The monotony of TV's most iconic scarf

Hello there! If you’ve already signed up for this newsletter, thank you so much! I’m so thrilled you’re here for the ride of…whatever I end up doing with this space. I’m still playing around with the format, so things might change once I get into the groove of things. For now, hang on tight to the TARDIS controls.

The Knit: The Fourth Doctor’s Scarf (season 13, stunt duplicate)

Pattern: Ravelry / Direct link

Yarns: Cascade 220 Superwash in Burnt Orange, Camel, and Marionberry; Universal Deluxe Worsted in Bronze Brown, Gold Spice, and Dark Crystal; Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather.

When I wrote about Tom Baker’s Doctor Who scarf about a year-and-a-half ago, I never expected that I would, you know, actually make Tom Baker’s Doctor Who scarf.

Not because the scarf is difficult to make—at least for me; my difficulty levels might not be the same as yours—but rather because I don’t think it’s an interesting pattern. It’s one type of stitch (garter, or knit every stitch with a slipped stitch at the end of every row) for thousands and thousands of rows. And even before you block the scarf, it’s gonna be far longer than you’d expect. (The original scarf that Baker wore on the show was 12 feet long before you added in the tassels.)

Although I’ve yet to watch one of Baker’s episodes (I’ve seen all of NuWho up until partway through Jodie Whittaker’s run), Baker’s obnoxiously long scarf looms large on the show. Not that I have scientific proof, but it’s probably one of the most iconic aspects of Doctor Who outside of the TARDIS, the sonic screwdriver, and the designs of the Daleks and Cybermen.

But here I am, having spent the better part of my summer doing just that.

A few months back, I was commissioned to knit Baker’s scarf, and it’s more or less been my main project ever since; I’ve got a much easier travel project, but I’ll write about it in another issue. As of today, I’ve got about nine stripes left to knit, and while nothing about the scarf has been difficult, per se, it’s just been…kind of boring.

Lengthy scarves are appealing to wear and I’ve knitted one for myself, but when you’re doing the same stitch repeatedly for 47 stripes, it’s so easy to zone out. But it’s also the platonic ideal of binge-watch knitting.

The Flick: Succession season 1

Streaming: HBO Max

I’m only three episodes into Succession—a show that no fewer than six people have, in one way or another, recommended to me for years and is the in the name of the group dm formerly known as “Sopranos Watch 2021” I have with a couple of friends from college (love you both!)—and I’m half-convinced it’s actually a comedy masquerading as a drama. (The inverse: Barry is a drama masquerading as a black comedy.)

Why didn’t I watch Succession when it first came out? A few reasons:

1. Did you miss the part where I mentioned in the first issue of Knit(ting) Flicks that there’s Too Much TV? There’s too much TV and I can barely keep up with the stuff I legitimately want to watch.

2. I have a big personal aversion to cringe humor or shows full of secondhand embarrassment—and Succession, from what I understood, had a lot of both.

3. As a journalist, the “Vaulter” episode.

But earlier this year, I dove in headfirst in an attempt to finally understand the memes. I’m still in the “before it gets good” section, but it’s a lot funnier than I thought it’d be and it’s perfectly cast.

What is always great on Succession is the Nicholas Britell theme. *chef kiss*

What I’m Reading²

• Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin: Despite being a Game of Thrones expert, I never finished GRRM’s Targaryen history when it came out in 2018. With House of the Dragon’s release on the horizon, I’m finally fixing that. Now that I’m on the other side of the Dance of the Dragons, wow I can see why this part would be so compelling for HBO and the creative time.

• Damon Lindelof, the mad genius behind some of my all-time favorite TV shows, always has something insightful to say. And his recent appearance on Into It (Sam Sanders’ new podcast for Vulture) where he talks about letting things end and his most famous no (not letting Lost run for 10 seasons as ABC wanted it to) is no exception.

• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North: This was the latest book from the sci-fi book club I joined earlier this year. The ending was a tiny bit of a let-down and the protagonist is really just Some Dude, but it tackles concepts of time travel (in a fashion) and immortality in a really intriguing way I haven’t seen before. Just don’t think about the particulars too much lest the world-building breaks your brain.

• The final round of Emmy voting begins today, which means we’ve been spoiled over the past few weeks with TV deep-dives with some of the nominees. Some of my favorites? THR’s cover story with the ladies of Yellowjackets (hell yeah that adult Van casting announcement); the What We Do in the Shadows showrunners’ Q&A, in which they, too, are aghast at the cast being snubbed for acting awards again despite the show’s overall success; and the ever-charming Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein on the end of Ted Lasso for EW.

• And less of a read, but since I mentioned the Emmys, doesn’t “Emmy Winner Rhea Seehorn” sound wonderful? Because I, a person who cannot vote for any of the Emmys, really think it does.

Shameless Plugs

• Did you know that I have a biweekly streaming newsletter over at the Dot? I do! It’s where I get to wax poetics about loving how queer Harley Quinn is, among other streaming-friendly shows and movies. If you’re not subscribed already, you can fix that right now!

• I watched Purple Hearts, Netflix’s extremely popular pro-military romance so you don’t have to. (This is a pro-romance newsletter, so none of my issues have to do with the conventionality of romance tropes, which I adore when executed well, and are all more about the military propaganda and tired depictions of liberals and conservatives.)

• I also reviewed Amazon’s A League of Their Own series, which isn’t a 1:1 remake of the beloved 1992 film but rather a vast (if slightly uneven) exploration of elements from the film that were either passing nods or reduced to subtext. Also? Incredibly gay!

Knitwear of the Week³

Knit: A chunky white Aran turtleneck

Worn By: Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), who accessorized it with a hardcover edition of Stephen King’s Misery (which he’s about to spoil the ending for) in When Harry Met Sally.

Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham

Most of the time, this section will be dedicated to something more recent or something that popped up in a show/movie I’ve recently watched. But I have to kick off the inaugural Knitwear of the Week with a stone-cold classic: Even in the middle of a massive heat wave, Harry’s Aran is eternal.

1  It’s not always gonna actually be a literal flick, so just roll with it.

2  I haven’t quite mastered reading and knitting yet, but reading, it’s great! Also a combination of books and articles and the like.

3  Or fortnight. Or month. You get it. Anyway, the footnote feature in Beehiiv is neat and I may end up overdoing it for shits and giggles.