Rachel Talalay to Direct Doctor Who Series Nine Finale
By David Hill
As the details for Series Nine of Doctor Who are slowly made public, we are finding a few familiar faces among those either writing or directing episodes. Mark Gatiss and Hettie MacDonald, among others, will be coming back this season. Now, we have learned that another familiar face will be returning to Doctor Who, as Rachel Talalay will be back once again.
Talalay’s return certainly did not take long. Last year, she directed the two part series ending episodes ‘Dark Water’ and ‘Death in Heaven,’ marking the return of the Master, now known as Missy. This year, Talalay will once again direct the series ending episodes, as she will be directing episodes eleven and twelve, written by Steven Moffat.
As both ‘Dark Water’ and ‘Death in Heaven’ were among the best of the episodes in Series Eight, Talalay has set the bar high for herself. While this can potentially be concerning, as it is difficult to top such a masterful performance, the fact that Talalay has worked with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor eliminates such concerns.
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With Capaldi becoming more comfortable in the role of the Doctor, and the the promise that Series Nine will have a similar tone to the previous season, this furthers the promise of these episodes. Likewise, as the series ending episodes tend to be rather memorable, Talalay could begin to etch her place as one of the better directors of the new incarnation of Doctor Who.
We still do not have any details about those episodes, aside from the fact that they were written by Moffat and will be directed by Talalay. Even with the scant details we have for Series Nine as a whole, these episodes are shrouded in mystery. Yet, even without much information, there is still quite a bit of hope, not just for these episodes, but for Series Nine as a whole.
Rachel Talalay will be returning to Doctor Who, to direct a series ending two part episode once more. Hopefully, these episodes are just as good as her previous appearance.