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Monday, 1 September 2008 - Reported by Adam Kirk
Doctor Who's unbroken run of million plus ratings continues in Australia despite tough competition from the high-rating '60 Minutes', 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'Australian Idol' on the three commercial networks. Silence in the Libraryrated 1,054,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, while Forest of the Dead rated even more with 1,092,000. The Confidential Cutdown versions of 'Shadow Play' and 'River Runs Deep' also had excellent ratings gaining 770,000 and 732,000 viewers respectively.

Meanwhile, in the local media Ian Cuthbertson of The Weekend Australia describes 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' as 'terrifically entertaining.'CitySearch also previews 'Silence in the Library' while Tim Artlett of The Daily Telegraph, also previewing this episode, writes that 'Doctor Who is very quickly becoming more than just a sci-fi program with retro special effects...Fans won't be disappointed by the fast-moving pace of this episode but will be left waiting for more as it ends on a devastating cliffhanger.' Chris Hook also of the 'Telegraph' writes of 'Forest' that while 'most of the writing in the reimagined Doctor Who has been good...the Moffat-penned yarns have particularly shined.' Canberra Timescolumnist, Michael Ruffles also writes 'that the resurrected Doctor Who is a hit with the kids. Friends have revealed their children, in the late primary school age group, are enchanted by the adventures of the Time Lord and whatever lady he has with him at the time. A group of the young fans even conspired to gather and watch the first three series in a marathon viewing.'

Meanwhile, The South Australian Doctor Who Fan Club reports that pay-TV channel Nickelodeon Australia has bought the first two series of The Sarah Jane AdventuresSecret Diary of a Call Girl starring Billie Piper also makes its debut on Australian TV on Channel Nine on Tuesday 2 September 2008 at 10.30pm.

Thanks to Benjamin F. Elliott, the SFSA and contributors to the Australian forums.




FILTER: - Australia