The Teselecta was a robot staffed by miniaturised humans. The purpose of the Teselecta was to go back in time and torture evil historical figures like Hitler (Let’s Kill Hitler), but without killing them because unfortunately history cannot be changed (The Aztecs). The Eleventh Doctor was horrified by the purpose of the Teselecta. The Teselecta reveals that River Song is an engineered assassin who kills the Doctor at Lake Silencio, Utah, USA on 23rd April 2011 (The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon). However, the Doctor uses the Teselecta to fool his companions Amy, Rory and River Song and the Silence into believing that he was killed by River Song in the astronaut suit (The Wedding of River Song).

Let’s Kill Hitler

★☆☆☆☆

TX: 27/08/2011

Written by Steven Moffat    Directed by Richard Senior

After three months, the Eleventh Doctor still hasn’t found Amy and Rory’s kidnapped daughter Melody Pond (A Good Man Goes to War). However, Amy and Rory’s rebellious childhood friend Mels shows up at the crop circle they made, only for Mels to point a gun at the Doctor and insist that they go back in time and kill Hitler. Mels shoots the TARDIS console which causes the TARDIS to crash land, because the Doctor misled her into believing that the ship was in a state of Temporal Grace, where guns cannot work onboard (The Hand of Fear). Meanwhile in Berlin 1938, a robot called the Teselecta adopts a new disguise and attempts to torture Adolf Hitler in his study. However, the TARDIS crash lands and knocks the Teselecta to the floor. The Doctor tells Rory to lock Hitler in a cupboard. However, Hitler shot at the Teselecta beforehand and injured Mels. Mels reveals that she is Melody Pond and that she grew up alongside her future parents, another paradox. Mels regenerates into River Song. River Song is a psychopath who was engineered by the Silence to assassinate the Doctor. River Song kisses the Doctor and poisons him with her lipstick. The Doctor begins to die and he retreats inside the TARDIS, where the voice interface shows him the faces of his previous companions, including little Amelia Pond. Meanwhile, Amy and Rory struggle to find their daughter Melody Pond aka River Song in Nazi Germany. However, the follow the sounds of screams to find that River Song has rampaged through a restaurant and stolen clothes. The Teselecta catches up and miniaturises Amy and Rory and beams them aboard. The Teselecta captures and begins to torture River Song. After the Doctor arrives in the TARDIS, the captain of the Teselecta reveals that the purpose of the Teselecta is to go back in time and torture evil historical figures such as Hitler, but without killing them because unfortunately time cannot be altered. Personally, I think that it is morally justifiable to kill Hitler because of the atrocities he committed. Although I am not a fan of guns nor of violence, I also think that it is understandable that multiple people have tried to assassinate US President Donald Trump because (like Vladimir Putin) he is a fascist with many similarities to Adolf Hitler. The Doctor manages to free River Song from the grip of the Teselecta. River Song and the Doctor use the TARDIS to rescue Amy and Rory moments before the Teselecta anti-bodies destroy them. The Doctor, Amy and Rory use the Teselecta to show to River Song that she is the person destined to kill the Doctor at Lake Silencio, Utah, USA on 23rd April 2011 (The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, The Wedding of River Song). The fact that Doctor Who has featured numerous controversial historical figures, such as Adolf Hitler, further proves that it is not a kids show. The Modern Series of Doctor Who has become increasingly aimed at adults. Mary Whitehouse would be turning in her grave if she saw some of the horror scenes in Modern Who, i.e. the notion that corpses remain conscious after death (Dark Water) and I am certain that she would have taken issue with Adolf Hitler appearing in Doctor Who too. Ultimately, Mary Whitehouse failed in her campaign to clean up television back in the 1960s and 70s because television today is very decadent and so much of modern Doctor Who is completely unsuitable for children. Mary Whitehouse’s criticism of Doctor Who was based on the fact that, in her opinion, it was a children’s programme, which is it not! Doctor Who is a family show! However, Mary Whitehouse was right about the fact that Doctor Who in the 1970s was too violent for children (i.e. The Deadly Assassin and The Talons of Weng-Chiang) and this is an issue that has continued to crop up in modern Doctor Who as well.