Pandora

Details

 * Title: パンドラ
 * Title (English): Pandora
 * Genre: Suspense
 * Format: Renzoku
 * Broadcast network: WOWOW
 * Air time: Sunday 22:00-23:00

Season 1

 * Title (English): Pandora
 * Episodes: 8
 * Broadcast period: 2008-Apr-06 to 2008-May-25
 * Theme song: The Good Life by Tony Bennett

Synopsis
Suzuki is an eccentric at university hospital who has been conducting a research to come up with a miracle drug for cancer on his own. One day, Suzuki finally succeeds in developing a new type of anticancer drug that completely hinders the self-renewal of all cancer stem cells. However, his colleagues do not seem to share his excitement, and he is not even allowed to carry out clinical trial on humans. Suzuki is disheartened and completely at a loss by this but then he comes across a girl, Manami, who is suffering from terminal cancer. With help from her, he successfully carries out clinical trial. Yet, things take an unexpected turn. What will become of Suzuki, Manami and all the others around them? What is the fate of this new drug? Pandora's box released all the evils as soon as it was opened. What is it that is ultimately left inside? --Fuji TV

Cast

 * Mikami Hiroshi as Suzuki Hideki (41)
 * Yanagiba Toshiro as Matoba Shinichi (42)
 * Konishi Manami as Iida Sayoko (28)
 * Kunimura Jun as Otaguro Shigeyuki (52)
 * Tanimura Mitsuki as Mizuno Aimi (17)
 * Yamamoto Koji as Tachikawa Haruo (34)
 * Ono Takehiko as Fukami Jinichiro (55)
 * Hirata Mitsuru as Tomota Shogo (50)
 * Yamamoto Kei as Midorikawa Fujio (66)
 * Uehara Misa as Kadowaki Chika (22)
 * Kichise Michiko as Katsura Hitomi (37)
 * Aijima Kazuyuki as Numabe Yoshihiro (43)
 * Yamane Kazuma as Mamoru

Production Credits

 * Screenwriter: Inoue Yumiko
 * Producer: Ogura Hisao
 * Director: Kawake Shunsaku, Wakamatsu Setsuro, Kobayashi Yoshinori
 * Music: Sato Naoki

Episode Titles

 * Ep 01: Discovery
 * Ep 02: Desire
 * Ep 03: Betrayal
 * Ep 04: Sin
 * Ep 05: Trap
 * Ep 06: Rage
 * Ep 07: Death
 * Ep 08: Love

Awards

 * 1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Grand Prix (Renzoku)
 * 1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Screenplay - Inoue Yumiko
 * 1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Director - Kawake Shunsaku

Season 2

 * Title: パンドラII 飢餓列島
 * Title (romaji): Pandora II: Kiga Retto
 * Title (English): Pandora II: The Famine Archipelago
 * Episodes: 7
 * Broadcast period: 2010-Apr-18 to 2010-May-30

Synopsis
Food crisis occurs worldwide from the rise in grain prices due to conversion to biofuel and crop failure due to climate change due to global warming. Japan relies on imports for most of the major crops. Japan's government recently found that you fall into a serious state of starvation within half a year if imports were stopped. At that time, the agronomist Suzuki Mamoru is the one who succeeded in the development of genetically modified corn to grow at a rate of four times the normal. This miracle corn developed successfully over seven years in a laboratory deep in the mountains isolated from all surroundings. Suzuki named this corn "God Corn." Fund companies to try to monopolize the money tree that produces the God Corn. Government heard rumors of successful development of "God Corn", and tries to get the rights to this God Corn, and the huge profits that are bound to come with it. Suzuki is suddenly caught up in a swirling world of conspiracy.

On the other hand, Yagisawa Chikako of the Criminal Investigations Unit harbors a suspicion about the burned bodies of men found in the riverbed. This starts the investigation, and it might be murder rather than suicide or accidental death.

Pandora's box has certainly been opened.

Cast

 * Sato Koichi as Agronomist Suzuki Mamoru
 * Takazawa Fubomichi as young Mamoru
 * Suzuki Kyoka as Yagisawa Noriko
 * Katsumura Masanobu
 * Yamamoto Koji
 * Tetsuya

Production Credits

 * Screenwriter: Inoue Yumiko

Season 3

 * Title: パンドラIII 革命前夜
 * Title (romaji): Pandora III: Kakumei Zenya
 * Title (English): Pandora III: Before The Revolution
 * Episodes: 8
 * Broadcast period: 2011-Oct-02 to 2011-Nov-20
 * Theme song: The Good Life by Tony Bennett

Synopsis
Following in the same theme of dangerous discoveries, the "Pandora's box" for the new series will be a medical treatment invented to prevent suicides. Eguchi plays Suzuki, a neuroscience researcher in a wheelchair who develops the treatment out of his desire to counter Japan's high suicide rate. --Tokyograph

Cast

 * Eguchi Yosuke as Suzuki Seiji
 * Uchino Masaaki as Yuda
 * Ozawa Yukiyoshi as Kaburaki
 * Yamamoto Koji as Tachikawa
 * Kamikawa Takaya
 * Itaya Yuka
 * Fukuda Mayuko
 * Izumiya Shigeru

Production Credits

 * Screenwriter: Inoue Yumiko
 * Director: Kawake Shunsaku, Ogura Hisao
 * Music: Sato Naoki

Eien no Inochi

 * Title: パンドラ～永遠の命～
 * Title (romaji): Pandora ~Eien no Inochi~
 * Title (English): Pandora ~The Eternal Life~
 * Format: Tanpatsu
 * Episodes: 1
 * Broadcast period: 2014-Apr-27

Synopsis
7 years ago, Suzuki Hajime was a biomedical scientist on the verge of a breakthrough in the human cloning research study he was undertaking. Due to the questionable ethics of human cloning, his boss, Sakakibara Michitaka had pulled the plug on Hajime's research. Hajime was also made to leave the university research facilities.

Today, Hajime is a GP at the local clinic. The private investigator he had hired to locate Tashiro Megumi informs him that Megumi has died. Megumi's estranged sister, Natsumi, now has custody of her 6-year old son, Shinji. Natsumi had not had contact with Megumi for over 10 years, and the sudden introduction of Shinji into her life was too much for her to handle. Add to that her tight financial situation, Natsumi decides to leave Shinji with Hajime, who had claimed to be the child's father. Uncomfortable with just sending Shinji alone on the journey to his father's side, Natsumi decides to accompany Shinji on the trip.

Meanwhile, Megumi's death has been ruled as a murder, and the detective in charge, Kuroiwa Tadatsugu, starts to focus his investigations on Hajime. The detective meets up with Sakakibara, to find out more information about Hajime. Sakakibara was shocked to hear about Hajime's son. He suspects that Shinji is actually the result of the human cloning trials that Hajime had carried out 7 years ago...

Cast

 * Sakai Masato as Suzuki Hajime
 * Ono Machiko as Tashiro Natsumi
 * Ishiguro Ken as Tsukagoshi Yoichi
 * Suzuki Kosuke as Jingu Satoshi
 * Ito Ayumi as Tashiro Megumi
 * Takahashi Rai as Tashiro Shinji
 * Kaku Tomohiro as Kimura Kazuharu
 * Nakamura Atsuo as Oizumi Ryusaku
 * Ibu Masato as Sakakibara Michitaka
 * Takahashi Katsumi as Kuroiwa Tadatsugu

Production Credits

 * Screenwriter: Inoue Yumiko, Kawake Shunsaku
 * Producer: Aoki Yasunori (青木泰憲), Takahashi Manhiko (高橋萬彦)
 * Director: Kawake Shunsaku
 * Music: Sato Naoki

Season 4

 * Title: パンドラIV AI戦争
 * Title (romaji): Pandora IV: AI Senso
 * Title (English): Pandora IV: AI War
 * Episodes: 6
 * Broadcast period:November 11 - December 16, 2018
 * Theme song: The Good Life by Tony Bennett

Synopsis
At a medical center operated by an IT company, a medical diagnosis by an AI developed by Suzuki Tetsuro (Mukai) is conducted. The AI diagnosis is done in a shorter time and more accurately than a human doctor. Gamo Shunpei (Watabe), a representative for the IT company that introduced AI diagnosis, insists on medical AI being promoted for the sake of not lagging behind abroad. However, the AI is deemed premature and an excellent surgeon, Ueno Chizuo (Harada) is uncomfortable conducting surgery on the AI diagnosed patient. Suddenly, patients diagnosed by the AI die following a suddenly change in their conditions. Ueno blames the AI as reporter Tachigawa Haruo (Yamamoto) discovers information on the diseased patients and starts his own investigation.

Cast

 * Main Cast
 * Mukai Osamu as Suzuki Tetsuro
 * Mimura Rie (美村里江) as Hashizume Nami
 * Miura Takahiro as Azuma Koichiro
 * Yamamoto Koji as Tachigawa Haruo
 * Harada Taizo as Ueno Chizuo
 * Watabe Atsuro as Gamo Shunpei


 * Other
 * Masu Takeshi as Yokoyama Shinzo
 * Washio Machiko as Suzuki Haruko
 * Hasegawa Tomoharu as Utsumi Haruaki
 * Okamoto Rei as Kinoshita Wakako

Production Credits

 * Screenwriter: Inoue Yumiko, Kawake Shunsaku
 * Producer: Aoki Yasunori (青木泰憲), Takahashi Manhiko (高橋萬彦)
 * Director: Kawake Shunsaku, Murakami Shosuke (村上正典)
 * Music: Sato Naoki