looks the part
It s about right size and I have had a good play test of it
Well designed not lathed turned aluminum but a nice piece looks like the pics of the prop , battery compartment is a bit of a pain on the front its intrusive a better idea would be to have all that internally

I will set the scene for you ,after a long period of nearly 7 years in the role and the huge presence of Tom Baker and some 4 years of Romana as time lady companion and 5 years of k9 and same titles,music  things had got a little stale ,1980 and time for changes

I think the Sonic  first sported this look in Season 18 (I could be wrong could of been sooner ) when the program got a whole new look and overhaul and the producer John Nathan Turner disliking how clever self important the program had become made radical changes and that meant less use of the Sonic Screwdriver unless absolutely necessary ,like locks ,a lesson the new series would do well to listen to it is a tool not a magic wand that can take reading’s
Yes it can be used to speed a story along and the doctor instead of building a flumix machine to do something etc he can and could use the Sonic, but its been a little to much in new who also its not a weapon

new look

you see my sonic screwdriver its a tad bent here

here it is in “The Leisure hive”  first story of the new look who and new season 18 with new everything, music, producer, titles, new costumes new TARDIS box prop (that went on for the next ten years until the end of the classic series) even the console room got a spruce up and a service done to the old sonic resulting in its new livery to with the magnet and halo both light red and a white band around the middle

ch ch ch changes…….

the new dr getting to grips with the new Fiberglass box

larger spruced up console room and for first time detail shots of the interior rooms

We got a zero room a sports area a lot of corridors companions had a room a space of there own you could see there world in the TARDIS a library and for me the one of the best was the laboratory

she missed the sonic screwdriver

here it is at the press call photo for new companion Janet Fielding 1981 you  can see how exacting this role play plastic toy is ,as i really like the season 18/19  look and remember it in magazines (both the police boxes used the interior ,costumes etc)  and it being one of my earliest memories you can see why i chose it

in Season 18 its used and season 19
S18 was a time of massive changes and  ideas the  like of which had not been seen since 1970 and switch to color and new grounded  pertwee era

 

The sonic makes a good battery in Kinda

 

new simpler TARDIS key

It went on to dr 5 along with the TARDIS key( Now a simple yale key most likely the actual prop key itself) he gave it Nyssa in Castrovalva and she used it to unscrew some doors and  make the doctor a cabinet , she used it in four to doomsday (Reasonable as she was a scientist herself)  and so did the doctor and it was used to help Nyssa get a nap in “kinda”

Four to Doomsday

Then four stories in to this new of new look shows Bidmead who hated the thing had since vacated the script editors chair but JNT had enough of it wanted it to go the way of K9 ( this was a time of massive change) and did the unthinkable

since its debut in 1973 with Dr 3 to its trademark use with Dr 4 to now literally passing the baton on to the new Dr 5 and after four uses” the visitation” saw the last use of the sonic screwdriver in the classic series

used to get past a holographic wall in a cellar and then while trying to escape the tereiliptil catches the doctor and ………

“I feel as though you’ve just killed an old friend.”

 

That’s it until the TV Movie 14 years later with its return with drs 7 and 8 and slight minor changes cosmetically again this time it telescoped down rather than being spring loaded and the magnet was again absent as it was for pertwee  , i wish this had gone on to the new series personally, it was seen rightly for the fiftieth anniversary again in the hands of Dr 8, and with its most radical redesign with dr 9 war doctor minus its emitter head (The prop being itself a commercially available forth Dr toy)  which was the journey full circle as it started out life as a prop without the head that was added later by the bbc for Dr Who

original prop in thunderbirds

war doctor and sonic

So in all i will say a nice addition to the collection from a good era ,and a must have classic as this is the last one used in the classic series as well as used by drs 4 and 5

i will get another and do a custom third forth sonic ,and pertwees for the collection would be good i will see

this maybe one day

 

overall a very  nice toy i would of loved as a kid,a fare price tag  and the  fx  sounds as usual with Character Options a poor affair as always, hit and miss, but looks neat on my shelf on display

Blackpool,you are welcome to it

Well recent trip out the annual excursion to Blackpool to be blasted by hurricane winds and thankfully skipping the monsoon this time
There are tonnes of run down shops/hotels/arcades with ghastly signs/hoardings everywhere. One of the main things you see is a Ferris Wheel on the central pier. It is rusty and looks like shit. How much would it cost the Council to give it a lick of paint? Everything looks like it has not been maintained since the 70’s. There was a distinct whiff of excrement for quite a distance down the front,
The sea has its frothy scum rolling in on the sands reassuringly brown sea that is
 
culture shock; here it is a chav town shocking surprising i know , Which other town has a funfair ride called ‘Bling’? Which other town has a national hairdressers convention? Which other town embodies ‘Bling’ as much as Blackpool in Illuminations season?,the chavs love it 
. Which other town can claim to have the countries (if not the worlds) largest disco mirrorball? (And its not even in a disco, its on the bleedin’ Prom!)
When you’ve had enough of the local chavs looking at you because you walk without knuckles dragging behind and without a Von Dutch cap, there are the chavs that come from the sink estates of Lancashire (and beyond) for a holiday to puke and piss in the streets,or on the peer after to much sweet stuff and a go on chav rides as now pleasure beach is closed without pay airport style security at the entrance to the park itself. Bag checks, metal detectors – the lot a chav free zone indeed, so no where to wander around and intimidate people other than the piers, oh and if thats bad for you do not worry you can  get on the front where there is endless runs of ancient 60s throw back 10 pound a night BnB falling apart with its wonderful decor the endless shops of tat plastic breasts rock of all shapes including phallic 
It smells every shop is smelly and dirty wiffy for sure cracking paint damp stains my mate told me in his shop a child was allowed to take a dump on the shop floor 
it is in a rank foul place

it was clean, bright and shiny and the shops sold decent nifty stuff for cheap,walking down font getting some sweets,I went when I was really little,
 I saw a cute monkey and I thought it was really cool.a snake as well , even been pleasure beach for rides it is like it has time stood still rot set in and no idea how to stop it you will need a huge bulldozer thats for sure 
what gets me is prices now to go in the tower is hugely expensive,Tussards the Dungeon all prohibitively expensive they make sums up now so things you may want to do ,you cant

Reason to go to the last place on earth god created then hit with a shovel 
a annual event the lights this stretches for miles down the sea front on chilly evenings and has many pretty lights sometimes themed so could be nickleodeon or Dr Who a has been associated with Blackpool for many years 
This year is 100 years of the lights 
It was in 1912 that lights were first strung up on the promenade to mark the royal visit of Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria.
was looking forward to seeing old faves not sen since my childhood ,its a thing we do ooop north go see the lights 
Was once for working family holiday now it is for chavs of the world to unite this is there day out
can also take rides in horse and carriage,tho why would you want to? but i love horses,tacky princess couch has to be seen  

i remeber this  as a child nice to see him back

so there you go other reason for me to visit Blackpool see my mates shop who or toys inc whatever he is calling it now 

and well for me there was this set of lights 

and a tram i hadn’t seen for years was  there,there  was new ones going up and down, the illuminated ones were for seeing the lights  the classic trams the old 50s ones have gone so less reason to want to go, way to go council
Rocket tram was used as advertising only on a roundabout no longer in use

The lights can be nice and some impressive ,this year defiantly worth a look,they dug out all the old classics and it looked good, last year was hopeless 
so if you do decide to go ,drive you can go spend couple of hours drive along front go ooo ahhhh and leave, do as we did and go for day you wont have to fond a memory

BUT as my good lady is not from round here she enjoyed herself seeing other places but she leant over to me walking down the front and said “Its very rough here” 

on that note a strangers POV i shall leave it

Edit

as truly not worth blog of own,watched Dr who since return to screens ,and my good lady knows more than me now, was told is last one a very brief season indeed 
and dear god what a boring one we have gone from writing for himself and convoluted plot arcs to stand alone ,wet ,dull episodes 
What  are these storys actually about simple and written by local primary school kids
invasion of boxes give some people heart attacks thats it ??, endless whitering about the ponds AGAIN  !!!!!!!!
next week angels again, river song, again, New York again and USA twice in one season  and all about ponds again 
you boring bastards ,officially bored and not interested in fact completely lost interest

Like the Program and may things there in, but have lost interest i just can not be bothered  ,new series may never have totally captured me and do believe it to be a pale shadow of itself as a concept and in execution , but last couple of years dear god it is so dull Moffet is just a waste of time ,ego maniac running wild like kid in a sweet shop
I do like Matt he is a good Dr and looks ok and Amy was a good character at first and was some interesting  ideas and lots of potential and in comes moffet with his want list, and oh Boy friend oh look its domestic city again ,and as producer and script editor he writes storys he wants being clever with a plot thread that makes sense to him a story he wants to do and then decides to act clever, 
Now everything is dull rubbish with again constant banging on about the companions there marriage work life etc even had there own mini series prior to season start !!!
one extreme to other sublime to ridiculous  so dont know anymore and frankly do not care

The merchandise is getting pretty thick and fast in the bargain shops, in fact the down turn of merchandise has been none existent, cant remember last time who stuff was in Tesco and other shops even sci fi specialist shops like Forbidden Planet are remaindering the New who stuff in racks ,and what is made  is sold off cheap to bargain bin stores a certain chain for last year or more same three figures (Vampire boy smilers winder)  un touched on there shelves  , proof if any were needed  it is effecting merchandise arm of program and some company’s like CO are getting bit warm and singed  little wonder if this is your output,

coming soon your action figure of ………………a box with a 3 painted on it , a cowboy with a big gun arm ,more bronze Daleks (No wait there already in there millions and out as a talkie ) errrrm  ?? ,oh Rory figure just as he is leaving  erm ,ah more Angels ,no wait already got them out and milked that one 
ah a Silurian with dinosaur ooo old guy with his stick