The Pretender (1996–2000)

A specially gifted man, with the ability to instantly master any skill, escapes from a secret agency and travels the country taking on a different jobs and helping strangers.

Creators:

Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle

Stars:

Michael T. Weiss, Andrea Parker, Patrick Bauchau

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Michael T. Weiss	...	Jarod (86 episodes, 1996-2000)
Andrea Parker	...	Miss Parker (86 episodes, 1996-2000)
Patrick Bauchau	...	Sydney (86 episodes, 1996-2000)
Jon Gries	...	Broots (82 episodes, 1996-2000)
Ryan Merriman	...	Young Jarod (50 episodes, 1996-2000)
Richard Marcus	...	Mr. Raines (44 episodes, 1996-2000)
Alex Wexo	...	Young Sydney (43 episodes, 1996-2000)
James Denton	...	Mr. Lyle (36 episodes, 1997-2000)

Storyline

Jarod is a pretender, a very intelligent person with the ability to slide into somebody else's personality. For that purpose, he has been taken from his family as a child in order to work for a secret agency called The Centre. But recently, he escaped. Jarod's new mission in life is to help people in need with his gift, and to find out what really happened to his allegedly dead parents. Only, Miss Parker and her team are out to get him...

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Plot Keywords:

boy genius | delaware | psychology | evil corporation | cult tv | 

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Taglines:

Hero of a thousand faces. Man of a thousand lives.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Online Team Sci-Fi [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pretender

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, MTM Entertainment, Mitchell/Van Sickle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (86 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jon Gries guest starred as Broots for over 60 episodes before becoming a regular in season four.

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Goofs

In Season 2, episode 4, Jarod sends miss Parker a cardboard box containing a Viewmaster picture disc, and a live lobster with a note attached to it. Moments later, Mr. Lyle enters the room, and Broots, who is now holding the lobster, tries to hind it behind his back. However, when the camera pans around Broots from the back, the lobster we see is fully cooked, and hence red.

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Quotes

[Miss Parker's phone rings at 3:44 a.m., waking her up]
Miss Parker: What?
Jarod: Oh, I intentially wake you in your deepest sleep phase and all I get is a lifeless 'what'?

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Connections

Referenced in Burn Notice: Army of One (2011)

User Reviews

Great series!

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!