Invasion of the Bane is a pleasant enough watch and a decent start to the series. Sarah, Maria, and her dad are all pretty great, and the story works well enough for what they are going for with this clearly younger oriented series. It is something revisiting this show after we've lost Elisabeth Sladen, and there's definitely a bittersweet sense of nostalgia to the show now. Tommy Knight is a little awkward in the show in these early episodes, and the Kelsey character reeks of being a pilot artifact that thankfully doesn't last outside of this story. Child acting can be a no-win situation for the actor, production, and the audience, and this is a good example of that. I don't think it speaks much about Kelsey's actor, Porsha Lawrence-Mavour, more so the larger system and people behind the scenes that created the situation.

Still, it's a fun enough and serviceable start to a rather memorable Doctor Who spin-off that seems to have gotten a lot of affection from the fan community these days. I think it is deserved, evident even in lesser episodes like Invasion of the Bane.