Other Characters on
"The Pretender"

"Sweepers" are Centre operatives who move in to seek-and-destroy any target The Centre sends them after. They also defend and protect specific members of The Centre's upper echelon. They're sort of like the pit bulls and guard dogs of The Centre. Sam the Sweeper is most closely associated to Miss Parker, and Willie the Sweeper is most closely associated with Mr. Raines. [In the image above, Sam the Sweeper handcuffs Jarod while Miss Parker holds him at gunpoint.] We also saw Miss Parker's personal Sweeper, Hayes, killed during an assassination attempt on Mr. Parker.

We don't know anything about Sam the Sweeper's background, and have been given very few clues to his personality beyond the fact that he is entirely loyal to Miss Parker and follows her every command. In the "Keys" episode, we even saw Sam threaten to kill Jarod when Jarod returned from an excursion without Miss Parker. "Are you going to shoot me, Sam?" Jarod asked, and Sam pushed the muzzle of his gun directly into Jarod's chest. Jarod made light of the threat by stating, "I don't think you have the authority to do that."

Willie the Sweeper (right above), too, hasn't been fleshed out much by the writers but we know that he's compulsive and efficienct, seems to be humorless, and can kill without emotion. When Mr. Raines' was shot in Boston (in the first season finale), it was Willie who ran to him and put out the fire that was scorching Raine's clothing and body (while Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots stood by, watched, and offered no assistance). Willie is Mr. Raines' protege, and as such often puts himself in the forefront of altercations between Jarod and Centre operatives, hoping to make a good impression on Raines. When Miss Parker and Sam once captured Jarod (in the Stolen episode). for example, Willie moved in to take over, and attempted to "hood" Jarod. Panicked, Jarod fought back ferociously and was able to kick Willie away from him. Willie's attempts to shoot Jarod were then interfered with by Sydney. Willie was also on hand in the Amnesia and Bloodlines episodes, nearby while Jarod was captured or nearly captured.

"Cleaners" are sort of like second-generation super-Sweepers. They clean up and reorganize after the Sweepers have done everything they can do. They can also make people "disappear". After Mr. Lyle had executed a building full of Centre personnel in the "A Stand Up Guy" episode, for example, Broots asked what would become of the bodies of the people who were killed. Miss Parker answered him with, "Nothing. They don't exist anymore." If the Sweepers fail, we assume, Cleaners would move in to expunge the Sweepers themselves along with any evidence of their presence (and their failures). Brigitte/Bridget is a Cleaner, Gar is a Cleaner, and Miss Parker used to be one.

Interestingly, Gar was first introduced to viewers in the Past Sim episode, in which he appeared as a right-hand-man to Mr. Lyle. Gar was then seen in the series as Mr. Raines' personal Cleaner.

Gar was an excellent shot, loyal to Raines, and interested in the details of Centre operations. He asked a lot of questions of his superiors so he knew what going on around him. He also had a somewhat arid sense of humor and a ready smile. In the Bloodlines episode, when Miss Parker failed to shoot Jarod as he escaped in a Centre-owned jet, Gar smiled at her vaguely and quipped, "Guess you gun jammed, huh?" Few people in The Centre could get away with teasing and insulting Miss Parker like that. Sadly, this most interesting Cleaner was killed in the blast that, in 1998, innundated The Centres 27th sub-level. All that was left of him was pieces, including his hand.

If you'd like to learn more aout the actor portraying Gar, see Amir Aboulela's Unofficial Domain Homepage @ Geocities.

From the first season finale, The Dragon House, a glimpse of one of the female Sweepers.

Willie (3rd from the left) and another Sweeper take control of Argyle while Bridget looks on.

Mr. Raines (center) flanked by Willie (left) and another Sweeper.

This is Brigitte, a "Cleaner" at The Centre she arrived along with Mr. Lyle. A lolly-pop sucking assassin, she immediately intimidated everyone around her; upstaging Miss Parker on occasion in the pursuit of Jarod (she once found one of Jarod's lairs several days before Miss Parker even knew it existed); and trying to get Broots to turn his allegiance over to her (with her promises of blatant sexuality). Miss Parker was not amused, and Broots didn't succumb. While she was at The Centre, Brigitte tried to allign herself with Mr. Raines (and was often seen standing by him, stroking him and whispering to him), but never managed to permanently secure that alliance. When Mr. Lyle "disappeared" (after the unfortunate yakuza incident) Brigitte all but disappeared as well.

She finally reappeared on the anniversary of Catherine Parker's death in the "Toy Surprise" episode. After faking a "security drill" at The Centre, in order to get everyone she could out of the building, Brigitte set up a distance activated bomb on the heli-pad at The Centre. Her hope was that an incoming helicopter, carrying Mr.Parker, would get close enough to the trigger mechanism to activate a bomb planted on the helicopter. Mr. Parker would die, but it would look like an accident. Brigitte's assassination attempt failed, however, when Miss Parker found out about it (thanks to Jarod), and suceeded in stopping the trigger mechanism before the helicopter landed. [[One "cute" note from the "Toy Surprise" episode: Brigitte dropped her affected British accent after Miss Parker told her no one was "buying" it. "Fine with me, b**ch," Brigitte snarled with a pure America accent. "Too damn much work anyway." ]]

Mr. Parker had promised Miss Parker that Brigitte would be "dealth with", but her well-wishers and cronies were seemingly more powerful than his. She made a deal with the Triumvirate: she would get Jarod and prove that Miss Parker was somehow purposely allowing him to stay free, if the Triumvirate would then eliminate Miss Parker from The Centre and allow Brigitte to take her place. In the "Amnesia" episode, this "Miss Parker's butt for Brigitte's" deal almost went through... while Mr. Parker stood by, watched it happen, and even participated in a T-Board interrogation of Miss Parker.

In the "Amnesia" episode, Jarod was first aided and then held captive by a self-absorbed opportunist named Argyle. Argyle contacted The Centre, got a hold of Brigitte -- who is now going by the name "Bridget", since she lost her accent in the "Toy Surprise" episode -- and Bridget went to the warehouse (where Argyle was staying) to pick up Jarod. Jarod escaped, however, after seeing to it that Bridget was sprayed straight in the face by hot steam from a pipe in the warehouse wall. Since her "deal" with the Triumvirate failed, it's questionable whether she'll return again as an ally and supporter of The Centre...but who knows?

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