How long is Doctor Who’s scarf? Now we all know the poetic answer is “very,” but the scientific answer is a little harder to pin down. Whether you’re Begonia Pope or Madame Nostradamus, you’ll need a lot of wool and a strong pair of needles. And, if the history of Doctor Who is anything to go by, a decent helping of regeneration energy…
Doctor Who’s scarf is infinite
But why regeneration energy? Well, many a keen-eyed Whovian will know that the iconic scarf – as donned by the Fourth Doctor – has been in a number of scrapes over the years. First, it survived being thrown off the top of Jodrell Bank in ‘Logopolis.’ Not a huge problem if you’re a scarf, but it was subsequently unravelled by the newly-regenerated Fifth Doctor to help him navigate the TARDIS corridors in ‘Castrovalva.’ In the space of two episodes, Doctor Who’s scarf was nothing more than a collection of red and purple strands. And then of course a whole quarter of the TARDIS was jettisoned to help the crew escape from the clutches of Event One, so who knows if it survived.
How then, do we explain the scarf’s appearance in the first episode of ‘Time and the Rani,’ when the newly-regenerated Seventh Doctor puts it on in the TARDIS wardrobe? We cannot question canon – it was destroyed in ‘Castrovalva,’ and then it came back from the dead. Clearly, the Fourth Doctor’s scarf possesses the same regeneration energy as the Time Lords themselves. Except it, uhh, just comes back as itself. Which can happen; the Tenth Doctor did it.
And let’s not forget that the Tenth Doctor also donned the burgundy scarf in the closing moments of The Christmas Invasion, indicating that the scarf somehow survived the ravages of the Time War, which wiped out whole planets and entire species. Doesn’t seem likely does it?
Now I know many of you will be thinking that the Doctor could simply have lots of spares knocking around the TARDIS, but let’s not get bogged down in crazy explanations. Doctor Who‘s scarf is of infinite length, because it cannot be destroyed. Obviously.
But how long is the scarf really?
I guess the concept of an infinite scarf is a bit of an abstract one. Clearly, Doctor Who‘s scarf had a measurable length, when it wasn’t busy regenerating. And the answer to that question is 18 ft., which is roughly the height of two-and-a-bit TARDISes, or three Bonnie Langfords. That’s a lot of wool.
And if you’re thinking that such a garment is a hugely impractical fashion choice, remember that it saved the Fourth Doctor’s life on many occasions (anyone remember the opening moments of ‘The Masque of Mandragora’ Episode Two…?) In fact, we’ve written a whole piece that addresses this very issue: The top 3 uses for a Fourth Doctor scarf. You should check it out.
But how do we know all this information? Well some of you may know us as the official makers of Doctor Who’s scarf. We sell them, and we can vouch for everything we’re saying. This is all canon. The scarf is 18 ft. long. It regenerates. You heard it here first.
And as the forums implode under the weight of this revelation, why not treat yourself to one of your very own Doctor Who scarves? Or, if you have one already, tell us: have you ever turned heads on the streets of Paris, or on the banks of Loch Ness? Let us know in the comments below.
Tom Baker scarf – order now from the Lovarzi shop!
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