A really wonderful, sincere, and simple story depicting the meeting of Susan and the Eighth Doctor. Something like this, I would argue, basically demands a relatively simple plot so we have a lot of character time and that's exactly what we get!  It pays off magnificently, in my opinion. Susan doesn't feel like she's been sitting on her hands this whole time - she's been living a life with a lot of story to it. That's the main focus here, with the stuff around a post-invasion Earth still recovering and dealing with a new threat largely in the backseat of this audio.  I think is for the best.  That side of it was kind of boring, to be honest.  The focus and attraction of this story is what matters, and that's the Doctor meeting Susan and her new son, Alex.

The casting of Alex Campbell with Paul McGann's real life son was brilliant, and it leads to a lot of weighty scenes that gave me a strong desire to pursue more stories featuring this character. As a holiday-release special, this one sat really well with me. It felt, largely, wholesome and fun, with a touch of that Eighth Doctor blunt detached sensibilities at the end. It's an interesting side of his character that always leaves me thinking. This is a man who has shown many times he is willing to walk away from family and this story doesn't shy away from that or how alien he can be, as much as the Doctor himself might try to romanticize this behaviour, it is a real character flaw and I love when it is explored well. I definitely enjoyed and would recommend this one but you need a strong sense of both the Eighth Doctor and Susan Foreman, so it certainly isn't for beginners.

This was just alright. I'm sure if I had some more background of who Susan was, I'd like it more. (Haven't seen the first Doctor's run yet.) The aliens also felt a bit generic and it just kind of... ended without a good resolution.

Alex is also.. not the greatest character. Very flat line deliveries...

An interesting story, if nothing else. The Doctor finally coming back for Susan was always going to be an event, and they certainly made it one. Despite the actual age difference between Ford and McGann, they sell the dynamic beautifully - and I say this as someone who frankly didn't care that much for Susan from the episodes I've seen with her thus far. The idea of a literally xenophobic group forming after the invasion is cool, but isn't played with quite as much as I'd like. The Guldreasi are naff antagonists and I hate that by existing they prove the loser fascists half-right at the end. Alex is. A character. Ngl I felt no attachment to him whatsoever here, I hope he gets better when he pops up again later.

This was a decent enough story that did everything it needed to and little else. 6.5 or 7/10 IMO.