The WORST episodes of The Pretender
Every episode of The Pretender ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Pretender!
The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael 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. Patrick Bauchau and Andrea Parker co-starred as Sydney, Jarod's childhood teacher and mentor, and Miss Parker, a childhood friend. They are both operatives for a mysterious organization called "The Centre", which took Jarod from his parents as a child and developed his special talents with the intention of making him one of their agents, while also using his brilliant intellect for their own evil purposes. After escaping from their custody, Jarod begins traveling the country, searching for clues to his true identity while posing as a doctor, police officer, attorney, or some other character who helps those in trouble. The Centre's directors are determined to return Jarod to The Centre to further their mysterious plan. A team of operatives, led by Miss Parker, attempts to find and capture The Pretender. Jarod's extreme intelligence combined with his childlike innocence create a memorable and endearing character that was popular with viewers.
#1 - Flesh and Blood
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/2/1999
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.
#2 - Survival
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/1999
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.
#3 - Amnesia
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/21/1998
LOCATION UNKNOWN - During the intervention of his current pretend, Jarod is caught off guard and beaten, resulting in the loss of his memory. Jarod is then rescued by Argyle, a smooth-talking con-artist. But his savior soon starts to wonder how this situation could benefit him. Meanwhile, back at The Centre; Miss Parker, Sydney, & Broots are put before a T-Board. There, they are interrogated to see just how dedicated they are in their search for Jarod.
#4 - Stolen
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/2/1998
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA - After taking down a corrupt doctor, Jarod unexpectedly gets involved in a kidnapping when the father of the kidnapped ends up in the hospital. Back at The Centre, Miss Parker sides with Mr. Raines on the fact that Sydney is becoming too attached to Jarod. To the point, even, that it's complicating the search for him.
#5 - Parole
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/21/1998
Jarod portrays a paroled convict to aid a widow; Sydney learns startling news while consoling an old lover whose husband is dying.
#6 - The Inner Sense (1)
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/13/2000
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.
#7 - The Inner Sense (2)
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/13/2000
#8 - The World's Changing
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/1999
Once again a prisoner of the Centre, Jarod discovers a plot to murder a team of nuclear researchers, giving him even more motivation to escape. Meanwhile, Sydney and Broots try to find Miss Parker and Miss Parker tries to find her father -- and figure out who to trust.
#9 - Ghosts from the Past
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/26/2000
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.
#10 - Extreme
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/4/1999
Jarod Pretends to be an extreme sports enthusiast in order to learn what happened to a comatose young man. Meanwhile, Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots follow Jarod's "game show" clues, and find themselves investigating Mr. Lyle.
#11 - Meltdown
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/29/2000
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.
#12 - Rules of Engagement
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/8/2000
Jarod tries to stop a hostage situation in a hospital. Miss Parker is confused by an encounter with her father.
#13 - Risque Business
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/6/1999
Jarod pretends to be a sex therapist to investigate a brutal assault on a doctor. Meanwhile, Broots tries to summon up the courage to reveal his feelings to Miss Parker.
#14 - Lifeline
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/19/2000
Jarod becomes a bodyguard to reunite an undercover ATF agent and her daughter. Meanwhile. Miss Parker sets out to prove Raines' religious 'conversion' is nothing of the kind.
#15 - Homefront
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/12/1998
Jarod steals millions from the Centre, then poses as an arms dealer selling missile launchers to a weapons merchant in Venezuela.
#16 - School Daze
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/22/2000
Jarod poses as an elementary school teacher to protect a young witness in a murder trial. Meanwhile, Miss Parker encounters a ghost from the past.
#17 - 'Til Death Do Us Part
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/15/2000
On the anniversary of Thomas' death, Jarod challenges a haunted Miss Parker to resume her hunt for his killer. But the search leads back to her father and Brigitte, who is close to giving birth.
#18 - Junk
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/25/2000
Jarod goes undercover as a junkie in a rehab clinic to help a woman regain custody of her son. Meanwhile, Miss Parker and company find Jarod's connection to the woman through her father and the Centre.
#19 - Wild Child
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/11/1999
Jarod Pretends to be a psychologist to help a young girl found living alone in the wilderness. Meanwhile. Miss Parker finds out a Centre contract has been taken out on her father's life, leading her to look more closely at Mr. Cox.
#20 - Corn Man A Comin'
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/6/2000
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.
#21 - The Assassin
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/6/1999
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.
#22 - The Agent of Year Zero
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/11/2000
Jarod tries to help a Cambodian woman avenge the death of her family at the hands of a war criminal -- who is also an ally of Mr. Lyle. Meanwhile, Miss Parker tracks that connection from the Centre.
#23 - Mr. Lee
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/6/1999
A blind man and his assistant piece together Jarod's personality so they can kidnap him.
#24 - Road Trip
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/13/1999
Jarod finds himself on a road trip to help a mysterious young woman, whom he falls for. Meanwhile, he tells Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots to 'follow the yellow brick road'.
#25 - Red Rock Jarod
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/2/1998
DRY RIVER, ARIZONA - Responding to an email he believes was sent to him by Sydney, Jarod finds himself in the hands of someone he once thought dead. Jarod also meets a boy who is in need of a heart transplant. Meanwhile, Miss Parker closes in on Jarod. But she's in for a surprise when she meets his captor