The Pretender (TV Series) Pilot (1996) User Reviews

Great start to a fantastic series

[jonne_scout · 9/10 · 14 August 2013]

To celebrate the rebirth of the pretender I'll be going through the series again and reviewing episodes and posting trivia bits here.

This is a great start to the series we are introduced to all the major characters and the story premise right of the bat. Some people might find it strange that we don't see Jarod escaping the Centre in this episode but I think that's actually a pretty good thing, since we never see the full escape so there is still a element of mystery.

In this episode we see Jarod expose an alcoholic surgeon and the corrupt chief of medicine covering for him. All so a paralysed orphan boy can get the justice he deserves. We're also introduced to miss Parker and Sydney who are hunting Jarod and Sydney's apparent reluctance to actually capture him.

A strange thing I noticed was that the Kennedy assassination simulation seen in the episode was it yet in black and white as would later become standard. Similarly there was not yet an revenge planning musical montage, another staple of the later episodes.

All in all we're of to a great start and I can't wait to see the rest again.

Starting slow

[cjonesas · 7/10 · 13 July 2021]

A good normal pilot, with the main character having self-confidence the size of a building and nice charisma. It lacks real suspense, thrill but compensates with good flow. Still too early to judge, but suspecting that it would like that till the end of season 4 with 50% weight.

We'll see...

Has to Get Better

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 20 November 2023]

I know it's a pilot so I'll be generous. As of now, the premise is so stupid and the existence of such a man is equally ludicrous. And then we have a female villain who thinks she knows everything. Except she is cut off at every angle. He is smug and as interested in causing embarrassment as he is solving the situation. Like I said. Now that we've got this under our belts, perhaps the second episode will let us see a more believable character. If they are going to play this for laughs each week I won't last very long. Even to an incredibly bright person, to pick up a scalpel and operate without training would never happen. Even the tracheotomy he performs would require a feel for the important parts of the chest.