20th Century Fox DVD On a recent trip to Target I found seasons 2 and 3 of The Pretender boxed together for a low price, I think $14.99. I had vague memories of the show but recalled it being interesting and at least entertaining enough to warrant my spending 15 bucks. Being the anal retentive freak I am I also had to get the first two season, which I found used, also at a real nice price. Mrs. Crimespree and I then spent about two weeks watching a few episodes a night till we had seen it all. Well, all it turns out except two made for TV movies. The show holds up well because the lead character, Jarod, is so fun to watch. Jarod is a pretender, a person who is beyond genius and can become anyone or anything. This makes every episode a little different. Some weeks he’s a race car driver, some weeks a doctor sometimes a cop. But at all times he’s trying to help the little guy, people who have been wronged. Why? Because as a youngster he was taken away by a group called “The centre” where they used him to formulate strange scenarios which later were used to hurt people. And here’s where our subplot and back story come in. Jarod wants to get back at the centre and also to find his parents. The Centre wants Jarod back and they are filled with evil bad guys and henchmen plus a few people that become friendly with Jarod and want to help. A bit forced, but fun. It’s a show loaded with 1990’s character actors, some really fun plots and some truly great moments. I especially like how Jarod discovers something each week he missed out on as a kid, like ice cream or cookies. I don’t know that I would rush out and pay a lot for this, but if you can find it at a decent price it’s definitely relaxing and worth watching again.
Jon Jordan
