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In Doctor Who, the Doctor’s timey-wimey adventures have led to them creating some of their greatest obstacles, which could include the deadlock seal.
The revival of Doctor Who brought several major changes and additions to the long-running sci-fi series. Some of these changes acted as major story development, like the supposed death of the Time Lords. Other changes were more technical yet still played into the stories, such as the deadlock seal. The deadlock seal is a lock that cannot be opened by a sonic device unless it is specifically keyed to said sonic. It was introduced in the Doctor Who revival as a clear foil to the sonic screwdriver to keep the device from being too powerful. Interestingly, the Doctor’s screwdriver may be why the deadlock exists in-universe as well.
The Doctor has been using their sonic since as far back as their second incarnation. In all the time the Doctor has used the sonic, they’ve rarely come up against other people running around with sonic devices of their own. Certain accounts state the sonic probe was developed by the Time Lords. This would explain why so few people outside the Doctor and their companions have sonic devices in Doctor Who.
With a limited amount of sonics floating around time and space, it begs the question as to why a deadlock seal would need to be made in the first place. The seal could have been made to counter other advanced lockpicking devices. However, its specific ability to negate foreign sonics from opening the deadlock implies it was made specifically to counter sonic devices like the Doctor’s.
Having run around for hundreds of years with a sonic screwdriver, the Doctor’s legend could have easily spread word of their device’s insane unlocking capabilities. It makes sense that some villain would eventually consider making a lock to block the sonic. Either that or an inventor who learned of the need for such a device decided to capitalize on the opportunity.
Captain Jack Harkness stated he met the inventor of the deadlock, Arthur Deadlock, in the Big Finish audio drama Thoughts and Prayers. With a name like Deadlock, it’s possible the idea for a deadlock seal could have been with him since the day he was born. Conversely, the Doctor’s use of the sonic could be what inspired Deadlock to tailor the deadlock seal to sonic devices.
The Doctor’s main tool creating its signature obstacle is pretty consistent with the timey-wimey nature of Doctor Who. The loss of Gallifrey and the Time Lords’ supervision may have also played a role in the creation of the deadlock. If the sonic was originally Time Lord technology, the loss of the Time Lords could have let the sonic’s schematics fall into Deadlock’s hands. If Gallifrey’s disappearance did lead to the deadlock’s creation, the Doctor would still be indirectly responsible for it happening.
Seeing as how they and their past incarnations sent Gallifrey into a pocket dimension to save it, the Doctor left a gap where the Time Lords used to govern. Combined with their frequent use of the sonic on nearly every adventure, it stands to reason an inventor or opportunist would make the most out of the lack of supervision. The tales of the Doctor’s sonic could’ve created a legacy that Arthur Deadlock decided to make a counter to, creating an excellent foil for the device without taking away the sonic screwdriver like past incarnations of the Doctor had to deal with.
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