Doctor Who Season 10 has completed filming in Valencia, Spain and the official Twitter account posted a photo with a slate, sonic screwdriver and a pair of sunglasses.
Now Whovians would recall that in Season 9 Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi traded in his trusty sonic screwdriver for a pair of “sonic sunglasses” which basically operated the same way. The device was divisive among fans with many calling for a return to the beloved screwdriver.
The photo seems to hint that we will be seeing those sonic sunglasses in the new season. And this got me thinking about the various accessories used by different incarnations of the Doctor. So for this edition of “So Who Saturday” we will be counting down the Top 10 Doctor Who accessories on their cool factor and functionality. We will be including the sunglasses but excluding the TARDIS (too easy) and the sonic screwdriver because that has been used by all Doctors on television, save the Sixth, and would be an obvious number one.
So allons-y, Geronimo and here we go:
#10 Seventh Doctor’s umbrella
It’s an umbrella that does not do anything. But it’s shaped like a question mark. Get it? Question mark – who – Doctor Who? Let’s just move on.
#9 Second Doctor’s recorder
The Second Doctor was a bit of a clown, and his random recorder playing when he wanted to relax or think exemplified this.
#8 Twelfth Doctor’s sonic sunglasses
I am on the side of fans who do not like the sonic sunglasses. They look ordinary and are just lame. I hope in Series 10 new companion Bill steps on them and we never see them again. #bringbackourscrewdriver
#7 Fifth Doctor’s celery
You may be thinking – why is this man wearing a celery on his lapel? In his final appearance in “The Caves of Androzani” the Fifth Docto claimed to be allergic to certain gases in the Praxis range of the spectrum and the celery would turn purple in that case. And if that happened he would eat the celery, and at the minimum it would be good for his teeth. Eat your veggies kids.
#6 First Doctor’s signet ring
A bit of a precursor to the sonic screwdriver this signet ring had a variety of uses including supplying power to the TARDIS’ main doors and controlling the giant ant-like alien the Zarbi. The Second Doctor discarded it, however, because it did not physically fit him.
#5 Third Doctor’s Whomobile
Spending three seasons trapped on Earth due to the meddling Timelords the Third Doctor needed various ways to get around. One of them was this sleek, futuristic Whomobile which appeared in just two episodes. Jon Pertwee actually commissioned the vehicle himself and christened it “Whomobile” though it was never called that in the show.
#4 Timey-wimey detector
This odd looking device of the Eleventh Doctor had a variety of applications including detecting people sent back in time, telling if someone was a Zygon or not, and even boiling an egg from up to 30 paces away. Now that is handy.
#3 Third Doctor’s Bessie
Pertwee sure did like his wheels. The second of his vehicles to make this list the canary yellow Bessie was the Doctor’s main transport while stranded on Earth and featured in many of his adventures. More than a nice car, Bessie featured extras a la James Bond including an anti-theft force field and remote control capabilities.
#2 Fourth Doctor’s Scarf
The Fourth Doctor’s scarf did not have any special properties but it is just so darn iconic. It is as a hallmark of Doctor Who as the TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver. And the Fourth Doctor did find a number of applications for it including tripping foes, saving himself from falling to his doom and helping him to climb a mine shaft.
According to Fourth Doctor Tom Baker a woman named Begonia Pope was asked to knit a scarf for the new Doctor but was unsure how long a scarf was required and used all of the wool she had been given which resulted in the ridiculously long scarf. The producers reportedly loved it and after shortening it a bit it was used for the Fourth Doctor’s first story “Robot” (tardis.wikia.com).
#1 Psychic Paper (Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors)
Other than the sonic screwdriver no accessory is more useful than psychic paper. Used by all of the NuWho Doctors this blank white card could make the viewer see whatever the Doctor wished. He would usually make them believe he was some form of authority figure. This handy device helped speed along stories where the Doctor showed up from nowhere into the middle of a situation and needed to explain his presence. It is definitely his best accessory after his trusty screwdriver.
So what is your favorite Doctor Who accessory? Feel free to comment below.
For my list of the Top 7 Worst NuWho Monsters you can click here and for my list of the Top 10 Touching Moments in Doctor Who you can click here. And for more wibbley wobbly timey wimey TV posts you can subscribe via email or follow me on Twitter @suprememango012.
Got your back like a chiropractor. l8rs
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