Cain & Abel or Doctor Stop?

by javabeans

I was actually writing up So Ji Sub’s new movie (with Kang Ji Hwan!) and was looking to see what his next project was, and got wrapped up in trying to untangle THAT mess. (So Kang Ji Hwan will have to wait for the next post.) I’d been hearing about the high-profile drama Cain & Abel forever, but all the mentions of that series were so contradictory that I could hardly make sense of what the deal is.

It appears I’m not the only one confuzzled; even the drama production and broadcast stations can’t seem to agree on what the heck’s actually going on.

In an interview with Asia Economy two days ago, Gu Bon-geun, the president of SBS, said that Cain & Abel was canceled and officially off the schedule. The drama had been in planning for two years, attaching So Ji Sub before he was even officially discharged from military duty, and casting Jung Ryeo Won opposite him. However, the production has been unable to find its feet. Instead, Gu said, slated in Cain & Abel‘s original timeslot, following similarly troubled drama Daemul, is the new drama Doctor Stop. He didn’t offer concrete news, however, as he explained, “We’ll have to watch Doctor Stop a little longer. We haven’t made a decision yet.”

But in contrast, Asia Economy also spoke with Cain‘s PD Choi Ho Sung on the same day, who thought all systems were go and that SBS was planning to air Cain in November as scheduled. He expressed, “Hearing otherwise is shocking news. I’ll have to confirm what’s going on.”

But in another report by IS Plus, Doctor Stop is described as the new name for the drama originally conceived as Cain & Abel — after struggling to work out problems, the title was changed, along with the synopsis, plot outline, and even writers. Phew, that makes some sense — only, then, why would they have a new PD without the old one knowing about it? Doctor Stop will be helmed by director Kim Hyung Shik, formerly attached to Daemul, the drama it may or may not follow, depending on what ends up happening to Daemul. (Notice a pattern with the two shows? One thing’s for certain: SBS prez sure has lousy communication skills.)

In any case, Doctor Stop is explained as the term applied to a doctor’s warning to a wrestler or boxer who is injured so badly he should not continue. The drama centers around two brothers in this world (not sure yet in what capacity), for now, tentatively slated for a November premiere. (Maybe, possibly.)

IS Plus, Asia Economy

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