Issue Date: 
Sep 20 2012 - 11:00pm
Author: 
Page3
Topics: 
city living

We’re so excited that season 2 of Super Guber is coming soon, we’re like a pack of toy dogs defecating on some community mall AstroTurf. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Super Guber is the multi-award-winning TV series about a suave, slightly chubby-cheeked man, campaigning for election in the city of Bangkok. First aired in 2008-2009, we feared season 2 had been shelved, but it’s back this month, with the grand finale scheduled to air Jan 2013. We’ve seen a sneak preview of episode 1 and here are our thoughts.As you may recall, His Graciousness Sukhumbhand Paribatra won the election for the Democrats at the end of season 1, and became Lord Mayor. So you’d think he’d represent the Democrats again in season 2? Not so fast! His two archenemies within his own party, Abhisit and Korn, have sworn to stop him. But their inability to openly admit it leads to some great suspense and a raft of comic moments as Abhisit employs passive aggressive delaying tactics.With season 1, the most fun came from the smaller, and much more colorful, candidates. Who could forget that epic scene last time out when Leena Jangjanya asked her aide to swim in a khlong? In a bit of black comedy, the aide waves to reporters who wave back—only to realize the aide has drowned. Too bad she’s not making a return for season 2 and we’re not too sure about the wacky replacement: a Lady Gaga-hating hairy musician with delusions of grandeur, who wants to turn the city into an open-air music festival.It’s also unclear if charismatic massage parlor tycoon (Chuvit) will return, although we find out he’s now an elected MP. In his first scene, his aides get their faces slashed by a crazy knife-wielding woman in a police station, as Chuvit tries to tell cops about some illegal casino. The grotesque slapstick that made the character so likeable in season 1 still works a charm.We’re most intrigued by Sukhumbhand’s great rival, the candidate put forward by the ruling Pheu Thai. This could be the most hilarious character yet: a mystic who would rather be fixing temples in India, yet ends up being her party’s best shot at winning the gubernatorial seat.So Super Guber season 2 is off to a rollicking start. Even if it’s a given that Sukhumbhand will win the election, it promises to be one must-watch rollercoaster ride, out on television sets near you soon.