The classic halo headed Sonic Screwdriver holds a fond place in my heart. It was the first prop that really captured my imagination and I remember those heady childhood days growing up in London and playing Doctor Who in the playground when all I ever wanted was my own sonic screwdriver. I even fashioned a makeshift substitute from an old Gillette razor handle to accessorise those little roleplays.
The story of the origins of the classic sonic screwdriver stretch all the way back to 1966 and the live action Supermarionation movie "Thunderbirds are Go!". Within the film there are closeups of real actor's hands using real props. Here are some screenshots of the original prop:
Anyway, to cut a long story short, in the early 70's, Ian Scoones who was an ex-Thunderbirds visual effects guy and then working on Doctor Who, got wind that Gerry Anderson's production company were selling off a job lot of old props. Scoones acquired this lot for the BBC and amongst the goodies was the above prop.
The prop was then adapted for use on Doctor Who and made its first appearance in Curse of the Peladon. This sonic screwdriver was handed down from Pertwee to Baker to Davison, undergoing several modifications along the way before meeting its end in The Visitation.
So where is the controversy? Well, there are some people claiming that this prop was a bought, off-the-shelf item. The sad, deluded dickhead in question, Jet Beetle on the RPF, is claiming that the sonic screwdriver was, in fact, a medical tool called a chiropractic activator. In fact, he claims to have definitive proof, but more of this sad soul's raving later.
Why would he think this? Let's look at the presented evidence.
A chiropractic activator is basically a spring loaded tool that is used apply force to a vertebra to realign it. The technique was developed during the sixties in the US by Dr Arlan Fuhr. He based this tool on a dental impaction hammer, which was essentially a spring loaded centre punch.
He founded an entire business on this tool back in 1967 and in 1974, made his Chiropractic Activator Adjusting Instrument Mk 1 (Activator 1) commercially available for the first time. This was based on his original 1967 prototype. Here's what it looks like:
Looks similar to a classic sonic doesn't it?
Well, in 1994 Dr Fuhr released the Chiropractic Activator Adjusting Instrument Mk 2 (Activator 2):
Now the similarities become more apparent.
However, there are two major problems here.
First, Ian Scoones has stated categorically that the Sonic Screwdriver prop was scratch built by the late Tony Dunsterville (below) and this has been confirmed by several sources including the Thunderbirds are Go! director David Lane.
Secondly, pictures of the Thunderbirds prop were sent to both Dr Arlan Fuhr and to Professor Hugh Gemmell, teacher of Activator methods at Anglo-European College of Chiropractic and the following replies were recieved:
From Professor Gemmell:
"What can I tell you about the Activator? Well, it was, and still is, a therapeutic tool, a hand-held device intended to deliver a controlled and reproducible force. It was developed by Warren Lee and Arlan Fuhr in the 1960s for chiropractic use. It looks like the Activator in the picture ‘chiropractic-activator’ is a second generation model (Activator II). It just so happens that I have one sitting on the desk in front of me now. I understand that the idea for the original Activator came from a surgical mallet designed to split impacted wisdom teeth. The Activator is widely used by chiropractors today, and a number of variations on the theme exist. ...As far as I understand it, Activator II did not exist commercially until 1994, and the first Activator did not become available commercially until the mid-1970s. These dates are too late for the Thunderbirds prop. To the best of my knowledge, Lee and Fuhr’s Activator was developed in the United States in the 1960s, and not in Britain. "
Whilst Prof Gemmell acknowledges the visual similarity between the Sonic Screwdriver and the Activator 2, he raises a serious and fundamental issue which I will deal with shortly.
Dr Arlan Fuhr:
"I do not believe it is a modified 1967 Activator. It look like a screwdriver not a center punch."
You would think that the inventor of the device on which this prop was supposedly based would recognise it immediately? It could be argued that there must be many different designs and variation on this tool however one must understand that Dr Fuhr owns the IPR to this device and anyone who produces a similar device would need his permission to use the principle. He would therefore be in a position to know about similar devices. However, that is not the case as no other company but his produces these devices!
The basic flaw in the reasoning that the classic sonic screwdriver was a Chiropractic activator is that the dates make it IMPOSSIBLE for the Thunderbirds prop to be such a device since the prop existed a year before Dr Fuhr developed the Activator 1 and a decade before this device available commercially. Even more compelling is that the Activator 2, which bears most similarity to the classic sonic, was not available until 1994, over ten years since the prop was seen on screen and 5 years since the series ended!
When combined with the knowledge that Tony Dunsterville made the original Thunderbirds prop, there is probably more chance of finding Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Elvis and Michael Jackson playing strip poker on the moon than the classic Sonic Screwdriver being a found chiropractic activator.
This brings me onto the most deluded and misguided fool ever to grace an Internet message board since John Titor. 'Jet Beetle'.
This cretin has claimed, in the face of overwhelming common sense and evidence to the contrary, that he has located and found the Activator which he claims the classic Sonic is made from:
This stupid, ignorant fuckmunch has been ranted since March that he has evidence but between himself and that cardboard cutout cunt, Bob Mitsch, refuses to post any proof despite being called out on it. You would think that the easiest way of shutting up those, including myself, who think he is a cockspanner of the highest order, would be to post proof. Any kind of proof. Even maybe just a small section that allegedly matches the prop. But no...he stalls, he attacks others and he fudges the issue. I've even offered him $50k of my own money, my home, my watch and hell, even my porn stash. So confident am I that he is bluffing I will put up any stake into escrow to prove what a bullshitter he is. So how about it? Will Jet Beetle either piss or get the fuck off the pot? No proof will ever come because of the reasons I have stated. Jet Beetle is a liar and not a particularly convincing one either and the sooner those on the RPF who give him any kind of credence realise that the Sonic Screwdriver was a one-off custom made piece, the better.
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