The Basics - Issue 189, 5 August 1992. The front cover has a photo of a Cyberman from Silver Nemesis, to tie in with a feature inside on the Cybermen. The issue includes the final set of free postcards (for now).

Indicia - The Doctor smiled. "I've beaten Macra, Zarbi, Maggots, Wirrn ... I can beat any kind of insectoid monster, so show me your enemy Miss ...?". The woman shouldered her blaster and replied : "Ripley, Ellen Ripley..."

News And Views - Episodes One, Two, Three and Five of The Daemons have been recolourised thanks to a revolutionary, but expensive, digital process, and it is hoped that the newly colourised story will be transmitted on BBC2 in the autumn. The New Adventures series of books are selling so well that they will be released on a monthly basis from March 1993. The new computer game reported in DWM 188 has been titled Dalek Attack and is due to be released in October. One letter writer is dismayed at the prospect of a new series with a new TARDIS control room, fifty-minute episodes, the destruction of Gallifrey and a radically new style to the show...

New Fiction - The Brief Encounter "Time, Love and TARDIS" by Ron Plath is told from the TARDIS's point of view.

Reviews - Off The Shelf reviews Shada ("not a particularly good adventure"), Daleks and Cybermen - The Early Years ("The Dalek tape is by far the superior of the two") and The Evil of the Daleks and The Macra Terror audios ("these recordings are pretty good").

Boxpops - Top of the pop charts in August 92 were the continuing Ain't No Doubt and Rhythm Is A Dancer by Snap.

Skaro Says - Matthew Tate remembers reading this issue on the bus on a school trip, and it was about this time that he realised the Archives were pull-out and keep. He bought a ring binder to collect them in, which he still has to this day, though it's only half complete as they were to change style later. This was the point where Jason Thompson started collecting the magazine, and he recalls buying this issue during the school summer holidays. He loved the Dalek comic strip, and recalls the article on the Cybermen as being rather good, but greatly disliked the comic strip Ravens. Si Hart enjoyed the articles on Shada and the Cybermen, along with the Doctor Who? cartoon, which hadn't lost its magic at this stage. However, he remarks that Ravens has to be one of the nastiest DW comic strips ever.

Critique - This issue has various glimpses into the future direction of the show both on and off-screen, with the main news item having much input from Steve Roberts concerning the genesis of the Restoration Team, plus various letters aghast at the idea of 50 minute self-contained episodes, the most uncanny of which I referred to above, thus making this issue in particular a fascinating one to look back at now. I really like that Indicia - I believe this was around the time that the Aliens Special Edition VHS was released (which I bought) and it's just a clever homage to the two franchises. As Si mentions, the video release of Shada provides a large behind the scenes article, including a very detailed location guide and map for the story co-written by Andrew Pixley. Needless to say, this is a great issue for Cyber fans with a 5 page overview of the Cybermen and The Invasion featured in the Archives. Overall, it's an excellent issue, with the only letdown being the comic strip, but more on that next time...