The Sword of the Chevalier [AUDIO/2017.11.23]

★★★☆☆

  An adventure can go a long way depending on how enthusiastic the actor playing the Doctor is about the material, and you can definitely tell David Tennant was all fired up for this one. The Sword of the Chevalier is a rip-roaring, swashbuckling adventure with swordfights, mysterious alien slavers with many faces and a masquerade segment (because of course it has one), and Tennant's borderline insanity and enthusiasm brings the enjoyment factor up a notch. I couldn't help but be dragged into a story which would probably have been less impressive had there not been such skill put into the direction and leading performances; let's face it, the second half -- after the ball -- becomes a tiny bit slow, seemingly elongating the action for the sake of filling that runtime. I wouldn't call that a huge problem, though, especially not when both Tennant and Billie Piper are having a whale of a time. Added in with Nickolas Grace bringing to life the Chevalier d'Eon so beautifully, I'd say this is a perfectly enjoyable release. Sublime in places, even. The Sword of the Chevalier is exactly the kind of adventure you'd expect from a prompt that says "condensed, concentrated & light-hearted romp with masquerades, swordfights and nutty Doctors". In other words, I'd throw this on anytime and sit back leisurely.