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Cain & Abel emphasizes brotherly strife

Urgh, confused yet again by the vaguery that is Doctor Stop aka Cain & Abel aka So Ji-sub‘s comeback drama.

First called Cain & Abel, the drama had attached Jung Ryeo-won opposite So, but then undergone production delays and planning issues, losing both Jung and its original title. At one point the SBS president even said it was officially canceled. (You can read more about that here.) It was then called Doctor Stop and may or may not replaced its original PD, and then may or may not have gotten him back on board.

Anyway. Now the drama is back to being called Cain & Abel and has fixed upon a February 2009 premiere on SBS (it’ll be a Wednesday-Thursday series). Writing the script is Park Kye-ok; behind the camera is Kim Hyung-shik (Surgeon Bong Dal-hee).

Shin Hyun-joon has been cast as So Ji-sub’s brother, marking both lead actors’ return to television after five years — Shin in Stairway to Heaven and So in I’m Sorry, I Love You. Apparently part of the reason for the name switch (again) is to highlight the rift between the brothers (although I wonder if the Cain/Abel title actually ties into the story more than as a vague, thematic Biblical reference).

Filling in for Jung Ryeo-won’s vacated female lead role is Coffee Prince‘s Yuju, Chae Jung-ahn. The drama starts filming in November.

Via JK News

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Uhhh. It's back to "Cain and Abel"?!? So they've dropped the medical drama storyline and gone back to the remake of the MV? Or uhh they really haven't decided what the heck they want to do?

I mean dude, isn't this kinda late to figure out what drama you want to do?

Shin Hyun-joon is a very good-to-terrific character actor. He may outshine So Ji Sub in this piece unless SJS is on his game.

I think Chae Jung-ahn would be good in this piece. It's good to see her doing dramas again.

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ok im confused..
they changed again?

dr stop had more sense in the whole thing.
or was it a different drama altogether?

hmm so i guessing the script is now towards brothers?
im thinking its a rivarlry?
like the bible story? or something?

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i dont care if they call it 'Dr No' or 'Zac n Cory'.. i just want JiSub back!!

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"i dont care if they call it ‘Dr No’ or ‘Zac n Cory’.."

It would be SO awesome if SJS was doing a remake of Dr. Who.

But, yeah, it just bothers me BIG TIME that we still have no clue what this drama is. The original Cain + Abel production schedule was supposed to have location shoots, a East of Eden-style (EofE novel itself was a retelling of Cain + Abel) storyline between "cop/prosecutor brother" and "Mafia brother" and all that other good stuff. Then it turned into Dr. Stop, a medical drama about SJS trying to save his love.

Oh bloody hell.

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So it's a good bro/bad bro type thing? SJS is the younger one out of the two, so he must be the "Abel" of the two

@ Jill:
At this point, I also find the superficial me taking over saying, " I don't care, just throw SJS on the set/screen already!"

@belleza
I love Chae Jung-ah, she's classy and a good, mature actress... hope they get their act together and keep her in the drama... look forward to her collaboration with SJS.
JRW is pretty, but I thing CJA would fit better with SJS on screen because they are closer in age and acting ability.

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Both are great leads. Though it seems So seems to be overly dramatic at times.
I always heartily chuckle every time I think of the "EAT OR DIE" moment.

To be honest, Dr. Stop sounds kind of stupid.

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I have a feeling that this drama will be somewhat similar to Stairway to heaven...
Man... Shin Hyun-joon never gets the girl that he wants ...eg. Stairway in heaven.

Anyway, still looking forward to this drama.

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exactly, 'Dr Stop' sounds like a funky musical..
So JiSub is best known for crying and drinking at the same time..God!! those beautiful fingers and tear drops from his sexy eyes!!!..dramatic i guess. JiSub n Shin HyunJun make hot bohemian brothers so i'm anticipating!!

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Oh, so Chae Jung Ahn's been cast? That's not what the news said several hours ago...Interesting.

It's still a medical drama, it looks like. At least, So and Shin are both playing doctors, with Shin suffering from lots of jealousy of his younger brother. And I hear there's going to be some location shoots abroad as well...I dunno. I really don't think they know what the hell they're doing!

(Oh, Jisub. You should've left when you still had the chance!)

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"(Oh, Jisub. You should’ve left when you still had the chance!)"

Sigh. Yeah. :(

Because of this #$@#^%@# show, SJS will have been off TV for an extra TWO years. Great. Hopefully we'll see this show before Jang Geun Seok comes back from the military in 2032.

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@belleza

"The original Cain + Abel production schedule was supposed to have location shoots, a East of Eden-style (EofE novel itself was a retelling of Cain + Abel) storyline between “cop/prosecutor brother” and “Mafia brother” and all that other good stuff"

Hmm....that so reminds me of the MV starring Jang Dong Gun and Cha Ip Pyo as long lost brothers - younger one (JDG) growing up as a mafia, the older one (Cha) as the cop who hunts down his kid bro and kills him in the end without knowing his real identity. *sobs*

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"Chae Jung-ahn"

didn't like her acting in Coffee Prince. i felt she was the weakest of all the actors on that show. maybe it's just me since she has a lot of fans, hope she can shine in this show even though both leads are great actors.... I LOVE SJS!!

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just let us have SJS now!
i miss him so much already!

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me not too excited about the new storyline but I trust Jisub's judgement and input
in script's development........with my fingers crossed!

Anyone knows who's scriptwriter, what dramas he/she has worked on?

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If I watch, it will be because of CJA.

Because of this #$@#^%@# show, SJS will have been off TV for an extra TWO years. Great. Hopefully we’ll see this show before Jang Geun Seok comes back from the military in 2032.

2032? He's not that young, I don't think... Belleza, you always make me laugh. :D

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nozomi05, I agree with you. Chae Jung-Ahn doesn't have much presence when acting. I would've much prefered Jung Ryu-Won...... but oh well.

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You know, I kind of like the title "Cain & Abel". What's weird -and kinda laughable- is that the *topic* of the drama is still undecided. I can understand if the script wasn't finished, but ahahah, they have no idea what they want to do!

Hm, this is something that I've never understood about the Korean entertainment industry. Usually, well, at least in the American/Canadian/European industry, casting is the *last* thing of the pre-production process and that is done *after* the script is almost ready, otherwise how can the director and execs decide who's the better actor for a specific character? Seems like in Korea is one of the first things they do. You get the director and the actors, and then...all the other things fall into place. Am I wrong?

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At this point in time I don't care anymore what the title is going to be...it's just so messed up. Who knows the next title maybe Doctor Cain and Abel....
Having said that seeing Shim and So together in a drama would be a treat. They are both solid actors.
Hopefully things will go smoothly this time around.

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The new cast looks interesting. I much prefer Chae Jung-ahn over Jung Ryeo-won. And Shin Hyun-joon is a great actor.

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@Sere,

"casting is the *last* thing of the pre-production process and that is done *after* the script is almost ready, otherwise how can the director and execs decide who’s the better actor for a specific character?"

Yeah, usually a synopsis is written (which may change a lot later) before potential actors (i.e. agencies) are contacted. Most of the time, some of the script (mostly story outline, maybe a few scenes) is written, especially if they want to get a popular or top drawer actor in the part. This was also the case with Cain and Abel until the project hit production problems and budget overrun. So Ji Sup could have dropped out of the project, but he stayed on.

As Dae Hee pointed out, it looks like this will be a medical story. The synopsis seems similar to Surgeon Bong Dal-Hee (i.e. two rival doctors, one girl with probably a serious health issue.) Park Hye-ok wrote for both Hello My Teacher and Invisible Man.

The delay probably isn't a bad idea. The projected time slot would have been brutal (East of Eden and The World That They Live In airing at same time.) It looks like the major shows in February will be HanaDan and Cain and Abel/Dr. Stop/Finally a Show where SJS Doesn't Die(?) However, it will follow the MBC sequel to 94 medical soap General Hospital (Luke and Laura forever!!!) Not sure if the audience is itching to watch two medical shows in a row.

And finally, I can enjoy my "OMG Not Since Brando!" moments in peace again.

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whoa these two!...what a pair they matched. i wonder whose eggs will hatch first in their inevitable brooding contest. now if only they'd play the flashbacks with 'fros (shin looked so funny with it in The 3 Mr Kims!)

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@Belleza.

Thank you! That is most helpful. Hey, you know a lot of -enlightening- things, *g*

Gah, medical story! :( Maybe tptb are not going down the Old school drama route again, even if there's the serious health storyline? I don't like tear-jerker much. Ah well, I don't think I'll watch this. The actors are good, though.

I didn't get your last line...

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I prefer Shin Hyun Joon over SJS! :P ( oh i love ajusshis )

Please please don' t let anyone die. The death rate in korean dramas are already high.

I like Medical Dramas, but I think Cain & Abel would emphasize on the brotherly relation than the medical aspect....too bad.

2032 is the year when Mason ( the cute one in "The Baby and I" ) will enter the military! ( eh he isn't Korean citizen ya? anyway. ) :P

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@Sere,

"Maybe tptb are not going down the Old school drama route again, even if there’s the serious health storyline?"

Nah. In all likelihood, it's going to be a standard medical soap with a lot of alpha male huffing and puffing and a lot of "my medical terminology is BIGGER than yours!" posturing. Recently medical dramas have been crazy popular in Japanese (there were two in summer season / another two will show up for fall), Korean, AND Taiwanese dramas. The beauty of the medical soap is that all the melodrama is inherently substantiated in the details of the job, and that you can throw in incongruent piles of humor simply because the audience really accepts that, well, isn't that what hospitals are like?

Now don't get me wrong -- I love a good medical soap. Surgeon Bong Dal-Hee was a very, very well executed medical soap. The Iryu-like dorkiness of New Heart was fun too. And it's fun to watch Queen of the "Huh???" Chae Rim as head of a hospital. The problem is once you've seen your medical soap, you really don't need to see one for another year. And unfortunately, I'll probably watch Kim Eun Jung (doesn't anybody else think she kinda looks like that one guitarist from Limp Bizkit . . .) in General Hospital 2. Compounding is that you have two actors who are better suited at playing "Cain" than "Abel." I mean, seriously, how interesting is Abel? He had a great wife; he was loved by Dad; he had a sweet gig watching sheep. I would love to watch sheep if the job came with TiVo!

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@belleza
"Finally a Show where SJS Doesn’t Die(?)"

Right? Not since "We are dating now" and "Thousand years in love" has he survived! I don't think we can hope for something lighthearted from SJS this lifetime, it's not his style? but at least he can not die...

Hope they keep the melodrama to a minimum. Serious doesn't have to mean "melo."

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@moomincandylalala,
And that's the thing. As Felicity mentioned, had C&A stuck by the original MV story, the drama would have had SJS die without his brother realizing that they were related. Hmm, SJS dies unloved by his own blood. Wow, that's new!! :(

But that's okay. I'm sure in the end, SJS will operate on himself without anesthesia and give his heart, his liver, and his single eyelids for Chae Jung Ahn. Oh sure, he'll die horribly without half of his organs but not until he stitches up his True Love with his remaining hand and leaves a breath mint under her pillow. Why? Because SJS is just that kind of guy. Even Abel gets to love like a true gangsta. Sigh.

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@belleza

"I’m sure in the end, SJS will operate on himself without anesthesia and give his heart, his liver, and his single eyelids for Chae Jung Ahn. Oh sure, he’ll die horribly without half of his organs but not until he stitches up his True Love with his remaining hand and leaves a breath mint under her pillow."

*snorts*...and THAT scenario reminds me of Medical Brothers. JDG the rebel doctor is struck down with fatal disease, and decides to give his brother a break finally by donating his heart to brother's fiance, and get this - JDG injects himself with something in his dying moments to preserve his heart (after making sweet love to Lee Young Ae). Oh, da brotherly lurve!

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@Felicity,

OMG. I forgot about Medical Brothers. This is going to be a remake of Medical Brothers!! (With all the remakes, they might as well do a remake of All About Eve too, starring YEH.)

Let's face it. So Ji Sup is going to die. He's going to die saving Chae Jung Ahn because it's probably written in his contract that he as Hot Goatherder Mafia Dude Abel was supposed to die in the original story. (Actually I think this is likely. In the older Dr. Stop synopsis, the woman was supposed to have some terminal disease and SJS was supposed to save her.)

So, in the end, Ajushii will give his life so that she can live. She ends up with his older brother (who BTW died a most awesome death in Stairway to Heaven) will be operating on. Together, they will populate the earth and the world will be made anew. I'm sure we'll see a white piano on some beach somewhere too.

He's the Kenny of K-drama. OMG you killed Ajushi! You bastards!!

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LOL...Kenny of K-drama indeed.

I love how we are all getting so cynical here...
because we love SJS and have high expectations of him I guess?

If the drama will be true to the title in anyway, won't SJS die by the hands of his bro?

Despite SJS's excellent ability to portray those gut wrenching emotions and heartbreaking moments, I hope we won't have to see him suffering 80% of the drama...
Surely as an actor of his caliber, he doesn't want to be boxed into these types of roles?

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bekkeza,

Your posts are treasures. You have given me so many smiles and even laughs at a particularly harsh time with your comments.

We do admire Jisub but waiting to see if acting is still 100% with him has become very draggy. Thank heaven I still have my ichiban Kimura san. At least his acting improves each time out. Plus all the other attributes like magnetism and charm and sexiness and talents and sexiness and wickedness and sexiness,,, Oh sorry...

anyway the Cain and Abel story should be played as is ...and not tricked out with hospital rooms and who is going to save the lady.

Peg

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Sorry Sorry Sorry...

BELLEZA BELLEZA BELLEZA and so on for another 100 times.

Peg

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oh my, i was reading people's comments and i was LOL.

anyways, i love those two actors. they're one of the best. chae jungahn too. however, i was really looking forward to seeing jung ryeo won back in another drama. chae jungahn is a really good actress so im happy that they casted her.

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ooh, SJS is fizzine.

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
U LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE JUNG!!!!!

WHY DID THEY REPLACE HER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
HORRIBLE!

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So dissappointed that Jung Ryu Won did not do this drama. Now that the series is rolling along, you can see the Jo ji sup is definitely at the top of the actors list, I think she kinda missed out not getting to do this series with him. He's mega-talented.

It would have been an interesting combo to see how they were together. But Jo Ji Sup
gives his all no matter who the other actors/actresses are.

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what the heck.!!!!!!!!!!!!! do u guys not understand it? OMG the story is about doctors but it shows the lives of the doctors..... Like how they struggle to get where they are...... And of course the main characters were the main doctors therefore the story explained their work and personal lives!!!!!!!!!!!

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