The Pretender

The Pretender is brilliance, sheer brilliance. Without a doubt one of my favorite shows, The Pretender had a great premise and excellent actors / characters to match. The series is filled with all kinds of questions regarding Jarod's past or whatever else there might be. But each time one question is answered, more are always brought up. That's the really cool thing about this show, it always keeps you guessing.

Taking all this into account, it makes me wonder why NBC canceled it. Ratings weren't to bad, considering the time slot it was in. Oh well, at least TNT picked up the reruns and produced a follow up television movie.

Absolutely wonderful series with the amazing Michael T. Weiss and Patrick Bauchau. The series were definitely ahead of their time! I remember being absolutely glued to the TV as a teenager for this. What a concept, that Jarod could portray a different person with a different job in every episode. I wanted to be like him when I grew up.

Sadly, the series ended too soon, or well, it ended with two movies that didn't make a lot of sense and then got taken off TV unfortunately. I am still expecting an ending or a sequel.

All the characters on this show were amazing: Jarod, Sydney, Ms. Parker, Lyle, Broots, Angelo, Raines, Zoe! I loved all of them!

I did not catch this series when it first aired. My brother constantly spoke its praises, but I believed it would be the usual boring weekly drama.

I was wrong.

On my brother's recommendation, I taped every episode of the show when it ran in syndication on various channels. I have been slowly watching them during the Year 2002 (and now 2003), and after the first 40 or so episodes, I am here to tell you that this show is nothing short of amazing. The characters are interesting, the premise is, if not unique, at least enjoyable, and the subplots make you yearn for more. Just when you think it can't get any better, it does. It's difficult to believe that this show debuted in 1996. Not only has it stood the test of time, but it is better than most of the fare that has been aired in 2000 and beyond.

I am looking forward to the next 40 episodes and the TV Movies, which I hope will be equally engaging. I recommend that, if you haven't watched this program, start from the beginning and give it 6 episodes or so. You'll be hooked.

The talented Michael T. Weiss is Jarod, a man who can become anyone he

wants to be, in order to save lives, or prevent disaster. In the first season, he escapes from the Centre and three workers, Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots

are after him all through the series and he keeps going. The series was meant for adults and thus was a success for people over the age of eighteen. Great

action sequences and Michael T. Weiss was very very good as the title

character, coming a long way from "Days of Our Lives" while Andrea Parker was hot and sizzled as Miss Parker, a dark but light hearted female lead. But my

favorite was Patrick Bauchau as Sydney, whom would always be in contact with

Jarod and not let the Centre know about it! Too bad there was never a fifth

season as I would have like to see more!

I somehow missed this show in its original run in the mid/late 90's. But as luck would have it, I've recently discovered this show in re-runs and was so interested by it that I even bought the Season 1 DVD set. The show consists of a hero (Jarod) who is a genius capable of insinuating himself into any profession or situation. Kidnapped as a child and exploited by "The Centre", Jarod escapes and sets out to find his long-lost parents. During his search, Jarod uses his abilities to seek justice for strangers he reads about in newspaper articles. Part of what makes this series great is the relationship between Jarod and Centre psychologist/instructor Sydney who has raised Jarod from childhood and become the closest thing Jarod has ever known to a father. Additionally, Centre Hench-woman "Miss Parker" tracks Jarod relentlessly, while discovering more and more that the Centre has manipulated her own life almost as much as they have Jarod's. The only negative thing I have to say about this show is that it was canceled prior to its conclusion. An attempt at a TV Movie "Pretender 2001" was made to give us the answers about Jarod's family but I have yet to find a copy to see how it ends. It's too bad there aren't quality shows like this on today to save us from Reality-TV.