a decline in viewership from the second series. The season premiere received an overnight figure of six million viewers and a 25 per cent audience share. It was down almost two million from the series two premiere in June 2003, which was seen by 7.8 million. Ratings declines further as the series continues. The fifth episode dropped to five million. The penultimate episode dropped further to 4.5 million, though the finale rose slightly back to five million. However, it was also down from the seven million who saw the series two finale in August 2003. With consolidated figures factored in, the third series was seen by an average of 5.77 million viewers. Despite the ratings decline, the BBC already commissioned a fourth series of Spooks before the third series even began broadcasting. Critical reception The third series received generally favourable reviews. In review of the DVD release of the series, Michael Mackenzie of Home Cinema was disappointed by the "complete decimation of the group around which the show effectively revolved," and had reservations for the introductions of the new characters, stating "despite ardent protests from both cast and crew, Tom and Adam are almost exactly the same character. The same goes for his wife Fiona, who more or less steps into Zoe's shoes (they even look similar!), and in the final episode, it becomes abundantly clear that, in the next season, Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey) will be taking Danny's place while ensuring that the "minority" checkbox remains ticked." However, at the same time, Mackenzie thought "the psychology surrounding cast changes like these is extremely interesting." In terms of the storylines, the reviewer stated "Spooks third season […] is something of a step down from both its predecessors," although the series "has a number of fine moments." Mackenzie ended up rating the series eight stars out of ten. David Blackwell of the American review site Enterline Media said, "MI-5 really impressed me with the first two seasons. The third season does start out for the first three episodes before it reaches some highs and lows until it stabilizes with the last two episodes of season 3." He felt that Tom Quinn's exit was his favourite moment in the first two episodes, and that Adam is "just [as] cold" as Tom. He also praised the character development, stating "character development is excellent in this season. Danny receives great moments as he is