The 'fast-tracked' Planet of the Dead has debuted in Australia to excellent ratings. The Easter special averaged 1,051,000 in the five major capital cities, compared to the 738,000 viewers who watched 'The Next Doctor' in January or the 869,000 who watched the Michael Palin special 'Around the World in 20 Years' the week before at 7.30pm. 'Planet' was the ABC's top rating drama of the day and its second highest rating show after the 7pm news. Meanwhile the ABC has also started promoting Torchwood which will commence on ABC2 with 'Everything Changes' on Friday 19 June 2009 at 8.30pm. The national broadcaster has the rights to the first two series of 'Torchwood' and has also indicated it will screen Children of Earth at some later stage.

Meanwhile, 'Planet' and the impending departure of David Tennant has attracted some local media attention. Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald has spoken to David Tennant about his thoughts upon leaving the show. The Canberra Times and TV Week also feature interviews with Tennant, the latter with a poll saying that 68% of readers will miss his incarnation of the Doctor. Ruth Ritchie describes 'Planet of the Dead' a 'must see' and Kerrie Murphy of The Weekend Australia writes that while 'the plot...isn't the greatest...it's still a terrific jaunt.' Melinda Houston of The Age comments that 'a dimension-jumping London bus, evil steel stingrays, friendly giant flies and a very dashing new companion - and the kind of witty, warm-hearted writing we've come to expect - make this one-off a real treat.' Troy Lennon of The Daily Telegraph also writes of 'Planet' that it 'is fast-paced, has great effects, the right amount of science to make it almost sound plausible and enough fantasy to excite the imagination.'

Thanks to the contributors to the Australian forums.

BBC America has announced that their new BBC America HD channel will launch in July with the HD broadcast of Torchwood: Children of Earth and the latest Doctor Who special, Planet of the Dead. Torchwood: Children of Earth will air on BBC America HD and BBC America on five consecutive nights, beginning on Monday, July 20. Planet of the Dead will follow on Sunday, July 26. (As previously announced, the 2008 Christmas special, The Next Doctor, will air on BBC America on Saturday, June 27.)

It is not known whether earlier plans for "Children of Earth" to be aired on the same day on BBC America and BBC One are still on track. British television channels traditionally announce their schedules closer to broadcast date than American channels do, so the UK broadcast date for "Children of Earth" will probably not be confirmed for several weeks.

Full details for the launch of BBC America HD, including broadcast times and information about "Being Human" and "Primeval", are available here and here.