Fresh from its acclaimed run on Channel 4, the Matt Berry led period comedy Year of the Rabbit has landed on DVD. I have been a long time fan of Matt Berry, ever since Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace arrived back in 2004, Berry has been a fixture on our screens with The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd, and his award-winning Toast of London. 2019 has been a bumper year for Berry with the sinfully funny What We Do in the Shadows, and now the insanely enjoyable Year of the Rabbit
Created by, Kevin Cecil & Andy Riley, Berry stars as Detective Inspector Rabbit, he might drink too much, and he’s missing an eyebrow (the dog chewed it off last Christmas Eve), but he’s one of Victorian-era London’s finest. Partnered with a plucky young partner Detective Sergeant Wilbur Strauss (Freddie Fox), and unofficially assisted by Sergeant Mabel Wisbech (Susan Wokoma, star of the short-lived but brilliant CrazyHead) the trio must thwart the dastardly schemes of a notorious killer. However, they soon(ish) discover that a nefarious conspiracy is afoot, and the mysterious Lydia (Keeley Hawes) knows more about the chilling events than she claims.
Mixing buddy cop comedy with utter absurdity, Year of the Rabbit is a comedic triumph filled with quotable dialogue and razor-sharp one-liners. Move over Gene Hunt, there’s a new boozy copper in town, and his name is Rabbit. I won’t spoil it, but there are some fantastic cameos scattered throughout, and one extra special one at the end of the final episode that teases where the second series could go. An extraordinary mention must go to David Dawson as Joseph Merrick (Merrick don’t freak for free) aka The Elephant Man. Reimagined as a shrewd (and eccentric) businessman running a theatre/freakshow, Dawson deserves his own series or at least more scenes in series 2.
Year of the Rabbit is another reminder of Matt Berry’s considerable talent in a gloriously bawdy comedy that we’ve got the taste for, The TASTE!
★★★★
