Airing on NBC from 1996 – 2000 and followed up by two made for TV movies that aired on TNT, The Pretender followed the character Jarod (Michael T. Weiss), a genius who was kidnapped as a child by the international “think tank” organization known as the Centre. After spending years having his work exploited and never knowing who he really is, where he comes from, or who his family is, their Pretender ran away. The Centre however, isn’t going to just let him go as they send a team consisting of Jarod’s former handler/father figure Sydney (Patrick Bauchau), childhood “friend” and daughter of the boss Ms. Parker (Andrea Parker, and no you never get the characters first name), and the Centre tech geek Broots (Jon Gries). Jarod is a Pretender, which in this case means he’s a genius with the ability to become anyone he wants to be. In every episode as he goes from city to city in search of his family, he takes on a new role and often helps solve crimes, helps families, and make life better for those around him.
One of the great parts about The Pretender was Jarod’s innocence and naivety about everyday things that we take for granted. He’s been shuttered away his entire life and cut off from the world so he has no idea what ice cream is and he’s never had candy before. In the Halloween episode, it’s great to see a grown man go all out for the holiday because he’s never experienced it before. The local boy even goes so far as to ask “What are you, from Mars or something?” In another episode, with the expert acting of Weiss, we see him attempt to understand the science and story behind Spider-Man. Each episode usually has a moment like this which was one of the true hallmarks of the series. You try explaining Star Wars or the purpose of the Three Stooges to a grown man who’s never watched TV or a movie before.
Aside from the humor, the show often features a good degree of mystery and action as Jarod has to deal with unsavory characters as well as the Centre. His reaching out to Sydney for fatherly advice while at the same time trying to avoid capture by him becomes one of the many elements to the story that really shows you how twisted Jarod’s life has been. There’s also a small flicker of romance on occasion between Jarod and Ms. Parker as their constant game of cat and mouse goes on. The story is similar to a show like Lost in that it contains a lot of backstory that’s revealed over time with a lot of questions that are slowly answered. The combination of humor, drama, action and mystery is something that will bring you back to see more episodes and eventually the movies. The one down side is that the show is incomplete. I wouldn’t suggest something to you without being honest. Even after the two films, many of the questions are left unanswered and despite the work of the show’s creators/producers they have not yet been able to raise the finances to finish the series even though a finale has been written. It’s been several years now since the show ended and the movies are done, but if you do a little searching you’ll see that fans still buzz about the show online and want their finale. So as the creators say, “be patient” and we won’t be disappointed.