DWM 186

The 186th issue of Doctor Who Magazine was published in mid-April 1992 and remained current through 13 May 1992. It began Gary Russell's editorship of the publication.

Staff writer Marcus Hearn's "What the Papers Said" series began in this issue. It was, at the time, an innovative feature, shining a spotlight on press coverage of Doctor Who. The idea would be aped, decades later, by 2 entertain, who used the format on some later DVD documentaries.

Articles

 * What the papers said - Marcus Hearn begins a series of articles examining the way in which the British press have reviewed and considered Doctor Who over the past twenty-nine years. This issue, the Hartnell era...
 * The Hartnell Years - Jeremy Bentham, author of Doctor Who: The Early Years, takes us on a trip back to the Totters Lane junkyard through to the snowy wastes of the Antarctic.
 * After file: The Sea Devils - By Nicholas Briggs
 * Resistance is Useless - 3 January 1992 saw the first transmission of the first serious documentary-style examination of Doctor Who on BBC Television in fifteen years. Made by the BBC's Music and Arts Department, Resistance is Useless was greeted warmly by its UK audience, although some viewers found the linking material, by an animated anorak, a little offensive! Jamie Woolley tracked the programme's director Archie Lauchlan down for a chat about the retrospective genius.

Archive Feature

 * DW: Enlightenment - Andrew Pixley delves into the details of how Enlightenment was created and the problems heaped upon it by a BBC strike.

Comic stories

 * The Grief - Part Two
 * The Dalek Chronicles - Issue 8

Fiction

 * Brief Encounter - Cathedral Heart by Paul Cornell

Interviews / Profiles

 * Directing Who: Fiona Cumming - The final part of Season Twenty's Black Guardian Trilogy ended amidst strikes and hungry extras, as director Fiona Cumming explains.
 * Acting the Part - Tony Caunter talks to Gary Russell about his role as the seaman Jackson in Season Twenty-Two's Enlightenment.

Off the Shelf
Gary Russell takes another sojourn through technology and cyberspace with all the finesse of a tricycle with two flat tires and only a couple of CDs, videos and Andrew Cartmel's first novel to help him…
 * CD: AG: Doctor Who and the Pescatons
 * CD: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Soundtrack)
 * VIDEO: The Pertwee Years
 * NA: Cat's Cradle: Warhead

Regular features

 * Matrix Data-Bank
 * 'Doctor Who?' by Tim Quinn & Dicky Howett
 * Gallifrey Guardian
 * Beyond the TARDIS - Compiled by Dominic May
 * You on Who
 * Timelines

Credits

 * Editor: Gary Russell
 * Cut 'n' Paste: Peri Godbold
 * Whips in the Cupboard: Louise Cassell
 * Production: Chris McCormack
 * Sage the Owl: John Freeman
 * Advertising: Jane Smale
 * Advisor: John Nathan-Turner
 * Editorial Director: Paul Neary
 * Managing Director: Vincent Conran
 * Excelsior: Stan Lee

Additional details

 * Four postcards attached to magazine.