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Monday, 4 August 2008 - Reported by Adam Kirk
Doctor Who's excellent ratings in Australia continue despite tough competition from the commercial networks. It has now broken the one million mark for an unprecedented six weeks in a row. The Sontaran Strategem rated 1,039,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, while The Poison Sky rated slightly more with 1,064,000. The Confidential Cutdown versions of 'Send in the Clones' and 'Sontar-Ha!' also rated extremely well gaining 934,000 and 853,000 viewers respectively in the five major capital cities. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also making the most recently broadcast episodes of 'Doctor Who' and 'Confidential Cutdown' available on the weekly 'CatchUp' section of its new ABCiView internet TV service.

Meanwhile, in the local media Tim Hunter of The Age praises Catherine Tate and Russell T. Davies for bringing back Donna Noble despite the misgivings of many fans. CitySearch also previews 'The Sontaran Strategem' while Tim Artlett of The Daily Telegraph writes 'if your car has a GPS, best to avoid [this] episode . . . [but] although the aliens . . . might look like recycle bins or spare R2D2 parts, the fast pace is addictive and the climax will leave fans aching to know what happens next.' Catherine Deveny of 'The Age' also gives 'The Poison Sky' the pick of the day: 'Drama, comedy, science fiction all rolled together with David Tennant on top' while Melinda Houston of The Sunday Agealso gives this episode three stars.

Meanwhile, the TV Tonight blog reports that Channel Ten still intends to broadcast series two of Torchwood, either on its main channel or its high definition channel. Last year, series one of 'Torchwood' was moved by Channel Ten mid-series from prime time to a midnight timeslot due to disappointing ratings.

Update: 5 August 2008: David Tennant's appearance on Top Gear, in the reasonably priced car segment, has also seen Australian public broadcasterSBS score excellent ratings. The broadcaster, which has the smallest audience share of the five major Australian TV networks, received 1,042,000 viewers in the five major capital cities for the 'Top Gear' series final.

Thanks to contributors to the Australian forums




FILTER: - Ratings - Australia