Renegade

(In deepest voice possible) "He was a cop, and good at his job, but he committed the ultimate sin and testified against other cops (gone bad). Cops that tried to kill him, but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands, an outlaw hunting outlaws, a bounty hunter - a renegade".

This is cheese of the highest order - it has a native American (Bobby Six-Killer!?!) driving a Hummer, fit birds, and the main character with his Michael-Bolton-esque hair cut.

This program is much watch TV - any program set in "The Badlands" has to be seen to be believed.

Warning - DO NOT WATCH THIS PROGRAM SOBER

This formed part of my college years throughout the mid to late 90s. I remember it well, it formed part of my epic Thursday nights after college. I would go footy training and then either see the GF or go down the pub with my mates. I would come home and put this on, I think it started at 11.30pm or even midnight. Ensleigh league footy showed followed about 1am ish.

Let's get one thing straight, this came at a time of my life when everything was great. I had no worries or stress. The biggest problem was how I would afford to go out at the weekend!

This show was fun to watch, it has some cool people in some martial arts and a cheesy storyline. What more could you want at 16/17 late on a Thursday night back in the 90's?!

The good old days.

OK, it seems everybody here is blasting this show for it's cheesy tissue-thin plots, mediocre acting and repetitive stunts.

So what? You have to recognize this for what it is: A clear modern-day retelling of that most famous of all western TV series...the 'Lone Ranger'!

That's right, in case you are one of the few to have watched this show and not figured that out right away, its the 'Lone Ranger' all over again.

Star Lorenzo Lamas as the title-character 'Reno Raines' is even an ex Army Ranger!

Instead of being ambushed by Butch Cavendish and being the 'lone' survivor of his Texas Ranger team, forever hunted by Cavendish as he goes about his business looking to bring the nasty Cavendish to justice, good-guy cop Reno Raines' wife (girlfriend?) is murdered by Dutch Dixon, and evil cop who was not successful in trying to kill Reno and everyone he loved.

And just as the 'Lone Ranger' had his trusty Indian side-kick 'Tonto', Reno also pals around with his trusty Indian side-kick 'Bobby Sixkiller'.

Whereas John Ried (The Lone Ranger) had as his faithful steed 'Silver', his powerful huge white horse, Reno too travels through the 'Badlands' on his trusted 'Steel Horse', an '89 Harley Davidson 'Soft Tail', mildly customized with a classic and typical flamed paint job on the tank, and a weathered,well used look about it. No shiny, pristine 'boulevard cruiser' this bike!

In fact, not only was the Bon Jovi mega-hit 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' the inspiration for this show, the original 3-minute film used to sell the series to prospective syndication customers across the nation was accompanied by the complete song as it's soundtrack. Clearly, it worked well, and captured the spirit of the intended series perfectly, for the resultant series is remarkably unchanged from the 'short' that sold it.

Lamas' wife (at the time) Kathleen Kinmont was added to the cast as Sixkillers Caucasian half-sister, not a bad eye-candy diversion for those who appreciate such things.

As corny and simplistic as the show was, it is clear everyone involved had a true affection for the project and turned in serious performances of clearly light-weight and silly material. This only tends to add to its already somewhat charming appeal.

Lamas so closely fit the role of 'Reno', that if he truly was not exactly that character in his real life, he obviously had some real fantasies of being that character. He fit the role like a glove.

Remember, its not a documentary. Just enjoy it for what it is: An hour-long diversion with a cool bike, a couple other cool cars, some good-looking heroic people doing heroic things, and a clear 'good vs evil' plot line.

Enjoy!

This show came out when there were a lot of first run syndicated programs. I thought the writing and plots of the show were good enough to watch to week after week. Yeah, it had a couple of cheesy moments, but what do you expect from a show that doesn't have the budget of network shows? I remember them shooting in San Diego, CA. They even came to Southwestern College (a school I was attending at the time) to shoot some scenes.

Anyways, if you're an open minded person, and can overlook some "moments" and try to take in the plots of episodes, then you can enjoy this show.

If you're a big time nitpicker and that's all you do, then stay away from it and leave it alone.

This is one of the best series to ever come out of America. Up there with the likes of 'Law and Order', 'Quantum Leap' and 'The X-Files', this show is extremely entertaining. It has often been criticised because of its over-the-top plots however you must realise that Renegade was never meant to be taken that seriously. The show doesn't take itself seriously, all it does is give you a fast, entertaining 50 minutes of viewing pleasure. Refreshing.