The Basics - Issue 190, 2 September 1992. This issue has a wraparound cover reprint of the Radio Times 10th Anniversary Special.

Indicia - "I'm responsible for life on Earth!" cried Azal. "No you're not, it was me!" replied the Fendhal/Skaroth/Light etc...

News And Views - Marvel will launch Doctor Who - Classic Comics in November, which will reprint a wide range of DW comic strips from 1964 onwards.

Notables - A new series of fiction based on the latest New Adventures novels, Prelude, begins this issue with Nightshade. The 1992 Readers' Survey Results are published, with selected winners as follows :-

Favourite Video - Sontaran Experiment/Genesis of the Daleks, Curse of Fenric, Caves of Androzani

Favourite New Adventure - Exodus, Revelation, Apocalypse

Favourite Target - Remembrance of the Daleks, Curse of Fenric, Battlefield

Favourite DWM - UNIT Special, 180, 174 (TARDIS Special)

Favourite Features - Gallifrey Guardian, Off The Shelf, Archives

Favourite Comic Strip - The Mark of Mandragora, The Good Soldier, The Man in the Ion Mask

Favourite Merchandise - BBC Videos, DWM, Novelisations

Favourite Doctor - Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton, Sylvester McCoy

Reviews - Off The Shelf reviews Nightshade ("it has an incredible atmosphere") and interviews its author Mark Gatiss.

New Fiction - The Brief Encounter "A Visit to the Cinema" by Vanessa Bishop sees the Third Doctor watching both Dalek films at the cinema!

Skaro Says - Si Hart's best mate loved the new Preludes so much that they used to photocopy them, reduce the size and insert them into the front of each relevant New Adventure! Si always loved Phil Bevan's artwork for them, with the Nightshade one being really impressive. He loves the photo cover - especially the toy Daleks on the ground next to Pertwee! He also adored the Brief Encounter, which makes him giggle to this day!

Critique - This issue is notable for both reproducing the Radio Times 10th Anniversary Special wraparound cover (though for no specific reason, but it does look nice) and for beginning the Preludes. I rather enjoyed these at a time when I was buying all the New Adventures, and fittingly this first one was for Nightshade, which was probably my favourite NA. It's quite amusing with hindsight to re-read the Mark Gatiss interview in which he discusses researching the 1960s in light of The Idiot's Lantern (OK, so it's a decade out but it's close enough!). I had no recollection of the Brief Encounter, but having read it now it really is an excellent one. If you have this issue, take a look at the bottom middle of the picture - I reckon that's the Master! I also had no recollections of Ravens, but having read it now I wish I could forget it again! It's a quick read, with hardly any dialogue (none for the Doctor), repetitive text and a tale that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. I don't mind violence in the right context, but this seemed gratuitous and unnecessary.