Author Archives
A freelance journalist and Doctor Who fanzine editor since 1978, Tim Robins has written on comics, films, books and TV programmes for a wide range of publications including Starburst, Interzone, Primetime and TV Guide.
His brief flirtation with comics includes ghost inking a 2000AD strip and co-writing a Doctor Who strip with Mike Collins. Since 1990 he worked at the University of Glamorgan where he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies and the social sciences. Academically, he has published on the animation industry in Wales and approaches to social memory. He claims to be a card carrying member of the Politically Correct, a secret cadre bent on ruling the entire world and all human thought.
-
In Review: Captain Marvel
Review by Tim Robins The Plot: Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories… Read More ›
-
In Review: Glass
Reviewed by Tim Robins Director M. Night Shyamalan brings together the narratives of two of his standout originals—2000’s Unbreakable, from Touchstone, and 2016’s Split, from Universal—in one explosive, all-new comic-book thriller: Glass. Glass is another M Night Shyamalan superhero film… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – Resolution
Review by Tim Robins First UK Broadcast: New Year’s Day 2019 Writer: Chris Chibnall Director: Wayne Yip Guest Starring: Daniel Adegboyega, Michael Ballard, Nicholas Briggs As the new year begins, a terrifying evil from across the centuries of Earth’s history… Read More ›
-
In Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Review by Tim Robins The Film: Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that… Read More ›
-
In Review: A Nine-Year Old’s Take on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
We’ll be posting a review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse from Tim Robins on downthetubes soon, but meanwhile, here’s the view of one of the Spidey’s younger fans, Oliver J. Soto… The Film: Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway,… Read More ›
-
In Review: Aquaman
Tim Robins explores the new Aquaman film…
-
In Review: Doctor Who – The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD Reviewed by Tim Robins First UK Broadcast: Sunday 9th December 2018 Writer: Chris Chibnall Director: Jamie Childs Guest Starring: Phyllis Logan (Andinio), Mark Addy (Paltraki), Percelle Ascott (Delph), Jan Lee (Umsang), Samuel Oatley (Tim Shaw) On… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – It Takes You Away
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD… Reviewed by Tim Robins This is an updated version of this review. We apologise to anyone for mistaken use of a draft version sent by accident during the O2 blackout which featured mis-spellings not picked up… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – Demons of the Punjab
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD… Reviewed by Tim Robins First UK Broadcast: Sunday 11th November 2018 Written by Vinay Patel Directed by Jamie Childs Guest starring Shane Zaza, Amita Suman and Hamza Jeetooa “What’s the point of having a mate with… Read More ›
-
New Year, New Doctor Who Special – on New Year’s Day
The first Doctor Who special starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor will kick off 2019 in style with a New Year’s Day broadcast – a change from the traditional timeslot on Christmas Day. “We’re delighted the Doctor and her companions… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – The Tsuranga Conundrum
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD… Reviewed by Tim Robins Doctor Who: The Tsuranga Conundrum. Image: BBC/BBC Studios First UK Broadcast: Sunday 4th November 2018 Writer: Chris Chibnall Director: Jennifer Perrott Guest Starring: Suzanne Packer, Ben Bailey Smith, Brett Goldstein and Lois Chimimba… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – Rosa
WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD Review by Tymbus Robins First UK Broadcast: Sunday 21st October 2018Writer: Malorie Blackman, Chris ChibnallDirector: Mark TonderaiGuest Starring: Vinette Robinson (Rosa Parks), Joshua Bowman (Krasko) Montgomery, Alabama. 1955. The Doctor and her friends find themselves in… Read More ›
-
In Review: Doctor Who – The Woman Who Fell To Earth
Review by Tim Robins WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD… First UK Broadcast: Sunday 7th October 2018 Written By: Chris Chibnall Directed By: Jamie Childs Introducing Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor; Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien; Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair; and… Read More ›
-
In Review: Ant-Man and The Wasp
Ant-Man and The Wasp was one of two movies whose cinema release was delayed in the UK because of the FIFA World Cup, the other being The Incredibles 2, a stereotype defying decision that had comics fans in shock at… Read More ›
-
In Review: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Kklak! Dinosaurs bit back! Minor spoilers included It is impossible to spoil Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as the trailers have already spelt out most of the plot: volcano erupts, dinosaurs in danger, heroes to the rescue, heroes betrayed, villains sell… Read More ›
-
In Review: My Friend Dahmer (2017)
Friends for Life… My Friend Dahmer is, directed by Marc Meyers) is an adaptation of John “ Derf” Backderf’s graphic memoire that tells of his high school friendship with Jeffrey Dahmer, who a mere three weeks after graduation, began a… Read More ›
-
In Review: Solo – A Star Wars Story
I never felt the need to watch a film that told me Han Solo’s back story because the character was such a cliché that I felt that I already knew it. For me, Star Wars didn’t exactly have depth. As an… Read More ›
-
In Review: Avengers – Infinity War (12A)
Warning: this review contains mild threat of spoilers and fantasy fisticuffs The Avengers: Infinity War is rated 12A in the UK which is entirely reasonable because it contains everything that a twelve year old could want from a movie: goofy… Read More ›