The Pretender 

A specially gifted man, with the ability to instantly master any skill, escapes from a secret testing facility and travels the country taking on different jobs and helping strangers while hiding from his kidnappers.

Creators:

Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle

Stars:

Michael T. Weiss, Andrea Parker, Patrick Bauchau

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 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 / ... 52 episodes, 1996-2000
Richard Marcus	...	Mr. Raines 45 episodes, 1996-2000
Alex Wexo	...	Young Sydney / ... 46 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:

on the run | prodigy | cult favorite | blue cove delaware | manhunt | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Sisters Ashley & Courtney Peldon both appear on the show. Ashley as a young Miss Parker & Courtney in Season 2 ep 20 Bank as Kaley Isaac.

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Goofs

In season 2 episode 19, the bumper sticker on Harper's car is "Support the Hayvenhurst School" (5 minutes into the program) and then "Support the Havenhurst School" (12 minutes into the program).

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Quotes

Sydney: Good morning, Miss Parker. Broots.
Broots: Sydney.
Miss Parker: You're looking... refreshed.
Sydney: New underpants will do that to you.
[Miss Parker and Broots look at each other silently]
Miss Parker: Sydney, you made a funny.
Sydney: Stole it, I'm afraid. Last night, I went on a date.
Broots: You had a date!
Miss Parker: [to Broots] That's when two people actually meet instead of typing to each other on a computer keyboard.
[to Sydney]
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Wrongfully Accused (1998)

User Reviews

There are re-runs among us...

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.

Details

Official Sites:

New episodes? (2020) Official Online Team

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Pretender

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North 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 45 min (86 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1