The Pretender: a genius who can be anyone he wants

[Florry86]

I haven't found any thread about this fabulous show and I was wondering whether I was the only one who used to watch it .

The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Micheal T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work.Partick Bauchau and Andrea Parker co-starred as Sydney, Jarod's childhood friend and mentor, and Miss Parker, an operative for the mysterious organization (called "the Centre") that took Jarod from his parents as a child and forced him to unwittingly use his talents for evil. Jarod escapes in the first episode and begins traveling around the country, searching for clues to his true identity and posing as doctors, police officers, attorneys, and various other figures in order to help those in trouble. Following the show's cancellations television movies were aired on TNT network that picked up where the series finale left off. and on NBC, two
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Who liked it and why? Let's discuss it.

I for once so enjoyed it 'cause there were many questions I wish had been answered throughout the show like:

- Where does Jarod come from?
- Is his mother still alive? Where is she now?
- What was Miss Parker's name? I can't believe that a 7 years old child didn't have a first name LOL
- Was Mr. Raines an alien? I mean probably that's the only possible reason why no one was able to kill him off the show.

But, then again, there are so many questions and doubts this show left us with LOL

 

[Dynamo1]

I also enjoyed the show and watched the few made for TV movies after the series ended. Also watched Michael T Weiss (a.k.a. Jarod) in his few appearances on Crossing Jordan.

 

[Florry86]

Also watched Michael T Weiss (a.k.a. Jarod) in his few appearances on Crossing Jordan.

Thank you for this! I was wondering whether he did something after this show or not.

I knew that Andrea Parker was part of the "Less than Perfect" (hilarious show LOL) cast and she made some appearances on TV... the last one I remember was on "The Mentalist" (god, I almost didn't recognize her in that episode!)

I also knew that Patrick Bauchau took part in some movies and shows (aka "House", "CSI:NY" and "Panic Room" and the last time I saw him was on a french TV show which was a sort of frech X-Files LOL, don't remember the title, sorry.

If I'm not mistaken, I did see Jon Gries (Broots) on "Lost" and "CSI:NY" as well.

And how can anyone forget James Denton (Mr. Lyle) as Mike Delfino on "Desperate Housewives"!!!

As for Micheal, I always thought he didn't do anything after it, glad that I was wrong. Guess that I'll have to watch Crossing Jordan, though it's not one of my fav. shows :lol:

 

[Dynamo1]

He was only on four episodes. Other roles are listed on his IMDB web page. And from there, you can go to the Pretender page and find out what all of them have been doing since the series ended.

 

[Florry86]

He was only on four episodes. Other roles are listed on his IMDB web page. And from there, you can go to the Pretender page and find out what all of them have been doing since the series ended.

Thanks . I'm scrolling those pages down, they're all very interesting. Gosh, they surely were great actors....ah I miss this show!!!

 

[love_fan]

OMG, I loved this show! I so had a crush on Ms Parker :luvlove: She always wore those incredibly short skirts ... :drool:

I've never got around to watch the films though. They were never shown on TV here and by the time they were available on ebay I had lost interest.

Too bad I've only seen the dubbed version because I've heard that Michael T. Weiss was really good in doing all kinds of accents. If I ever have some money to spare I'll definitely get this show on DVD!

 

[Florry86]

OMG, I loved this show! I so had a crush on Ms Parker :luvlove: She always wore those incredibly short skirts ... :drool:

I understand you :lol:. She was such an enjoyable character. She could be such a badass, but, at the same time, she could be such a sweet, gentle and kind-hearted person. She was my fav. character on the show, definetly.

Ah the skirts. They soooooooo loved zooming on her legs....boys :lol:

I've never got around to watch the films though. They were never shown on TV here and by the time they were available on ebay I had lost interest.

You can watch both the movies on YT, plus they're not dubbed, which is a good thing. I enjoyed them, though I found myself "wtf?" more than once, especially during the scond one. I don't know, it was an odd movie which actually created more questions than answers. Plus the whole island plot was weird. I really wish they could do a third one, you know just to give some answers .

I think it would have been kind of cool if Jarod had been able to find his mother and finally have a family and if Miss. Parker had been able to finally leave "the Centre". Too bad it didn't happen and it will probably never happen.

Too bad I've only seen the dubbed version because I've heard that Michael T. Weiss was really good in doing all kinds of accents.

Oh gosh I hear you on this. I had to watch this show dubbed, thank god now I'm watching it on DVD and I can hear the original voices. They're all fantastic, but I agree with you on Micheal T. Weiss. He's such an incredible actor.

What a wonderful cast! This show was just brilliant :thumbsup:

 

[Solitaire]

I used to love this show! I would watch it every week, without fail.
Miss Parker was the best character. We never found out her first name, did we?
I only saw one of the movies, I wasnt that impressed, and it had been quite a few years since I'd last seen the series, so I suppose I'd lost interest.

 

[Florry86]

Miss Parker was the best character. We never found out her first name, did we?

Yeah definetly, I just adored her and I think Andrea Parker portrayed her in such a good way. Gotta love Miss Parker.

As for the name, you're right. They never told us her name and I think it's just a shame that we never got to know it. I couldn't stand the idea of watching her as a child and the other children calling her "Miss Parker"...that was just creepy :lol:. Oh well guess it was part of Parker's legacy LOL

I remember one episode when both Jarod and Miss Parker recalled a little girl who died in the Centre and Parker introduced herself as Miss Parker. OFC the little girl replied "kind of formal, isn't it?" :lol:

But, then again, we had Jarod without a surname, Mr. Lyle, Mr. Parker, Mr. Cox and so on and so forth. What a creepy show LOL, I loved it.


The movies....well I guess that the whole inner sense (first movie) and the scrolls (second movie) plots were a little bit too much for the show. I mean it was always kind of realistic, even if creepy, but the inner sense plot made me think "meh" the whole time