Let's Kill Hitler

219 – "Let's Kill Hitler"
Doctor Who episode
Mels begins to regenerate into River Song
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) Alex Kingston (River Song)
Others Nina Toussaint-White – Mels Caitlin Blackwood – Amelia Pond Maya Glace-Green – Young Mels Ezekiel Wigglesworth – Young Rory Philip Rham – Zimmerman Richard Dillane – Carter Amy Cudden – Anita Davood Ghadami – Jim Ella Kenion – Harriet Albert Welling – Adolf Hitler Mark Killeen – German Officer Paul Bentley – Professor Candy Eva Alexander – Nurse Tor Clark – Female Teacher
Production
Directed by	Richard Senior
Written by	Steven Moffat
Script editor	Caroline Henry
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Piers Wenger Beth Willis
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Production code	2.8
Series	Series 6
Length	50 mins
Originally broadcast	27 August 2011
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "A Good Man Goes to War" "Night Terrors"
List of Doctor Who serials

"Let's Kill Hitler" is the eighth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, Space and BBC America on 27 August 2011. "Let's Kill Hitler" was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Richard Senior.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) crash land in 1938 Berlin when the TARDIS is hijacked by Amy and Rory's childhood friend, Mels (Nina Toussaint-White). They accidentally save Adolf Hitler (Albert Welling) who was scheduled for torture by the Teselecta, a time-travelling justice department. When shot by Hitler, Mels unexpectedly regenerates into River Song, the grown version of Amy and Rory's child who had been taken away from them. As River is a criminal herself due to her future execution of the Doctor, the Teselecta pursue her instead, whilst the Doctor faces death from her poisoned lipstick.

Moffat intended for "Let's Kill Hitler" to be more lighthearted than the series opener, and he intended to make fun of Hitler. The episode concludes many elements of River Song's arc. The episode was filmed around March and April 2011, although the opening sequence, set in a cornfield, was filmed much later in the final scenes shot for the series as they had to wait for the corn to grow. Much of Berlin was filmed in Swansea, Wales while The Temple of Peace in Cardiff was also used as a location. In the UK, the episode attracted 8.10 million viewers, the second most-watched episode of the series. Critical reception was mostly positive, though some were critical of the Teselecta and various aspects of the setting and characters.