The BBC has released a lot of photos this week in the run up to the launch of The Impossible Astronaut, the first episode of Doctor Who Series 6. Opening the season on Saturday April 23 on BBC and BBC America, the new photos (found at the bottom of this post) are mostly promotional character stills, which includes some images of a couple of new characters.

This season begins with a two-part adventure that concludes with episode 2, entitled Day of the Moon. Matt Smith returns as the Eleventh Doctor, as does Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, and Alex Kingston as River Song. Both opening episodes were directed by Toby Haynes and written by showrunner Steven Moffat.

The BBC and BBC America are pulling no punches when it comes to promoting the upcoming Series 6 of Doctor Who. Less than a day after the BBC released two preview clips from opening episode The Impossible Astronaut, BBC America has released a neat Behind The Scenes video that gives some fantastic snippets and clips from the same episode, and its concluding second part, Day of the Moon. You can check out this awesome Doctor Who Insider at the bottom of this post.

In the video, Steven Moffat highlights his intentions behind “bringing Doctor Who to America” (or is it “bringing America to Doctor Who“?) and director Toby Haynes discusses how different this episode will feel for Doctor Who; while cast members Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill talk about the amazing fun they had while filming — giving references to other films that they (and we) all love such as Indiana Jones and Back to the Future.

What’s cool about the video is that it provides some additional snippets and clips from the first two episodes, giving Doctor Who fans another little glimpse at the feel of the episode. Mark Sheppard, who plays Canton Everett Delaware III in the episodes, has a brilliant line in the footage: “America is being invaded!”

What’s in store for the good Doctor this season? Big changes — especially to the relationship between lovable red-head companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and The Doctor (Matt Smith), according to Doctor Who director Toby Haynes, who along with writer Neil Gaiman and actor Mark Sheppard participated in a panel this weekend at WonderCon 2011.

Haynes is the director of the Season 6 premiere episode “The Impossible Astronaut” as well as the second part “Day of the Moon,” but fans may recall his previous directorial credits, which include “The Pandorica Opens” and “A Christmas Carol.”

At the BBC America panel today at WonderCon 2011, the network premiered a behind-the-scenes clip from the upcoming sixth season of Doctor Who.

The network has now released the 2-minute video online, so watch it right here below!

We’ll have news direct from the Doctor Who panel, as well as interviews with writer Neil Gaiman, who penned an episode for this upcoming season, as well as actor Mark Sheppard, so be on the lookout for that soon!