final appearance in the penultimate episode "Pas de deux". Despite increased audience size, critical response, and award nominations, the ABC made no official announcement of the show's renewal. The final episode, "Memento Mori", aired on 17 December 2003. While it was no surprise that the ABC did not make an immediate announcement about the show's fate – many Australian television series will often miss a year due to actor's schedules and production demands – it was eight months before an announcement was made. During this time, Jason Donovan and Felix Nobis both moved on to other projects. Season 3 In August 2004, the ABC finally announced its new commitment: a 12-episode order, which would air as three four-hour miniseries in 2005. While the order was small, the renewal meant that MDA was the only series to have started in 2002 which was still on the air as of 2005. The third season began on 30 June 2005, and was greeted with lacklustre ratings, despite an impressive guest cast. Critical response, initially negative, warmed as the season progressed, to the point where it was largely positive. Episodes 1–4: Second chance. Facing a separation from his wife, Happy becomes enamored of a brilliant geneticist, Dr Robyn Masterson (Sigrid Thornton) whose controversial experiments are in danger of being shut down. While Happy's personal feelings lead him to champion her cause, he begins to discover that all is not as it seems. Meanwhile, Amanda investigates a separate case regarding Dr Masterson's lab assistant Julia (Anita Hegh); and Layla, Mark and Jamie fear for Happy's wellbeing. Aaron Blabey also stars as Dr. Masterson's assistant. As incident after incident befalls Robyn's team, she blames outside forces but some suspect that she herself isn't being honest with MDA, and ultimately Happy is forced to make the choice between his relationship with Robyn and the good of the company. Nicholas Hammond also guest stars in this episode. Episodes 5–8: Departure lounge. With Jamie on holiday, MDA take on a temporary case manager, Dr Andrew Morello (Vince Colosimo), an anaesthetist with strong suspicions about the high rate of infant deaths at his hospital. So when he and Amanda assist Ted Walsh (Terry Brady), a prominent doctor with similar suspicions, Morello begins to investigate – which leads him to suspect prominent cardiologist Rupert Carr (Frank Gallacher). As Morello confides in Happy, he begins attempting to stop Carr's practices without coming