The Pretenders_Archive
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We understand that the old set up took a long time to load on some of your servers because of the bulk of information and images. So, we've broken up some of the stuff onto separate pages and (hopefully) it will all cut-down on the sit-and-wait period.
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THE LEGAL STUFF: All of the written text on this site is the sole property of the Pretenders_Archive and may not be reproduced without the webmasters' permission. Copyright 1998, all rights reserved.
All of the images are the property of the original film-makers (unless noted otherwise) and are reproduced here under "fair use" solely to promote "The Pretender" and to entertain its fans.
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JUST fOR tHE fUN OF iT!
LuvsMTW Pretender Page: Link to Valerie's and Patrickphile's sites and become a virtual "Keeper" of items belonging to or attributable to the characters in The Pretender.
On LuvsMTW's site, the Jagusch Brothers are the Keepers of Jarod's sunglasses, Jarod's origami rendering of Onyssius, and Miss Parker's square-edged silver ring.
At the Unofficial Patrick Bauchau Site, the Jagusch Brothers are the Keepers of Sydney's son's birth certificate.
WHO IS EVERYBODY ANYWAY?
One of the secrets to fully appreciating "The Pretender" is to know and understand some of the motivations and goals of the characters in the show; and to know how the characters relate to and/or interact with one another. There are a lot of characters in this series, and if you haven't had the chance to see the series from the very beginning (in 1996), then you've missed a lot of pertinent information about everyone. So use this site as a sort of Pretender Primer, and then watch the show. We're certain you'll learn to love it as we have.
JAROD
This is Jarod, played by the series' star Michael T. Weiss. He's a "pretender"; someone with the innate genius and ability to assume the occupation and identity of anyone he chooses. We've seen him as Jarod Russell (a thoracic surgeon), as Jarod Nobel (an explosives expert), as Jarod Forrest (a park ranger), as Jarod Holmes (an attorney), as Jarod Ness (an FBI agent), and in countless other "personas". What separates Jarod from other mere "impersonators" is that he never needs a disguise. He blends in so perfectly with whatever environment he's immersed himself, that few people, if anyone, ever question his true identity and purpose.
Jarod was stolen from
his family by The Centre in 1963 when he was four years old, and escaped
from there when he was about thirty-eight in 1996. In the "Stolen" episode, we saw him re-live the trauma of his abduction as he attempted to rescue a billionaire's son who had been kidnapped. Jarod now uses his skills to thwart The
Centre and to seek justice for those in need while he also searches for his
family and his own true identity. 
Along with his "chameleon"-like abilities, Jarod is also adept at speed-reading, is fluent in several different languages (including Spanish, Russian, French and American Sign Language), and can read lips. Through his various "pretends" he's developed an ability to paint portraits, sculpt, and gamble without losing, and is an expert marksman with any form of handgun or assault weapon. He also penned a romance novel under the pseudonym Jarod Heart, entitled "The Saddest Little Valentine". The book sported artwork on its cover, done by Jarod, of a long-haired Miss Parker dressed in red lingerie and lying in a provocative pose on a bed. While at The Centre, Jarod was attributed with developing the "magic eye" (stereographic) paintings and creating the basic model for what later became the AMC Pacer automobile.
While imprisoned at The Centre, Jarod was generally raised on a diet of "optimal nutritional supplements" and was never allowed the "luxury" of sweets (such as candy or ice cream). On escaping from The Centre, he was immediately drawn to these treats and has since developed quite a sweet tooth. He has a particular penchant for PEZ, ice cream, Bazooka bubblegum, doughnuts (especially raised-glazed, Bavarian Creme, and Raspberry Supreme doughnuts), chocolate milk and Oreo cookies. His diet at The Centre was so restrictive, in fact, that he didn't know what meatballs were when he first saw them, and was equally amazed when he discovered SPAM. His favorite soft drink: Dr. Pepper.
Jarod also has a soft spot in his heart for animals. He once had a pet lab rat named Jacob; once befriended a Dalmatian dog named Ember; and once sent Miss Parker the gift of a lop-eared rabbit. He also took part in an animal relocation program that returned chimpanzees to the wild because he believed that no living thing should be put in a cage or a zoo.
Jarod believes his "Mom and Dad" are a couple known to him, now, only as Charles and Margaret. But information in Season Two of "The Pretender" hinted that they may not be Jarod's biological parents (they may be his adoptive parents only). [See Margaret and Charles.]
Jarod has two siblings: Kyle and Emily. Among the siblings, Jarod is the eldest. We are fairly certain that Kyle and Jarod are directly related, since they share the same very rare blood-type, but Emily may be a step-sister rather than a biological sibling.
As a child, Jarod's mind had been so manipulated by The Centre that when he was re-united with Kyle in The Centre several years after he had been abducted from his family, he didn't recognize Kyle at all and believed Kyle was just another test subject (who was under the tutelage of Mr. Raines). Kyle was likewise oblivious to Jarod's true identity. Neither of the brothers knew that Emily even existed until about a year after Jarod escaped from The Centre.
The brothers were reunited briefly in 1997, but were separated again when FBI agents moved in to arrest Kyle (for a series of felony offenses). After Kyle was supposedly killed in the fiery explosion of a transport van, Jarod went through a severe grieving process that eventually lead him to cloister himself away as a monk in a seminary in Mexico. When he finally emerged again, he suffered from horrific nightmares and "survivor's guilt"... and told people that he felt his brother's pain every day. For almost seven months Jarod didn't know that Kyle was alive, but the brothers were again briefly reunited in 1998 in the "Red Rock Jarod" episode. Sadly, their reunification didn't last long. Kyle died after putting his own body between Jarod and a bullet. After Kyle's death, Jarod saw to it that his brother's heart was donated to a young boy who needed an immediate transplant.
Thusfar, Jarod has had no interaction with Emily. [See Siblings.]
Although exceedingly isolated at The Centre, Jarod displayed great empathy for others around him; especially any children with which he was allowed (limited) contact. In many instances Jarod took on an almost paternal role when engaging other children: he comforted, guided, explained, nurtured... When reunited with his brother, Kyle, Jarod displayed a parental attitude toward him as well. Although often addressing Kyle as "Little Brother", Jarod seemed to adapt immediately to the role of "father" around Kyle. He scolded Kyle's misbehavior; praised Kyle's worthy efforts; and worried about Kyle when he went missing or seemed out of sorts. Jarod also displays similar behavior around adults. 
On several occasions we've seen Jarod acting as the "parent" or "adult" when the adults around him were stressed or at a loss as to what to do. Considering his level of genius, it wouldn't have been altogether unusual for the child-Jarod to speak and act around the adults in an "adult" fashion, but his outbursts of "childish" behavior -- his tantrums, for example -- were testimony to the fact that he was still too young to be forced into the position of having to act, too often, as "the parent" himself. Nevertheless, even in the present, it is often Jarod who makes the emotional and behavioral overtures to Sydney, putting himself into the role of provider and nurturer, rather than it being the other way around. It was Jarod who sought a cure for Sydney's brother Jacob; it was Jarod who soothed Sydney's conscience by telling him, "You're not a monster"; it was Jarod who offered Sydney the father-son bonding gift of a fishing trip... In many such cases, Jarod is STILL acting as Sydney's "parent": offering him support, protection, solace and guidance... even though Sydney often rebukes these "gifts".[See Sydney.]
The only time we seem to see Jarod take on a more "childlike" (and sometimes "childish") affect, is when he's around Miss Parker. He doesn't parent her, nor have we seen him relate to her as a potential mate (although we did see him make "sexless" romantic overtures to her in the episode, "Gigolo Jarod"). Rather, he seems to see her as a "sibling"-- a sister he can tease, scold, and argue with, but one whom he cares about nonetheless. Their interaction in the "Keys" episode seemed to indicate evidence of "sibling rivalry", as they each sought to one-up the other.[See Miss Parker.]
How ever "enlightened", empathetic, and talented he may be, however, Jarod also has a sadistic side which leaks out now and then... and which is, no doubt, in response to his isolation in The Centre and the fact that he's now reveling in the "control" he can exert on other people he deems unworthy of kindness. We've seen Jarod handcuff a man in a burning building and then throw the keys to the handcuffs in the middle of a pool of fire; we've seen him bury a man alive in coffin (which was fitted with a glass top so the man could see the dirt being poured onto him); and we've seen Jarod pretend to harvest flesh from an unwilling skin-graft donor whom he was trying to terrorize into a confession... These are not the actions of an entirely "healthy"-minded person. 
We've also seen Jarod "fixate" on things. Not true "obsessions", his fixations last only for a short period of time but are often disturbing to see. He's fixated on doughnuts, cockroaches, novelty toys, and Oreo cookies among other things... Probably the most uncomfortable image that came out of these fixations was that of a room literally wall-papered floor to ceiling in tiny Bazooka Joe comics (from bubblegum packs); each tiny comic tacked with precision to the wall or door with a round-headed map pin.
Much of Jarod's angst comes from the fact although he can "be anybody" he chooses, he doesn't yet know who he really is. He doesn't remember much of anything about his infancy -- although he did have brief recollections about a house (which he reconstructed out of tooth picks), the night of his abduction by The Centre, and of his "Mom and Dad"...but he doesn't know if the people he called Mom and Dad were his biological parents or his adoptive parents. As mentioned before, information eked out in the "Bloodlines" episode suggests that Jarod was probably adopted... and that at least one of his biological parents (most likely his biological father) worked for The Centre. It was noted in the "Bloodlines" episode that Jarod looks nothing like his mom and dad, Margaret and Charles.
Jarod had been told, during his 30-some-odd-year "imprisonment" in The Centre, that his parents had died in a plane crash. He later learned that that wasn't true. His first clue was: he exhumed the remains of those people whom The Centre had claimed were his parents and buried, and discovered that he wasn't a genetic match to the people in the graves. There was an "anomaly" in his genes that didn't show up in their remains. [Jarod also has a rare blood type, AB-Negative.] Miss Parker and Sydney also confirmed that the people Jarod thought of as his parents weren't dead at the time Jarod was kidnapped by The Centre, when they discovered intake paperwork (signed by Sydney's brother Jacob) that contained every indication that Jarod's parents were still very much alive.
Jarod got a brief glimpse of his mom (and his sister Emily) in Boston, but wasn't able to get near them before Centre Sweepers moved in and tried (unsuccessfully) to kill them. Jarod's search for his parents and the truth to his real identity is one of the main "under-pinnings" of many of The Pretender episodes.
Another aspect to many of the stories is the fact that when Jarod escaped from The Centre with a cache of DSAs (Digitally Simulated Archives manufactured in a CD-style format), he set off a chain reaction of events that he couldn't even begin to imagine. The Centre immediately sent out "Sweepers" and "Cleaners" [See Sweepers and Cleaners.] to kill or render unusable anyone who was even remotely connected to Jarod and the Pretender Project. Sonny Herbert, a private investigator who searched for Jarod as a child, for example, was burned almost beyond recognition; and a girl named Dara, who had managed to elude The Centre as a child, was located and murdered on an operating table during a routine appendectomy. "Freak accidents" and routine operations gone suddenly awry also took the lives of dozens of others who The Centre and its operatives were able to track down. Realizing that Jarod's mom and dad are still living, The Centre has put them on its "hit list" as well.
We learned in the "Bank" episode that, according to Mr. Fenigor [See Mr. Fenigor.], Jarod had been a part of a project called PRODIGY. In the "Bloodlines" episode, we found out that the project directors kidnapped children who were biologically predisposed to be "pretenders", and subjected them to tests, experiments, and neuro-enhancement therapy. Jarod, however, was found to be a natural born pretender, and is considered the prototype for the "modifications" perpetrated on the other children in the project. We also found out in this episode that Miss Parker (and her fraternal twin brother) were also test subjects in the PRODIGY research.
In the third season premiere viewers saw Jarod insinuate himself into a mental institution, pretending to be a patient so that he could discover the truth about the murder of another patient, and the mishandling of a third patient's care. While in the institution, Jarod told his doctor the truth about The Centre, its minions, and his distressed life... but belieiving him to be insane, the doctor didn't believe a wrod he said. When Jarod escaped from the institution (Houdini style), he left behind a sketch pad filled with drawings of The Centre, Miss Parker, and Mr. Lyle...
Here are some images of Jarod's last room at The Centre. Initially, he had been kept in a somewhat barren, almost Spartan cell with no windows. The larger room, shown below, included a 3-D theatre screen on which Jarod could watch motion picture simulations in the round.
Miss Parker and sydney (above) enter Jarod's room shortly after his escape from The Centre. The monochromatic furnishings were not unusual for The Centre, but the brightness of the room was.
Miss Parker approaches Jarod's bed (to the left) and his origami rendering of Onyssius (in the foreground).
Sydney stands behind Jarod's desk. The large round mandala behind Sydney would lift up out of the way to expose the giant motion picture screen behind it. Images projected on the screen also stretched out to cover the nearby walls.
JAROD IS "THE PRETENDER"
Above are images of Jarod in his various "Pretender" modes. He's been everything from a plastic surgeon, to a rodeo clown, to a virologist... You name it; he can do it.
To see more images of Jarod check out our image links below:
More Large "Collage"-type Images of Jarod in Various Occupations.
More Large "Collage"-type Images of Jarod in Various Occupations.
More Large "Collage"-type Images of Jarod in Various Occupations.
| SYDNEY: Dr. Sydney Green. Psychiatrist at The Centre who raised Jarod from the age of four and who now purports to want him returned to The Centre's custody (even though he thwarts the efforts to re-capture Jarod). TEMPORARILY BLINDED |
| MISS PARKER: Daughter of Mr. Parker and Catherine Jameson-Parker. She has been pulled from the comfort of the "corporate" levels of The Centre and put in charge of bringing Jarod back. |
| MR. BROOTS: A computer whiz in the Tech Room of The Centre, he helps Sydney and Miss Parker in their various efforts to capture and/or aid Jarod. |
| ANGELO: Once a child known as "Timmy", Angelo is The Centre's resident empath. |
| MR. PARKER: Once a Centre big-wig he lost his place, temporarily, to Mr. Lyle and is now struggling to regain his position. Miss Parker refers to him as "daddy", but he may not be. |
| MR. RAINES: Once Dr. William Raines, Mr. Raines has thrown aside his Hippocratic Oath, and uses The Centre's funding and property to conduct illicit experiments on other human beings. He's most closely associated with Mr. Parker, but has been known to throw his allegiance to whomever seems to best serve his purposes at the moment. CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR & ON SUPPIMENTAL OXYGEN. |
| MR. LYLE: Formerly "Bobby Bowman", Mr. Lyle was once held in high esteem by The Centre's ruling body, The Triumvirate, but a series of botched assignments involving Jarod cost Lyle his position in The Centre... and his thumb. A psychopathic felon, Lyle is now one of Jarod's most volatile and unpredictable enemies. He's also been restored to his position in The Centre and now co-heads the pursuit of Jarod. |
| EMILY AND KYLE: Jarod's siblings. Kyle was once part of the PRODIGY experiments at The Centre, but was manipulated by Mr. Raines into a sociopath. Emily has only been seen once briefly by Jarod (in the "Dragon House" episode), and it is not known if she is Jarod's biological sibling or his step-sister. Kyle is now DECEASED, and Emily is MISSING and on the run from The Centre along with her parents. |
| MARGARET AND CHARLES: She was a housewife and mother; he was an ace pilot in the Air Force. Jarod refers to them as "mom and dad", but they may be his adoptive parents. They are currently MISSING and on the run from The Centre. |
| HARRIET TASHMAN: A former nun, she was a friend to both Catherine Jameson-Parker, and Margaret and Charles. She allowed Margaret, Charles, and Emily to stay at her farm for several years, and assisted in the (if very abbreviated) reunification of Jarod and his family. She is now MISSING. |
| CATHERINE JAMESON-PARKER: Miss Parker's look-alike mother, she was murdered by the "man in the dark suit" on the day in 1970 when she attempted to rescue Jarod from The Centre. DECEASED |
| BEN MILLER: Once a loving friend to Catherine-Jameson Parker, it is possible that he is biological father of Miss Parker. |
| JACOB: Jacob Green, a "Special Expediter" for The Centre, and the twin brother of Sydney, he was put into a near-permanent coma after he attempted to complain about his duties at The Centre. He revived briefly on two occasions, and survived an assassination attempt by The Centre in 1997, but eventually died of a brain-investing virus in 1998. DECEASED |
| DEBBIE: The young daughter of Mr. Broots. She seeks to emulate Miss Parker. |
| MR. FENIGOR: A "Special Expediter" at The Centre, he was responsible for the kidnapping of Jarod and the other children used for the PRODIGY experiments. He was receiving "hush money" from The Centre for decades, but was confronted by Jarod and Miss Parker in 1998. Mr. Fenigor was currently ensconced in The Centre infirmary, from which he is not expected to make a recoverythen was transfered to the facility's Renewal Wing, where he was subjected to "Re-Education". BRAINWASHED BY THE CENTRE. |
| DR. CURTIS: A criminal behavioralist, he was once commissioned by Mr. Raines to discover who had shot Raines in Boston during a botched effort to capture Jarod and assassinate his family. Curtis, however, was being blackmailed by Jarod and told Raines nothing. Curtis is now MISSING. |
| DANNIE/ EINNAD: Another victim of Mr. Raines' brain-wave manipulation and drug therapy, Dannie now suffers from a multiple-personality disorder. Two of his personas include the docile and childlike "Dannie" and the vicious straight-razor wielding "Einnad". Discovered by Sydney, Broots, and Miss Parker in 1998, Dannie is now in a psychiatric hospital under Sydney's care. CONFINED TO A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. |
| BRIGITTE/ BRIDGET: A "Cleaner" for The Centre, she was most closely associated with Mr. Lyle. When Lyle fell from grace, Brigitte attempted to align herself with Mr. Raines, but after an attempt to "purchase" Jarod from a gabby opportunist named Argyle went awry, Brigitte lost all credibility with The Centre big-wigs. She is now MISSING. |
| NIA: Owner of a small "out-fitting" store near the Toluca Lake National Forest in Oregon, she was the one woman able to usher Jarod into his first sexual experience. |
| SWEEPERS and CLEANERS: The "bull-dogs" and "sanitation crew" of The Centre, Sweepers and Cleaners have been commissioned in the pursuit and capture of Jarod. Sam the Sweeper is most closely associated with Miss Parker, and Willie the Sweeper and Gar the Cleaner are most closely associated with Mr. Raines. Sweeper Hayes is DECEASED. |
| THE CENTRE and other Places: This page gives readers information about The Centre, NuGenesis, Centre safe houses, Hillman Marine and other locations of note visited in The Pretender. |
| THE TRIUMVIRATE: The nameless, faceless ruling body at The Centre. |
| OTHER CHARACTERS: Such as the janitor at NuGenesis, the caretaker at the Oakview Lodge, Davy Simpkins, Dr. Shafton, Mike Bodie, etc. |
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT "THE PRETENDER"
SEE OUR
SECOND SEASON EPISODES RECAPS.
NBC's Official Pretender/ Thrillogy Site
The only Authorized Michael T. Weiss Site at www.mtweiss.com.
The JarodsTwin Archive Site at Tripod
Mare's Equally Unofficial Michael T. Weiss Site for Obsessive Fans at AOL
The Pretender Centre by Reese @ Geocities.
See also the FANS OF MICHAEL T. WEISS WEBRING for more sites.
We're Proud Members of MT.WAS.
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