once upon a time in the mid 1990s i use to write for doctor who fanzines and the whole of fandom be hold it breathe about the new american produce doctor who tvm . as soon a it be announce that the doctor arch enemy the master be go to be play by eric robert everyone scratch their head and exclaim who be eric robert . . i should point out this be before the imdb come online when all you have to do be type in a name into this website to their resume and but one helpful soul write into a publication i write for to explain that eric robert be best know for a role where he star opposite f murray abraham and the film be call by the sword and be about a fencing school . actually look back now roberts be best know for the pope of greenwich village and runaway train but that didn ` t stop the person put the boot into both robert and by the sword and his mind be make up that this american master with his southern drawl be go to a debacle . strangely most fan be furious about robert play the master but after they saw the doctor who tvm a great many fan ( myself among them ) think robert performance be the best thing about the disappointing american production yeah i ` m digressing but by the sword be a film that i want to see simply because it be the first time i ` d hear the name of eric robert but i didn ` t get the chance to see it untill this weekend and i be fairly disappointed with it . i know nothing about fencing ( everyone else on this page seem duty bound to mention if they fence or not . i don ` t fence ) so i don ` t know how accurate it all be and but as mention the film feel somewhat anachronistic even if you saw it on it release in 1991 and the hairstyle seem a few year out of date along with it mixed teenage cast do a little dance routine that make you wonder if it wouldn ` t have work a lot good if it ` d have be produce by jerry bruckheimer in the mid 1980s . you could argue this would have mean the relationship between max suba and alexander villard be off centre for most of the film but i wasn ` t convince about their love or hate relationship and abraham and robert have give much good performance before and since by the sword .