The Impossible Astronaut ( TV story ) The Impossible Astronaut was the first episode of the sixth series of " Doctor Who " . It brought into perspective a fiendish plot to kill the Doctor and its ultimate outcome , leading his companion s to believe he was going to die in the far future . This story is perhaps most notable as the first opening two - parter of the BBC Wales series . Behind the scenes , it was notable for the significant amount of location filming with cast and crew travelling to Utah in the United States of America . Narratively , it saw the reappearance of River Song with some insight into her back story . Yet again , questions of her trustworthiness were posed . Additionally , it built on the references of the previous series to " the Silence " . Furthermore , it featured the formal introduction of the Silent species that inspired the order in the first place . Unknown to the viewers at the time , another adventure was taking place right before the astronaut killed the Doctor ; due to the complicated nature of time , Amy and Rory retained no memory of this until after " The God Complex " . And this was the final episode of the season " The Wedding of River Song " . Synopsis . Amy Pond , Rory Williams , River Song and the Eleventh Doctor receive a mysterious summons that takes them on an adventure to 21st century Utah and Florida in 1969 . Along the way they meet Richard Nixon , president of the United States of America , and former FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III . Plot . In the 17th century , Charles II furiously bursts into the painter Matilda ' s room , demanding to know the Eleventh Doctor ' s location . By her stands a painting of the Time Lord covering himself with a red cloth ; his clothes are strewn about the room . She asks , " Doctor " who " ? " in an embarrassed tone . Before she can speak further , a loud sneeze comes from beneath her skirt . The king lifts its hem with his sword to find the Doctor naked underneath . With the king scowling at him , the Doctor explains that things are not as bad as they look . In 2011 , Amy Pond reads to her husband , Rory Williams , from a history book in their home ; it is an account of " a mysterious doctor " imprisoned in the Tower of London on order of the king , without trial . Rory doubts it is " the " Doctor until Amy reads he was seen flying away from the Tower two days later via a magical sphere . With Rory now believing , Amy then notices there ' s more of the Doctor ' s exploits listed . The Doctor is next seen taking part in a break - out from a POW camp during World War II . When the Doctor is asked by a fellow escapee if they have gotten past the fence , the Doctor pops his head down a duct . He asks if the Commandant ' s room is green with a big flag on the wall as dogs and angry yells are heard . The Doctor figures the answer ' s " yes " , as he ' s pulled back out by the Germans . Amy wonders if the Doctor is being deliberately ridiculous to catch their attention — " waving through time " . However , Rory shrugs the theory off as Amy complains about watching a Laurel and Hardy film again . The doorbell rings and Amy gets up to answer it . Rory looks in the book to see if Amy is right , missing a part of the film where a fez - wearing Doctor dances with the characters . Receiving their mail , Amy goes through it to find a TARDIS blue envelope plastered with stamps and labelled with the number 3 . It holds an unsigned card with a map reference , date and time . They easily deduce it ' s from the Doctor . In the 52nd century , River Song has an identical letter , marked number 2 , delivered to her cell at Stormcage Containment Facility . Upon reading it , she smiles , knowing what it means . The prison goes on alert as soon as they find River packing her belongings ( again ) . When questioned about " where " she ' s going , River tells them she ' s heading for America ( in the 21st century ) . The guards mistake America for a planet when informing the warden . In the middle of the Utah desert , Amy and Rory depart a bus ; Rory complains that there is nothing around them . As the bus leaves , they are happily greeted by the Doctor , now wearer of a Stetson and sitting on the roof of a car . After exchanging greetings , Rory compliments the Doctor ' s hat . Just as the Doctor explains it ' s the latest in his " cool " ensemble , his hat is shot off by River , who promptly greets him . At a cafe , the Doctor and River compare diaries , finding that they have both had an adventure at Easter Island and met Jim the Fish . Rory becomes confused until Amy clears up why they are comparing diaries . Amy then asks why the Doctor summoned them to America . The Doctor explains that he has been running faster than he ' s ever been , but he ' s decided to stop ; they are going to have a picnic and then go on a trip to " Space 1969 " . They picnic by a lake , where they drink wine ; the Doctor spits it out in disgust , commenting he ' s 1103 years old — nearly two hundred years older than when Amy and Rory last saw him . Amy spots a figure watching them from a distant cliff , but forgets about it when she looks away . Not long after , an elderly man pulls up in a truck and waves , but makes no move to join them . The Doctor seems to know who the old man is and waves back . River gasps , " Oh my God " , while everyone else is facing the old man . The three of them turn around to see an astronaut rising out of the water , wearing an Apollo 11 - style spacesuit . Spotting it , the Doctor orders his friends that they ' re not to interfere no matter what happens . He approaches the astronaut , who waits for him at the edge of the lake . The Doctor lets the wearer of the suit know he already knows their identity , and the astronaut ' s visor is lifted . The Doctor talks with the astronaut for a bit , leaving his companion s confused as to what they ' re doing . The astronaut raises its arm and shoots the Doctor twice . Amy tries running to the Doctor , but River and Rory restrain her . The Doctor picks himself up as Amy calls out to him ; he ' s begun his eleventh regeneration . He apologises to his friends and prepares to regenerate . However , the astronaut shoots him in mid - process , killing him before his transformation could complete . As the astronaut heads back into the lake , River scans the Doctor , finding no pulse , and empties her gun shooting at the astronaut , failing to get a hit . Amy is distraught , hoping the Doctor is a clone / copy of him . However , the stranger approaches , says that the Doctor is truly dead , and places a container of gasoline next to them ; the Doctor told him they would need it . River explains that a Time Lord ' s body is one of the most sought - after things in the universe . Spotting a boat moored across the lake , Rory performs a Viking - style funeral to burn the Doctor ' s corpse . River wonders who the old man is , and he shows them he got number 4 of the invitations . Greeting Amy , Rory and River by name , the old man introduces himself as Canton Everett Delaware III , explaining he will not see them again , but they will see him . Seeing the number on Canton ' s invitation , River begins pondering who got number 1 . As they return to the cafe , Rory and River want to know what the Doctor planned . Amy insists that it doesn ' t matter anymore , but because it mattered to the Doctor , Rory and River say it ' s important to them . Across the cafe , Rory spots another invitation on a table , labelled number 1 ; they question an employee about who had it , but he ' s vague and uncaring about their question . Obviously , this letter was addressed to the person the Doctor trusted most ; River wonders who it is . Much to their shock , the Doctor steps out of the back room , which is where the TARDIS is parked . He greets them happily , surprised they are all here . Amy wonders how he can be okay , getting hugged by the Doctor , who names himself the " King of Okay " ( before discarding the title ) and who calls Amy ' s husband " Rory the Roman " . Getting to River , the Doctor wonders what trouble she ' s brought with her this time . River slaps him in fury , prompting him to ask if it ' s for something he hasn ' t done yet ; upon learning that it is , the Doctor says he ' s looking forward to it . They wonder how he can be there and the Doctor explains he got invited like they did . With Amy and Rory still confused , River asks the Doctor to tell them his age , which is 909 ; he has not even met Jim the Fish yet . River says they ' ve been hired by someone who trusts him to investigate something involving Space 1969 , and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III . When the Doctor asks who hired them , River simply answers , " Spoilers " . In the TARDIS , the Doctor prepares to enter the clues River gave him into the TARDIS navigation system . River and Amy go under the console floor . When the Doctor asks Rory if they ' re mad at him , Rory says that he ' ll find out and follows after . Out of earshot , River explains to Amy that they saw a future version of the Doctor die at Lake Silencio ; they cannot tell this Doctor of his coming death . As he has interacted with his own time stream , any foreknowledge could rip a hole in the universe should he find out . Amy reminds them that the Doctor has done so before ; however , Rory points out " in fairness , the universe " did " blow up . " They then ponder if the Doctor recruited them to avenge him , save him , or something else . Popping his head under the floor , the Doctor complains that he is being utterly brilliant and no one ' s around to look impressed before resuming fiddling with the console . River expresses her anger about wanting to slap the Doctor for his smugness , but Amy asks River how she can be okay with the Doctor dying . However , River explains that everyone dies eventually and that neither the Doctor ' s death nor her own frighten her as there is a worse day coming for her . All three head back up to the Doctor . He explains that the clues he was given lead the TARDIS to the Oval Office 1969 , April 8th . However , he says that he is returning Amy and Rory home — " Off you pop and make babies " — while River is going back to prison . He explains that he will not go on a mysterious summons , wondering who sent them and why . River tries to get the Doctor to trust them , but he turns the tables on her by asking who she is and who she killed to get imprisoned in Stormcage ; he does not trust her . Amy then asks the Doctor to trust her instead , saying he must go on the summons and not ask why . The Doctor questions Amy to see if she ' s been threatened to say this , but she says no . He then asks her to swear on something that matters , to which Amy says , " fish fingers and custard " , their first shared meal . Smiling , the Doctor says , " My life in your hands , Amelia Pond . " River softly thanks Amy for getting the Doctor to comply with his own order . He sets the TARDIS for 1969 , checking to see who ' s president during that time , learning it ' s Richard Nixon , who was not exactly his favourite due to the events that happened during his time as president . River calls him a hippy for such views . The Doctor tells his companion s that he is going to turn the TARDIS invisible and put it on " silent " to avoid drawing attention . However , each time he flips switches to initiate the process , River uses other ones to turn off loud noises and lights he activated by accident . Each time , the Doctor asks her if she did something to help , but River lies and says that she is only watching ; she ' s secretly enjoying watching the Doctor make a fool out of himself by failing to get the settings right . On landing , he explains that the monitor doesn ' t work while the TARDIS is invisible , deciding to exit to see what ' s out there . Everyone prepares to disembark , but the Doctor tells them that since they ' re " in the most powerful city , in the most powerful country on Earth " , they ' re going to take things slowly ; he exits by himself . The Doctor discovers that he has landed in the Oval Office , where Nixon is meeting with a younger Canton Delaware . Nixon wants Canton to conduct an investigation independent of the FBI , from which Canton was recently fired , to find a child who has been calling him every night , begging for help because the " space man " is coming to eat her . Nixon plays Canton a recording of a call , in which Nixon asks the child where she is and her name . The child answers , " Jefferson Adams Hamilton " , which led Nixon to believe a little boy was the caller . Canton feels the FBI can handle this , but Nixon fears they may be in on it , which is why he called him in ; he ' s not with them , but has the training . The Doctor , who has been taking notes , then notices that they have stopped talking and realises that they have seen him . The Doctor begins rambling as he backs up to the TARDIS . However , he bumps into it , knocking himself down . Inside , River complains about how he does this " every time " . The Doctor explains the doors getting stuck happens commonly while the TARDIS is invisible . However , Canton pins him down as Secret Service agents swarm the office . He yells for them to stop and get off of him . River gets the monitor working by hard - wiring it , laughing that the Doctor is usually wrong about how the TARDIS functions . As the monitor displays the Doctor , he asks River if she ' s gotten the monitor working again ; this leads to the usual , " I hate him " / " No you don ' t " . The Doctor yells for River to make the TARDIS visible again ; River complies with the order , throwing switches on the console . The Doctor smiles as the Secret Service let him go and stare at the TARDIS . A shocked Nixon simply asks , " What the hell is that ? " The Doctor sits in Nixon ' s seat and addresses him , prompting the Secret Service to point their guns at him . He goes on to say that the mysterious caller told him everything he needed to know ; they can find the child . The Doctor says he will take the case . However , he taunts the Secret Service by saying he broke into the Oval Office . River comes out of the TARDIS , reminding him they ' re American s , prompting the Doctor to tell them not to shoot . For no good reason , Amy and Rory depart the TARDIS as well . When Nixon questions who they are , the Doctor claims to be an undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard while his companions Amy , Rory and River are his top operatives : the Leg s , the Nose , and Mrs Robinson . Upon hearing her codename , River tells the Doctor she hates him ; the Doctor once again tells her that she doesn ' t . Explaining that he figured out where the caller is from what Canton and Nixon heard , the Doctor asks for five minutes to figure out the case . Despite protest from the head of the Secret Service in the office , Canton points out to Nixon that the Doctor got past the Secret Service with three of his friends and a big blue box ; the Doctor will be given his allotted time , but with Canton promising to shoot him if he doesn ' t deliver a solution . The Doctor asks for a SWAT team ready to mobilise , street - level maps covering all of Florida , a pot of coffee , 12 Jammie Dodger s and a fez . Canton orders the Secret Service to get the Doctor his maps , leaving the Doctor saddened about not getting a fez . When questioned , " Why Florida , " the Doctor explains that ' s where NASA is , where the spacemen live ; he ' s also following another lead . While researching the street maps , Amy sees a mysterious , suited alien standing in the doorway of the Oval Office , and remembers their encounter on the shore of the lake . However , she forgets as soon Rory blocks her view . Feeling ill , she is escorted to the bathroom , where she finds the alien waiting for her . A woman who is also in the bathroom is vaporised by the alien after seeing and forgetting it numerous times . Amy , realising the alien ' s power , takes a picture of it with her camera phone . Amy asks what it wants ; it cryptically says she will tell the Doctor " what he must know and what he must " never " know . " She asks how it knows that , but immediately flees in fear . As soon as she gets out of the bathroom , Amy forgets the encounter , but remembers there is something she needs to tell the Doctor . In the Oval Office , the Doctor achieves success , pointing out that it ' s pretty obvious to figure out where the caller is when you think about it . Canton calls the Doctor a genius , which the Doctor says is a hobby . Nixon gets another call from the child , saying that a spaceman is coming to eat her . Fearing for the girl ' s life , the Doctor decides that there ' s no time for a SWAT team and departs with his companions in the TARDIS while Canton tails along after being told not to follow them in — reverse psychology . In the TARDIS , the Doctor explains that Jefferson , Adams and Hamilton are the names of three of America ' s founding fathers ; two of them fancied the Doctor . However , neither of them is the child ' s name . At the same time , Canton is bewildered by the inside of the TARDIS and is left speechless . The Doctor goes on to explain that there is only one place in America where all three of those names are together . Amy asks where , and the Doctor lands the TARDIS . They rush for the doors , but find Canton blocking the way out . The Doctor , Amy and River leave Rory to explain things to Canton as he ' s the newest companion . They ' ve materialised in a warehouse in Florida , just a few miles from Cape Kennedy ; Jefferson , Adams , and Hamilton are the three streets which cross right outside the window . As they explore the warehouse , the Doctor admits they have likely walked into a trap and the phone line has been cut , leading to the question as to how the girl called from there . He also flirts with River , saying that she has the " he ' s hot when he ' s clever " face on again . Meanwhile , Rory attempts to explain the TARDIS and time travel to a stunned Canton , who eventually recovers ; Canton tells the Doctor that he likes the TARDIS . They discover a console made of cables , coated in some sort of slime , and many boxes of Apollo space equipment . This leads to the question as to why aliens would steal Earth technology when it could barely get to the moon . The Doctor believes it may be because it ' s cooler , suggesting that aliens are cool ; he asks Amy what she thinks he is . Unimpressed with his answer , Amy says , " An alien . " While the Doctor , Rory and Canton are busy examining the stolen objects , Amy suggests to River that they find some way to kill the astronaut now to prevent it from killing the Doctor in the future . River admits time can be rewritten , but it is very complicated and doesn ' t work in the way that Amy hopes , so there ' s no guarantee that the Doctor can be saved . River finds a drain leading into a tunnel network below the warehouse . The Doctor tells her to yell if there ' s trouble ; River jokes that she ' s a real screamer , a good spoiler for him . Canton asks what ' s going on ; the Doctor misunderstands what he means and explains that he and River are just friends . Below , she sees many aliens of the same type Amy saw in the White House , but they appear to be hibernating . She forgets them as soon as she climbs back to warn the Doctor . She says that it is safe but that she wants to take another look . The Doctor sends Rory down with her this time to make sure she stays safe . They discover a maintenance room , which River proceeds to open with her scanner . When Rory says it ' s easy to picture her and the Doctor as a couple , River explains her relationship with the Doctor : their timelines are mostly going in opposite directions of each other , meaning each time she meets him , he knows her less and she knows him more . She fears one day she will meet the Doctor and he will have no idea who she is , believing that it will kill her when it happens . She succeeds in unlocking the door , opening it to find a large control console like the TARDIS and the one that the Doctor encountered during his stay with Craig Owens . River tells Rory to keep a look out for anything odd . Rory sees some of the aliens , but when he turns to tell River , he says everything is okay . Scanning the console , River learns that there are tunnels like the one they ' re in all over Earth and that they ' ve been here thousands of years . Behind Rory , electricity crackles and something approaches . Above , Canton and Amy discuss the former agent ' s FBI career ; he was kicked out because he wanted to get married . He questions her relationship with the Doctor , but Amy explains that he is only her friend and there was something important that she wanted to tell him , but seems to have forgotten . Still wondering who the mysterious Doctor is , Canton asks , " Doctor Who ? " ; Amy says that it ' s classified . When he asks by whom , Amy can only say , " God knows " , as she has no idea . They hear the little girl calling for help and run after her . Amy crumples with pain while Canton runs ahead . Canton calls for the Doctor to hurry , and Amy tells the Doctor that there is something " very " important that she has to tell him . As they run after Canton , they find him unconscious ; he got a good blow to the head . As the Doctor examines Canton to see if he ' s been badly injured , Amy tells him that she ' s pregnant . Before he reacts to this , he spots the astronaut approaching them . Amy recognises it from the lakeside and turns to pick up Canton ' s gun . Her back is turned when the astronaut lifts its faceplate , revealing the little girl is inside . Amy spins to shoot the astronaut , but is unable to stop when the Doctor tells her to and when she notices it ' s the little girl . Home video releases . Released as Series 6 Part 1 with " Day of the Moon " , " The Curse of the Black Spot " , " The Doctor ' s Wife " , " The Rebel Flesh " , " The Almost People " and " A Good Man Goes to War " on 11 July 2011 . The episode was later released in the complete series 6 , which included the first and second half of the series , was released on DVD and Blu Ray on 21 November 2011 .