The Pretender

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

Raised in a secret facility built for experimenting on children, Jarod is a genius who can master any profession and become anyone he has to be. When he realizes as an adult that he's actually a prisoner and his captors are not as benevolent as he's been told, he breaks out. While trying to find his real identity, Jarod helps those he encounters and tries to avoid the woman sent to retrieve him.

Type: tv

Season: 1

Episode: 1

Duration: 0h 43m

Release: 1996

Rating: 7.4

Season 1 - The Pretender
1996-09-19
"NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Miss Parker and Sydney find they had just missed Jarod helping a tanker ship in Alaska. Jarod is now posing as a doctor to uncover the truth behind an operation that resulted in a boy becoming paraplegic. Jarod also befriends a sicilian woman who has trouble with (ahem) bowel movements."
1996-09-28
"SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Miss Parker and Sydney once again miss Jarod at the Y.M.C.A., who is now posing as a member of the Coast Guard trying to figure out the truth behind the death of a man who died at sea waiting for rescue. Jarod also befriends a hermit who lives out at sea and refuses to come back to land."
1996-11-09
"MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - Jarod, suspecting corruption in a police department, becomes an officer himself to solve the death of a boy who had recently been reunited with his father. He also befriends an aging lady who's young at heart, but is afraid of losing her wildside due to her fading eyesight. Meanwhile, Miss Parker is spending time in jail for violating criminal code 369.7 - Unlawful Carrying and Possession of Concealed Weapon, thanks to a tip from Jarod. With her in jail, Jarod uses that window of opportunity to hire a private investigator to aid in finding information about his mother."
1996-11-16
"CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Miss Parker finds that she just missed Jarod posing as a High School biology teacher, and is then subjected to the flu virus. Jarod now poses as a virologist at an infectious disease laboratory trying to figure out the story behind the disappearance of another virologist. He also befriends Ben, a musician who is trying to prefect his musical talent on various instruments, althought his neighbors don't care for it."
1997-01-04
"HUDSPETH COUNTY, TEXAS - Jarod pretends to be a skydiving instructor looking into the death of a survivalist who died on his annual trip into the desert. Jarod is also visited by Ernie Two Feathers, a man who may (or may not) be a spirit guide. Meanwhile, Miss Parker is given a birthday present from Jarod that leads her to information about her mother."
1997-02-15
"TOLUCA NATIONAL FOREST, OREGON - Jarod falls in love with his hiking partner while on a seach-and-rescue for a boy who disappeared in the mountains. Jarod also befriends a man named Big Bob who has many stooge-ish qualitites. Back at The Centre, Miss Parker reminisces about how she loved Jarod when they were children."
1997-03-08
"SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - Jarod becomes a TV news cameraman to investigate a gang shoot-out that badly injured another cameraman. Jarod also befriends a man who lost his job and his family. Meanwhile, Sydney and Miss Parker get trapped in a condemned building."
1997-03-22
"ATLANTA, GEORGIA - Jarod checks into a fellow paramedic whom he believes is responsible for a graduate student's coma. But he first has to outsmart a pushy, investigative tax official who won't stop digging up everything on Jarod. After their follow-up to a lead on Jarod, Sydney disappears from the Centre. He holes himself up with his twin brother Jacob using a technique Jarod discovered in an attempt to bring him out of his coma. Miss Parker is put in charge of finding Syd and when she does, to make matters worst, Mr. Raines commands her to do eliminate Jacob."
1997-05-03
"NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - After completing a pretend, Jarod receives an email offering answers to his past. While investigating the lead, Jarod unexpectedly stubbles upon a dying hitman. When the hitman's last job comes calling, Jarod takes it. Meanwhile, Sydney and Miss Parker, following a lead from Jarod, attend a Twins Convention. And Broots covers for them from Mr. Raines."
1997-05-17
"FORT REXFORD, NEW YORK - Jarod becomes aware that Kyle, another pretender from The Centre, is on the run from the law. Eager to find him, he becomes an F.B.I. agent to aid the investigation. But he discovers that Kyle may have something to do with his mother. Meanwhile, Miss Parker and Sydney recruit Angelo to go through all of Jarod's red notebooks. They figure he can become Jarod and thus aiding in his capture."
Season 3 - The Pretender
1998-10-17
"PLEASENT WOOD INSTITUTE, MARYLAND - Jarod becomes a mental patient to uncover the truth behind the mysterious murder of another patient. Miss Parker researches the identity of her twin."
1998-10-24
"Jarod experiences the world of the bounty hunter as he seeks an American Indian activist who has a price on his head. In the meanwhile, Miss Parker learns more about her mother's death."
1998-10-31
"To save a teen-age victim, Jarod learns the skills of criminal behaviorists and comes face-to-face with the Blue Moon Killer."
1998-11-07
"Jarod poses as an arsonist to expose a corrupt attorney, but faces unexpected accusations when the attorney is found dead."
1998-11-14
"Jarod teams up with Broots to find the culprit in a shootout at the Centre's Data Annex, a former operative named Damon."
1998-11-21
"Jarod portrays a paroled convict to aid a widow; Sydney learns startling news while consoling an old lover whose husband is dying."
1998-12-12
"Jarod steals millions from the Centre, then poses as an arms dealer selling missile launchers to a weapons merchant in Venezuela."
1999-01-02
"Jarod takes on the role of a tracking expert to help find four teachers, including Sydney's son, Nicholas, who are taken hostage in the Appalachian hills."
1999-02-06
"A blind man and his assistant piece together Jarod's personality so they can kidnap him."
1999-02-06
"Jarod helps a former CIA computer analyst who must assassinate a U.S. senator to free her children from a kidnapper; Miss Parker meets her new neighbor."
1999-02-13
"Jarod once again encounters Argyle, who is in need of help. Caught in the middle of a turf war, they work together to pay off Argyle's debt to some loan sharks."
1999-02-20
"Jarod challenges a pool hustler to get evidence linking the man to the murder of a young woman's father; Miss Parker tries to prevent Brigitte's marriage."
1999-02-27
"Jarod and Miss Parker recall a childhood incident where they and Angelo met a dying girl at the Centre."
1999-03-20
"Jarod races against time to locate the father of an injured boy with a rare blood disorder."
1999-04-10
"Jarod goes under cover to investigate a law firm that has a suspicious history of silencing witnesses; Miss Parker declares she is leaving the Centre."
1999-05-01
"Thomas is brutally murdered in Miss Parker's home by an unknown assailant; Jarod finds clues leading to a drug addict who later dies of an overdose."
1999-05-08
"The kidnapping of a young chess prodigy brings Jarod a little too close to his own demons -- and to the attention of an FBI criminal profiler ('Profiler' crossover). Meanwhile, Miss Parker gets unsettling news from Brigitte, and about Brigitte."
1999-05-22
"Jarod heads for Alaska to find his father, only to find himself trapped with a research team whose numbers are dropping rapidly -- and bloodily."
1999-05-22
"Jarod's reunion with his father is marred by news of the Centre's latest project -- a teenaged clone of Jarod himself. However, assassins from the Centre are hot on their trail."
1999-05-22
"Conclusion from part 1. Jarod and his father plan a rescue the clone created by the Centre's, while Miss Parker must face new truths from inside the Centre and more about her mother's murder."
Season 4 - The Pretender
1999-10-02
"Jarod joins the Army CID to investigate the suicide of a soldier in POW survival training. Meanwhile, he gives Mr. Lyle and Miss Parker a taste of that training by trapping them together in a shipping container."
2000-02-26
"Jarod infiltrates a white supremacist group to stop the bombing of a Unity event. Meanwhile, Angelo fights his way through Jarod's past to find the old enemy currently threatening Jarod's life."
2000-04-29
"Jarod infiltrates a gang of burglars to discover which of them killed a little girl. Meanwhile, an email that isn't there leads Miss Parker to someone who might have answers about her mother's death."
2000-05-06
"Jarod follows the trail of a kidnapping, documented by a camcorder he finds in a pawn shop. Meanwhile, Miss Parker continues her search for Edna Raines, with Jarod's help."
2000-05-13
"Jarod finally locates his sister Emily, just in time to see her nearly assassinated by The Centre. Meanwhile, Miss Parker's search of the secrets behind her mother's death lead her and Jarod to the same place -- and a mysterious young man named Ethan."
2000-05-13
"Jarod finally locates his sister Emily, just in time to see her nearly assassinated by The Centre. Meanwhile, Miss Parker's search of the secrets behind her mother's death lead her and Jarod to the same place -- and a mysterious young man named Ethan."