The Pretender

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NBC (ended 2000)
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Show Summary

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The Pretender is the story of Jarod, a boy-genius taken from his family as a child. Jarod possesses the ability to quickly learn and impersonate different jobs and occupations. His abductors, a facility simply known as The Centre, tested his abilities through various simulations. But after years of these performances, Jarod becomes wise to the fact that these simulations aren't being used to help people. The Centre sells the sims to the highest bidder to do with as they please, whether it is for good or evil purposes. Knowing this, he breaks free from his captors. Now, as an adult, Jarod sets out to find his family. Along the way, he befriends many people, righting any wrong by using his abilities to become anyone he wants to be. But the Centre has a lot invested in Jarod, and they won't give him up easily. They recruit Sydney, his father-figure and trainer all through his time growing up in The Centre. Sydney is the only man who is close to Jarod, he knows how he thinks. Also in pursuit is Miss Parker, Jarod's childhood friend whose father runs The Centre. Both are aided by Broots, a nervous computer whiz who goes above and beyond the call of duty (whether he wants to or not). The Pretender ran for four years on NBC. TNT co-produced two Pretender movies with Twentieth Century Fox TV. The Pretender 2001 premiered on TNT Monday, January 22, 2001 at 8PM. The second movie, The Pretender: Island of the Haunted, premiered on TNT Monday, December 10, 2001 at 8PM ET. Seasons 1-4 and both TV movies are currently available on DVD.moreless
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Episode Guide

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S 4 :  Ep 22 Aired 12/10/01
S 4 :  Ep 21 Aired 1/22/01
S 4 :  Ep 20 Aired 5/13/00
S 4 :  Ep 19 Aired 5/13/00
S 4 :  Ep 18 Aired 5/6/00
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Fan Reviews (66)

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  • Emmy nominated Pretender Theme Music is on Youtube now

    8.0
    "Great"
    By misterhappy, Mar 03, 2012
    Guess there were 3 theme songs. this was the last one. I like the vocal sounds

  • Starts off well, then loses its way and ends with a disaster of a show.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By PeterJones3, Sep 25, 2011
    First off the part of the show following Jarod is great , a top class show.

    But the second part of the show , following the center, is a disaster, going nowhere, and without any reason,

    Then the last movie, they decide to change the whole style of the show, complete pile of rubbish.

    No propper ending and thoughts what could have been.

    God bless Jarod x

  • Jarrod, Ethan, Miss Parker finally get to realise they are family from being imprisoned in The Centre when they were young. Jarrod escapes to lead a continues journey of dodging The Centres sweep teams trying to find who his family are. Fantastic series.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Thor_Asguard, Jun 09, 2011
    They have to bring this series back it was and still is one of the best series for TV. Their are so many twists and turns and lies through out the Parker Family. The Centre has many secrets and they keep on finding more. Between Angelo an empath Jarrod and Miss Parker Sydney and good ole Broots their are many secrets and truths they unravel through their journey to find the ultimate truth. As children they were brought up in the centre and exposed to tests to produce the ultimate Pretender which becomes Jarrod. This series has to be watched to be believed as the lies and twists are just amazing. Miss Parker becomes the hunter as Jarrod becomes the hunted draw your own conclusion but you need to see this series. Why have they ended it on the fourth series without the whole truth still not known and left as a cliff hanger. Are they ever going to finish this series? I have just finished watching this series and some of it has you in tears and some so angry at what these people do to others its beyond belief and makes you wonder if something like this goes on in the real world. God forbid if it does. I have heard a rumour they may be bringing this series back but I wonder.....Please as I need to know the final truth.moreless

  • One of the only original concepts developed into an irreverent and suspenseful TV show.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By foghorn_clj87, Jun 09, 2011
    "The Pretender" was one of the most underappreciated TV shows ever to grace our screens for four years. It had an utterly original concept. A young, isolated genius escapes from an evil corporation (The Centre) and uses his gift to help people whilst attempting to find his family that he was kidnapped from. To the delight of the audience, we watch as Jarod discovers new foods and love whilst uncovering the secrets that The Centre would kill to keep quiet. He is chased by a group of three Centre operatives. Miss Parker, his childhood sweetheart. A hardened woman who was lied to about everything in her life including but not limited to her mother's "suicide", her father's identity and the existence of a evil twin brother. His teacher and mentor Sydney Green, Jarod's father figure who is racked with guilt about his part in Jarod's kidnapping and imprisonment. And finally, computer genius and overall weasal Broots.

    I would recommend to everyone to take the time to watch this engaging show which was cancelled just as it began to really came into it's element. It's a disgrace that TNT won't allow the producers to create the movie that would finally answer all the big questions we fans have been asking for eight years.moreless

  • Disappointing.

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By fredmonkey22, Jun 09, 2011
    With such a high rating I was expecting something inspirational. Instead I found undeveloped characters and an unexplained plot that left you wonder what the point of the show was. I kept waiting for the show to take on some substance but found myself disappointed. Most episodes follow the same basic structure and although each episode seems to allow the characters to grow you find the characters constantly regress back to their basic selves by the next episode, leaving nothing to look forward to. Over all I would say it was a waist of time and a waist of a rating.moreless
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Action & Adventure, Drama

Themes

cerebral, characters with hidden agendas, evil company, extraordinary situations, government conspiracies

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