A fully three-dimensional model of the ventricular or atrial free wall will involve a planar geometry of finite thickness. The governing equations for the interstitial and extracellular potential of a planar slab of cardiac tissue comprised of parallel fibers undergoing uniform plane-wave activation are presented. A comparison with a bidomain of cylindrical geometry with the same half-thickness shows that the potentials in the planar bidomain (as a function of depth) approach core-conductor behavior more quickly.