After working together on Doctor Who, Rachel Talalay is once again teaming up with Steven Moffat as she directs the first episode of Season Four of Sherlock.
Aside from our main focus, we at Doctor Who Watch also love to report on Sherlock, Doctor Who‘s unofficial sibling show on BBC1. As Sherlock finally begins filming its fourth season, it has been reported by Radio Times that Rachel Talalay is directing the first episode, which will most likely air on New Year’s Day of 2017. Whovians know her from her directorial work on the Doctor Who episodes ‘Dark Water,’ ‘Death in Heaven,’ ‘Heaven Sent,’ and ‘Hell Bent.’
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Talalay achieved a couple of milestones in the history of Doctor Who, having been both the first American to direct an episode, and the first woman to direct a season finale. As for Sherlock — other than Coky Giedroyc who directed the unaired pilot — Talalay will be the first woman ever to direct an episode. While these firsts do hold cultural significance, both Talalay and Steven Moffat prefer to focus on her notable portfolio of work (as she expressed in a May 2014 interview with Sarah Mirk of Bitch Media). My favorite of her movies is Tank Girl, which had a lot of influence on me in my youth.
Below is a little Sherlock teaser video from Doctor Who and Sherlock alumn Mark Gatiss, who wrote the first episode of this coming season. Notice Talalay’s name on the slate in the Director slot, along with Stuart Biddlecombe as Director of Photography. He had the same job for the Doctor Who episodes ‘Heaven Sent’ and ‘Hell Bent.’ As is well known, the BBC likes to keep things in the family, so to speak.
For more details about Season Four of Sherlock, the BBC has released some juicy information. As we have frustratingly become accustomed, there will only be three episodes total.
Related Story: REVIEW: Doctor Who: ‘Hell Bent’
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Are you excited about Rachel Talalay directing the first episode of Season Four of Sherlock? What do you think of her work on Doctor Who? Would you like to see her direct more episodes? Let us know in the comments.