Canes were long, hand-held rods, constructed of a variety of styles and materials. They were used by several humanoid species, primarily for assisting the elderly to walk. They did, however, frequently conceal other purposes.
Uses[]
In his first incarnation, the Doctor sometimes carried a cane, which he occasionally used as a weapon. (TV: The Chase, The Five Doctors; PROSE: The Sons of Grekk)
Ada Gillyflower used a cane to aid her in her blindness. In 1893, she killed Mr Sweet by beating the parasite with the cane repeatedly. (TV: The Crimson Horror)
In 1970s London, the Third Doctor used his cane, which had a built-in laser beam, to fight and destroy an alien which had been sent to assassinate him. (COMIC: Assassin from Space)
The Fourth Doctor carried a cane as part of his period friendly attire during a trip to London in the 19th century with Leela. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
In 2007, the Abzorbaloff concealed a limitation field generator within his cane to control his abilities. When Elton Pope destroyed the cane, the Abzorbaloff and his victims died. (TV: Love & Monsters)
In the 2000s,[nb 1] Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart kept a cane gun which he used to knock out a Bane. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)
The Toymaker wore a tuxedo, a top hat, and carried a cane while surrounded by a rupture in time. (PROSE: Double Danger [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 (Penguin Group, 2023).)
In 2050, Drake kept a dragon-headed cane. When tests on an experimental device failed, he used his cybernetic hand to crush the head on his cane in anger. (TV: Sirens of Ceres)
In his eleventh incarnation, the Doctor once used a sonic cane, which was similar, if not identical, in function to his sonic screwdriver. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) At the end of his life, during the Siege of Trenzalore, the Doctor lost his left leg fighting a blind Tsunami Snake. After fashioning a wooden prosthetic for himself, (PROSE: The Dreaming) he used a cane to walk from then onwards. After being granted a new regeneration cycle by the Time Lords, the Doctor's vigour was restored and he tossed the cane aside in jubilation. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
The elderly curator of the National Gallery in London walked with a cane. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
Mikhail required the use of a cane in his older years. (PROSE: Reversal of Fortune)
George Litefoot owned a cane. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang) It was unique however in that it hid a "rapier sharp blade" within. (AUDIO: The Mahogany Murderers)
Footnotes[]
- ↑ No on screen date is given for the first two series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, outside of The Day of the Clown from the second series being set shortly after 9 October in an undisclosed year. While Donna Noble's present from the fourth series of Doctor Who is set around the same time as the first series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith from the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures is explicitly described as being set a year after Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? from the first series, Doctor Who's fourth series is not consistently dated, with TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS setting the present of the 13 regular episodes in 2008 (heavily implied by TV: The Star Beast and TV: The Giggle as well), and PROSE: Beautiful Chaos setting them in about April to June 2009.