The Neon Splatter Interview: Rachel Talalay of TANK GIRL and all your favorite TV episodes
Life’s a curious thing, sometimes. You have a plan, prepare for it, execute, and succeed. But what if part of it gets tweaked? Do you give up? Try to bend it back to where you wanted? Follow through with wary eyes? No one would blame you for the last two; a few would judge you for the first (quietly or otherwise).
Rachel Talalay, pronounced like “thataway,” came to that three-pronged fork after the world misunderstood TANK GIRL. Cinema was her past, it should have been her future, but the Powers That Be wanted none of that. So, she pivoted and became a prolific director of television.
Ask anyone who knows what a TARDIS is and they’ll tell you, from over half a century of Doctor Who episodes to choose from, one of hers, “Heaven Sent”, is the best. They’d be right, but they’d also be doing a disservice by not watching other shows she worked on. Some are Sherlock, Terminal City, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Legends of Tomorrow, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Dice, Riverdale, and the show she took some time to tell us about, Doom Patrol. Based off a comic that sounds a lot like X-Men (though it came out first), and showrun by Jeremy Carver, Doom Patrol is about a group of superpowered misfits led by a charismatic man in a wheelchair to do good for a world that wants nothing to do with them. Unlike Charles Xavier, Niles Caulder and his team lean so hard into The Weird™ that they barrel roll all the way to the series finale. Which is in full display in the third episode of the first season, “Puppet Patrol”, written by Tamara Becher-Wilkinson & Tom Farrell, and directed by Ms. Talalay.
Your tastes as a filmmaker lean anarchic and dramatic, so you and Doom Patrol were a great fit. Were you a fan of the comics? If so, how did you feel about the changes the show made?
Do you call it ’taste’? Yes, I was a real fan of the comics — see the picture of some of my collection. As you say, I like the weird and anarchic. Jeremy Carver is a major talent and I always am in awe when something seems unfilmable and then becomes something that honors its source but has a life of its own. It’s quite the exceptional series.
TV shows tend to have a house style. How much of your style managed to squeak through, and did it help that you were in the first season?
I did a very early episode (#3), so they were basically figuring out what worked. It was such an eclectic show, there was a lot of freedom. I was not given any specific direction about a style. I was lucky enough to have the pilot DP, Chris Manley, shoot my episode so he had a finger on the pulse of what had been discussed previously, but there was a lot of ‘figuring it out.’ I didn’t even have the finished pilot episode as a cue, I had to go with what I thought was right given the elements handed to me.
How beautiful is Chris’ cinematography?!
Were rehearsals and shooting more stressful with puppets?
I had an amazing time with the puppets/puppeteers. They did a lot of work on their own based on the script before we became involved, so they had the full performance to show us and then we gave them feedback and it kept becoming cooler. It was a blast.
For some reason the puppeteers were fans of some of my other works, and one had a Tank Girl and a Doctor Who tattoo, and one had a Freddy tat. They were all my love-children.
How involved were you in the Cliff/Jane fight scenes?
When there’s a really good stunt coordinator, you usually have an early conversation about look and tone, then they work it out with stunt performers, they send you recordings, you comment and figure out how to shoot it, give feedback, then on the shoot day, you get to guide but also listen to what the actors feel comfortable doing. Then there’s never enough time to do half of what you want to do.
Having fully engaged wonderful actors makes it easier and a lot of chaotic fun.
What was it like handling Riley Shanahan and Brendan Fraser as Cliff, and Matthew Zuk and Matt Bomer as Larry?
Unfortunately I didn’t have any work with Brendan Fraser. Have you seen RENTAL FAMILY? So great!
I was purely working with Riley who already was inside Brendan’s head. I did get to work with both Matthew and Matt. It was odd not to work with the actors first, then have their movement artists follow suit, but Riley and Matthew were fantastic.
Matt Bomer called this picture our prom date photo!
Why only one episode?
I don’t remember if that’s all they asked me to do or if my schedule meant I couldn’t do more. I would have happily continued on the show. I loved watching it as well as working on it.
I think someone on production thought I was fussy (equals ‘girl') because I didn’t like driving myself on shoot days. I haven’t driven myself in decades and it was a death trap highway with a sign saying how many people had died on it that year. It went up every few days.
I got stopped by the police one day. He was a good old boy but I was freaked out. Turns out I didn’t have my lights on at dusk. I was used to living in places where all the cars are required to have auto-lights in the dark. It never even occurred to me to check that.
He was polite, I was very embarrassed, but I didn’t feel safe.
There was the tale of a hurricane one shoot day. The whole schedule was put into disarray. They were driving me by then, but it was so rainy and windy, we saw cars spin out in front of us.
Gotta be safe.
What was the turnaround for aspects of Crazy Jane? In terms of costume and makeup, and Diane Guerrero getting into the headspaces (pun intended).
Yes, this was challenging but I don’t remember details worth discussing. Diane was great. It made those days more complicated to schedule and obviously that was more stressful. They were already looking for ways to minimize changes. I can’t even get my head around how Orphan Black succeeded.
How long did it take for you to make your episode, from getting hired to picture lock?
I really don’t remember. It was a DGA show so I only had 4 days to edit. I was not involved after that. That’s the plight of US TV directing (too long to go into here). The producers take over so you have no say in final edit or VFX. I have a lot of thoughts on how broken that system is in terms of treating directors as footage providers. It’s an old system that needs reforming.
In your episode, and the rest of your filmography, characters have raw emotions. How do you walk through the minefield of getting what you want in those scenes while not abusing or neglecting a performer's vulnerability?
Every actor is different. I believe a director’s job is to support the actor in their needs. That can be anything from discussing the role and the script to getting out of their way and allowing them to excel. I don’t believe in overfussing actors. And if you get the casting and script right, much of that work is done before you even enter set.
I love actors and I want them to feel that.
What’s good set etiquette for a director?
It’s all about respect. Respect the creators, respect the actors, respect the crew. And in return, one is searching for that respect to be given back, but if that isn’t the case, that’s no excuse. If going onto an established show, try to figure out the rhythms of the cast and crew and fit in while accomplishing the work. Try to bring fresh enthusiasm without overwhelming an often-tired machine.
What was directing a podcast like with Agent Stoker?
That’s created by an old friend from university, Brian Nelson, and we were so delighted to work together finally. I didn’t know how to direct a podcast, but it’s the same kind of guidance, just all aural.
I love that project. One day I hope someone will decide to make it into a series and we can film it. It would be amazing. Brian — and co-conspirator/lead actor Chris Conner — are wonderful.
Any Chilling Adventures of Sabrina thoughts or memories?
That was great, too. I was especially happy to be reunited with Michelle Gomez. Those sets were incredible. Some of the best production design I've seen, and I didn’t even get to work in some of the best areas.
I loved having an exorcism episode. I hear the episode is particularly scary but that goes back to everything I learned on A Nightmare On Elm Street — how to set up horror and emphasize the creep.
I really enjoy being handed difficult scripts and working out what to do with them and I loved creating atmosphere around the story. Roberto is also a wonderful showrunner whom I knew well from Riverdale. He cares about photographic look as well as story and character. I appreciate being given room to play in that arena. Imagine if Riverdale had been bright and soda-poppy. I don’t think it would have been half as interesting.
Life’s a curious thing, sometimes. It’s also a challenging thing, a robust thing, a creative thing, and a productive thing. Occasionally, all at once. From the sampling of Rachel Talalay’s career presented here, those things seem to be a constant for her. Though her directing plan switched to a smaller screen, she’s had the best success any director could want: longevity. However... it wouldn’t hurt if the Powers That Be gave her a few well-earned solo projects as a victory lap. And paid her well.
Follow Rachel Talalay on Bluesky at bsky.app/profile/racheltalalay.com and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@howifilmedthis-racheltalalay.
