Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)

Let's Kill Hitler was the eighth episode in the sixth series of Doctor Who and the first episode in the Autumn half. Much like A Good Man Goes to War, it revealed much about River Song's origins. We also learn more about Amy and Rory's childhood and how they became a couple. It also explained why the Silence have been trying so hard to kill the Doctor all this time.

Synopsis
Hijacked at gunpoint, the TARDIS crash-lands in 1930's Berlin. There, the Doctor comes face to face with the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. To save the life of one of those dear to him, the Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities. In doing so, he learns a lesson in the cruellest warfare of all, the hard way.

Plot
Amy is having Rory drive through a corn field as she gives directions poorly. Upon stopping their car, they find, much as they expected, the Doctor standing by his TARDIS. Getting out of their car, the Doctor holds up a newspaper and asks "seriously?" while a zoom out shows that they made a crop circle reading "Doctor". Rory explains they did this because he wouldn't answer his phone. Amy then changes the subject, asking if he has found Melody yet as they gave him all summer. Getting Rory's permission, the Doctor hugs and reminds her that Melody grows up to be River Song, assuring Amy that he will find her. Amy immediately interrupts this as he hasn't yet. Rory, holding the paper, has Amy and the Doctor examine it; there is a line in the message that they didn't make.

As they ponder what it means, they hear a vehicle approaching and dodge out of the way as a Corvette pulls up to them. Out of the car comes Amy and Rory's best friend Mels, who immediately finds the Doctor attractive before gawking at the sight of the TARDIS and going on about how Amy told her about it. The Doctor is confused as he didn't see her at the wedding; Mel's isn't a wedding person. Amy then asks Mels where she got the Corvette, learning she "borrowed" it. With the sound of police sirens approaching, Mels points a gun at the Doctor, telling him that she needs out of there. When asked where she'd like to go, Mels says "I've got a gun, you've got a time machine. What the hell? Let's kill [Hitler".

Flashback: Mels is shown to be a childhood friend of Amy and Rory, taking delight in picking on him with her. She constantly questions Amy about the Doctor and is a frequent troublemaker at school. She gets in more trouble than anyone except boys. She insults teachers, continually references the Doctor and steals.

By the time they're grown up, Mels has stolen a bus and Amy is chiding her for it. Rory tries excusing himself as Mels points out that even if the Doctor was a figment of Amy's imagination, she still has him. Amy quickly realizes that Rory has been harboring a crush on her all these years and runs after him; she originally thought he was gay by mistake.

Back in the present, the TARDIS begins to fly wildly as Mels has shot the time rotor. The Doctor yells at her for damaging his TARDIS, which is now billowing out poisonous smoke, but Mels defends herself by saying the Doctor claimed they were in a state of Temporal grace. However, the Doctor points out that it was a clever lie and anybody could have figured it out. Screaming in teror, Amy asks where they are as the TARDIS continues to fly madly.

In 1938 Berlin, a janitor watches a Nazi officer enter his office. In a futuristic control room, the crew discuss copying the officer as the janitor enters the officer's office. In the control room, a woman complains that the last time they relied on the computer, it "made Rasputin green". She goes to 'the top level', where an electronic voice politely threatens her after a device on her wrist briefly deactivates. She looks through a view port, which is the eye of the janitor, actually a highly advanced ship, the Teselecta. She relays color codes to the control room. The janitor becomes the officer's double and beams him aboard with a miniaturization ray. Upon learning the officer's identity, the crew leave him to the "antibodies". The voice politely threatens the officer and kills him.

The Teselecta enters Adolf Hitler's office while the captain complains about the shock-absorbers malfunctioning. Hitler wonders why his officer has entered without permission and tries calling his guards. However, the Teselecta says the room has been sound-screened, to prevent anyone from hearing him cry for help, and that he has been found guilty. The Teselecta activates "justice mode" and paralyzes him with a beam of light from its mouth. However, one of the crew finds out that they arrived too earlier in his timeline. A crew member says they've detected an incoming object and turn to face it.

The TARDIS crashes through the window and knocks over the Teselecta. The TARDIS occupants stagger out in a cloud of smoke caused by Mels' destruction. The Doctor takes Mels gun from her and puts it in a fruit bowl before noticing someone is behind the desk. Apologizing for the mess, the Doctor's sentence trails off upon noticing it's Hitler. Hitler thanks the dumbfounded travelers for saving him and asks what the TARDIS is. The Doctor advances on him, saying it's a police box and "The British are coming!" The Teselecta picks itself up and a panicky Hitler fires at it. Rory punches out Hitler and takes his gun.

The Doctor and Amy help up the Teselecta as it lies about Hitler missing it. On the Doctor's orders, Rory puts Hitler in the cupboard while the Teselecta goes into observation mode - "fainting". Mels then staggers forward, calling Hitler a lousy shot before collapsing; she got hit by one of the bullets. Rory tries to help her while the Doctor tries keeping Mels conscious by talking to her. Mels says she wanted to marry the Doctor and he promises he'll ask her parents when they fix her up. However, Mels says they're right there with them.

The Doctor immediately realizes her identity as Mels begins glowing. Forcing Amy and Rory away from her, the Doctor asks Mels what her name is short for; Melody. Amy says she named her daughter after her, but the Doctor explains "you named your daughter after your daughter", cuing both of them in on what's happening. Rory begins to ask about the situation, but Mels begins regenerating with a scream. The crew of the Teselecta watch in bewilderment as they now know there's a criminal whose crimes dwarf Hitler's - Melody Pond. Completing her regeneration, Melody is now in her River Song incarnation. She madly begins going around, babbling about her new look and goes off to weigh herself.

All three time travelers discuss that this is River Song right at the beginning; she doesn't even know her name yet. Overhearing, Melody asks who River is, but the Doctor refuses to tell her. She then pulls out another gun, "getting back to business", which the Doctor saw coming. However, the Doctor had disarmed it. Knowing he would do this, Melody toke her other gun from the fruit bowl. However, the Doctor switched it with a banana; "Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?" The Doctor questions why she is in a hurry as she could have killed him back in Leadworth, revealing he disarmed the other gun.

Melody claims she's a psychopath, not rude; killing him when they just met would be rude. Amy wonders why she would be a psychopath as Melody explains that she was kidnapped and trained to kill the Doctor. The Doctor confirms that the purpose of Demons Run was to create his bespoke psychopath. Melody kisses him and calls him "Sweetie", but the Doctor tells her only River Song can call him that, calling her an old friend. Melody looks out at Berlin and decides to leave, warning her parents not to following her.

However, when the Doctor asks why he's not getting a warning, Melody reveals that her lipstick was poison, leaving them behind. The Doctor gives Amy his sonic screwdriver, instructing her to find Melody. Amy wonders what's wrong with her daughter as she is contradicting herself. The Doctor explains it's because of her brainwashing "plus she's a woman". Upon seeing Amy is annoyed, he tells her to shut up as he's dying. Entering the TARDIS, he orders the extractor fans on to remove the smoke.

Outside, Melody is confronted by guards, who she bluntly tells of her intention to kill Hitler; they shoot her However, Melody is unharmed as she is still within the first 15 hours of her regeneration, allowing her to send out a shock wave that heals her and knock out the guards. As she mounts a bike, Melody tells her approaching parents she's going shopping. Another guard approaches and Rory tries to explain what happened. However, seeing he can't, Rory knocks him down and steals his bike, heading off after Melody with Amy. However, the guard quickly gets back up and is revealed to be the Teselecta in a new form; it copies the bike and goes after them.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor activates the voice interface as a hologram of himself. However, he asks for someone he likes. It offers images of Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble, all of whom induce wails of guilt. It offers young Amelia Pond, who tells the Doctor that the poison comes from the Judas tree and prevents regeneration. The Doctor tries to get "Amelia" to help him gather his strength but it insists it is not Amelia, but a hologram. He collapses, whimpering for help, then hears "Fish fingers and custard" and drags himself to the console to confront the Teselecta.

Elsewhere, Melody enters a restaurant and orders the patrons, at gunpoint, to leave their clothes behind and flee.

Outside, Amy and Rory are wondering where she is and are looking for signs. Upon seeing the patrons of the restaurant exit in their undergarments, they realize Melody is inside. However, much to their shock, the Teselecta arrives, now in Amy's form.

Inside, Melody is working on her outfit. She then notices Amy run inside, sighing that she warned her not to come.

However, it is revealed that is actually the Teselecta as Amy and Rory wake up in the same place as the Nazi officer did. They are nearly killed by the antibodies until a member of the crew gives wrist devices to ward off the antibodies. They are taken to the bridge, where they are told that their memories will be erased of this event when its over.

Outside, Melody comments of her appearance and speculates what to do with it. The Teselecta informs Melody that she killed the Doctor on behalf of the Silence. Melody admits that she really doesn't know as her past is all a big blur. It then captures Melody as it did Hitler. The Doctor arrives in evening clothes, asking who she killed. Melody is shocked that he would waste the time he has left to change his clothes. The Doctor uses a sonic cane to scan the Teselecta and learns Amy and Rory are inside it, getting a signal form his sonic screwdriver.

Melody tries fleeing, but is captured again. The Doctor demands that they leave her alone and to know who they are. The Teselecta explains that as a form of justice, they visit war criminals at the ends of their lives, and "give them hell", agonizing pain, while the timeline continues. The Doctor asks who wants him dead and Amy persuades the captain to tell him. It says the Silence are behind the plot to kill him. They are a religious cult who believe "silence will fall" when the oldest question in the Universe is asked. It does not know what the question is. The Teselecta resumes torturing Melody.

The Doctor tells Amy to save her daughter and Amy uses the sonic screwdriver to turn off the crew's security clearance. The antibodies attack them and they teleport to safety. Amy uses a microphone to ask the Doctor for help as they are now in danger of dying. The Doctor, struggling against the pain the poison fills him with, tries reaching the TARDIS, shocking Melody as to how he still cares for her parents. The Doctor asks for her help, calling her River. Melody becomes jealous, asking the Doctor to tell her who River is.

Inside the Teselecta, Amy and Rory are cornered by the antibodies and accept they can;t be saved. Suddenly,the TARDIS materializes around Amy and Rory, who start congratulating the Doctor. However, they find a shaken Melody in his place, saying she flew the TARDIS; it taught her how.

They go to the Doctor, but he says there is no way for him to survive. He asks to speak to Melody. He asks her to find River Song, whispers something in her ear and dies. Melody asks who "River Song" is. Amy orders the Teselecta to show them. It shifts into the form of Melody's current incarnation. Having learned that she is the Doctor's "beloved friend", she asks her parents if the Doctor is "worth it". They don't understand her question, but agree he is. Melody gives up all her incarnations to save the Doctor.

Melody wakes in the best hospital in the universe. The Doctor leaves her a TARDIS blue diary. They must let her find her own way back to them.

In 5123, Melody, now going by the name of River Song, applies at the Luna University. When asked why she wants a degree in archaeology, she says she is "looking for a good man".

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * River Song - Alex Kingston
 * Mels - Nina Toussaint-White
 * Adolf Hitler - Albert Welling
 * Amelia Pond - Caitlin Blackwood
 * Young Mels - Maya Glace-Green
 * Young Rory - Ezekiel Wigglesworth
 * Zimmerman - Philip Rham
 * Carter - Richard Dillane
 * Anita - Amy Cudden
 * Jim - Davood Ghadami
 * Harriet - Ella Kenion
 * German Officer - Mark Killeen
 * Professor Candy - Paul Bentley
 * Nurse - Eva Alexander
 * Female Teacher - Tor Clark

The Doctor

 * The Doctor covertly switches a gun for a banana, leading River Song to pull the banana on him. The Ninth Doctor previously did this to Jack Harkness.
 * The Doctor adds to his rules
 * Rule 1: The Doctor lies.
 * Rule 7: Never run when you are scared.
 * Rule 27: Never knowingly be serious.
 * Rule 408: Time is not the boss of you.

The Doctor's items

 * The Doctor gives Amy his sonic screwdriver.
 * The Doctor uses a sonic cane.

Companions

 * Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble all appear as projections for the TARDIS voice interface, after the Doctor rejects a projection of himself and asks for "someone he likes." He rejects all three projections because of increasingly strong feelings of guilt. Finally, the TARDIS settles on a projection of the child Amelia Pond.

Foods and beverages

 * The TARDIS' projection of Amelia mentions fish fingers and custard.

Religion

 * The Silence are not a species, but a religious organisation of sorts.

TARDISes

 * The temporal grace in the TARDIS, which supposedly prevents weapons fire, is said by the Doctor to be a "clever lie".

Story notes

 * This is the first episode of the autumn half of the series. The spring half concluded on 4 June with A Good Man Goes to War.
 * This is the second time in the Eleventh Doctor era that companions of the previous two Doctors have been mentioned or seen in a proper episode since The End of Time; Rose Tyler was previously seen (briefly) in The Lodger.
 * The images of all the former companions are taken from publicity shots. The projections of Rose and Donna are publicity images from Series 4. The projection of Martha is from a publicity image for Series 3.
 * The Doctor makes the "Doctor Who?" running joke.
 * The car Mels steals is a Chevrolet Corvette, third generation (68-82).
 * The layout of the Teselecta's bridge is deliberately reminiscent of that of the Enterprise and other Federation starships from the television series Star Trek.
 * The TARDIS's voice interface tells the Doctor he will be dead in thirty-two minutes. Coincidentally in-universe, the invitation the future Doctor sent out to everyone in The Impossible Astronaut, to meet at Lake Silencio for the Doctor's death, was for 4:30pm and according to the biographical information the Doctor is shot during regeneration and killed at 5:02pm.
 * The hand gun that Mels pulls out is an IMI Jericho 941.
 * Harriet mentions the Teselecta having transformed into Rasputin. Tom Baker played Rasputin in the movie Nicholas and Alexandra.
 * In Mels' first scene in the episode, her face cannot be seen due to the sun's glare behind her. She moves her body to block the sun and her face is shown, much like the first scene of River in The Impossible Astronaut.
 * Melody Pond says, "Hello Benjamin", to the Doctor. The Doctor previously claimed Scotland Yard's code name for her was Mrs Robinson. (DW: The Impossible Astronaut) Both reference the movie The Graduate where a younger man, Benjamin, is seduced by an older woman, Mrs Robinson.
 * On the Leadworth Chronicle, a story with the headline "BACK OF THE NECK" can be seen. This is a reference to the weakness of the Sontarans. (DW: The Poison Sky)
 * Mels steals a Corvette, the same model of car featured in the film Apollo 13 and the mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. The car was a favorite model of astronauts in the 1960's and 70's.

Ratings

 * UK Overnight: 6.2 million
 * UK Final: 8.1 million

Myths

 * The Daily Mirror reported that Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble will appear in this episode. This was half true as images of all three of them appeared but these were avatars for a TARDIS interface, rather than the characters themselves.

Filming locations

 * Swansea, Wales.

Production errors

 * When the Doctor and the TARDIS make their first appearance, they point right, towards Amy and Rory's car. However, when the camera zooms out, the Doctor and TARDIS are looking down, and not towards Amy and Rory. This also causes an error when Mels drives through the word Doctor.
 * Hitler shoots Mel in the stomach, but there is no blood or puncture hole on her dress.
 * When Rory asks "How can they just disappear?" two antibodies appear, but in the next shot there are three.
 * When the poisoned Doctor is in the TARDIS he has one of his arms up on the bannister; in the next shot he has it by his side.

Continuity

 * Images of Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Temple-Noble are seen. (DW: Rose, The Runaway Bride, Smith and Jones) The Doctor feels guilty for what he did to Rose, feels "more guilt" for what he did to Martha and "even more guilt" over Donna.
 * The Doctor mentions "the Vampires in Venice". (DW: The Vampires of Venice)
 * The Doctor speaks about River at Demon's Run. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)
 * Rory punches two people in the jaw to knock them to the ground. Rory (as an Auton) previously did this to the Doctor. (DW: The Big Bang)
 * River begins studying archaeology. (DW: Silence in the Library)
 * The TARDIS's projection of Amelia mentions fish fingers and custard. (DW: The Eleventh Hour)
 * Melody mentions regenerating into the toddler form of Mels in New York. (DW: Day of the Moon)
 * The Doctor switches Melody's gun for a banana, similar to what he did to Jack Harkness in The Doctor Dances.
 * River reveals she learned how to pilot the TARDIS from the TARDIS herself. (DW: The Time of Angels)
 * The Doctor tells Melody "Rule one: The Doctor lies." (DW: The Big Bang) One of the first things the Doctor hears River say is "I'm always lying." (DW: Silence in the Library)
 * River's diary (DW: Silence in the Library) makes its first chronological appearance in this episode, a gift from the Doctor himself.
 * The Teselecta data console states The Doctor's TARDIS is a Type 40 Mk 3 TT Capsule.
 * The Teselecta crew mentions something in "Kennedy"'s timeline is not a fixed point in time. While this is probably a reference to the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy (an event witnessed by the Ninth Doctor), it could refer to the death of his brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, or another event involving a member of the Kennedy family.
 * It is mentioned twice that River uses her "remaining" regenerations to revive the Doctor, implying that she has a fixed amount. It is unclear whether the Doctor gained that many new regenerations or if he still has only two remaining. Transferring future regenerations from one regeneration-capable individual to another has been offered before. (DW: Mawdryn Undead, Doctor Who (1996), The Ultimate Foe)
 * River has previously used a type of lipstick to her advantage. (DW: The Time of Angels, The Big Bang) This time, she uses a poisonous version.
 * River was able to completely recover after being shot several times by German soldiers. This was due to her still being within the first fifteen hours of her regeneration. The Tenth Doctor recovered from a severed hand while fighting a Sycorax under comparable circumstances. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
 * When first detecting there are life forms inside the Teselecta, the Doctor wonders if it is bigger on the inside.
 * The TARDIS was previously able to materialise inside a smaller object containing miniaturised life forms in a compression field. (DW: Carnival of Monsters)
 * Mels says "See you later, Time Boy" during a flashback. Donna Noble called the Doctor "Time Boy". (DW: Journey's End)
 * The Doctor says "Spoilers" when Melody asked who River was, a word frequently used by River herself later. (DW: Silence in the Library, et al)
 * The Doctor previously said that "Time is not the boss of me." (DW: The Time of Angels)
 * Amy had a picture of herself and (apparently) Mels on a table in her bedroom. (DW: Flesh and Stone)
 * Teselecta Amy tells the Doctor that the Silence is not a species, the Slitheen say a similar thing to the Doctor. (DW: World War Three)
 * The Doctor has previously asserted that someone he is leaving behind will be more than "fine." (DW: Warriors' Gate)

Motion comic scene
The original BBC America broadcast of the episode includes an extra scene sponsored by AT&T, which aired during a commercial break. Written by Steven Moffat, the scene is an extension of the motorcycle chase sequence with Rory and Amy. It is presented in animation/motion comic format. Lasting sixty seconds and produced by Double Barrel Motion Labs, the scene was originally promoted as being intended for inclusion in the later Series 6 DVD/Blu-ray releases, but as of early November 2011, this appears not to be the case. The ad/motion comic was only seen in America.

Timeline
For the Doctor and Amy
 * This story occurs after: WC: Prequel (Let's Kill Hitler)
 * This story occurs before: DWM: The Moon of Lost Hope

For Rory
 * This story occurs after: DW: A Good Man Goes to War
 * This story occurs before: DWM: The Moon of Lost Hope

For Melody/River Song
 * This story occurs after: DW: Day of the Moon
 * This story occurs before: DW: Closing Time

For Amelia/Amy in the flashbacks
 * This story occurs during: DW: The Eleventh Hour

For Rory in the flashbacks
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Eleventh Hour

Home video releases
This episode will be released on DVD and Blu-ray shortly after the airing of episode thirteen.