The Pretender is definitely a cut above the rest. However, it's still far from flawless. Think of it as a combination of Quantum Leap (at least the first season of TP), Dexter, The Fugitive, The X-Files, Profiler, and Alias -- all rolled into one. It has tension, suspense, surprises, secrets, conspiracies, lessons to be learned, some eye candy, some cannibalism, a little bit of humor, and even a little bit less of romance. Unfortunately, it also has an annoying amount of formulaic predictability, and some instances of weak/lazy writing, including but not limited to the over-use of dead people who never actually died, as well as plot arcs that simply vanish for entire seasons (or longer).
The Pretender is a show about innocence lost; innocence sought; innocence never fully recovered; vengeance; justice; 21st century end game global politics; and, most important of all, genetic manipulation coupled with extensive mind control. It's also about the importance of family, and while that's a good thing in itself, when it comes to the Parkers, that's more than an oxymoron. (The Parkers are more like the perennial winners on: "THE INFERNAL FAMILY FEUD".)
Despite its strengths, there are some aspects of The Pretender that are claustrophobic -- meaning, things are too nuclear and too tight and too dense. (i.e. Miss Parker's maniacal obsession with "FINDING HER MOTHER'S KILLER"; "FINDING JAROD"; "FINDING JAROD'S FATHER"; and, possibly, most nauseating of all: "EARNING DADDY'S LOVE".) Then, on the other hand, there are elements so loosely connected to the story that they barely make sense. (i.e. Mitumbo, the "Circle Of Fire", the Jarod clone, the 3 Argyle episodes, Broot's daughter, Jarod's mother -- who is shown ONCE in real time, then never again, etc.) And of course there are the all too common for this genre stupid Keystone Cops moves made by a so-called clandestine intelligence agency, in this case, The Centre. (And the constant lack of voice, location, and email monitoring is just outright laughable.)
The acting is about what you'd expect from a major network TV series. It's good at times, passable at other times, and poor some of the time. But the actors seem to be well cast, for the most part, and they pull off their respective roles admirably. (I just wish they would have chosen someone else as their hairstylist. Jarod's hair style for the first season was a distraction, and Miss Parker's hair style looked like a helmet/wig for most of the series. Her makeup also looked, at times, like it had been applied with a trowel.)
Most of the seasons are solid, except for season 4 -- they really dropped the ball with that one. All we get are 18 formulaic "save/revenge" scenarios, and none of the "looking for father, mother, sister" arcs. It was silly -- and outright annoying -- especially considering the major revelations presented in season 3's finale. The writers clearly lost their way in season 4. (And if I were Michael Weiss, I'd stick to acting and forget about directing. His "Ghosts From The Past" directorial debut was probably the worst Pretender episode in the entire series.)
Overall, however, the series is definitely addictive, and is at its best when Jarod ranges from innocent (i.e. the first time he tastes ice cream, the first time he sees Silly Putty, etc.) to Dexter-like (i.e. plotting and implementing appropriate revenge scenarios). It is also truly at its best when it shows the touching connection between young Jarod and young Miss Parker. It is also strong when it reveals the true evil elements via Dr./Mr. Raines, Mr. Parker, Lyle, Mr. Cox, Mitumbo, and even early Sydney. On the other hand it is weak when it tries to get too cutesy (i.e. the 3 Argyle shows), when it over-uses the "back from the dead" themes, and when it fails to allow Miss Parker to grow emotionally and intellectually from the start of the series to the final episode. She just never seems to "get it" (i.e. that Jarod is the ONLY one she can really trust, aside from Broots), and it gets really old after 84+ episodes.
The most egregious offense, however, comes at the transition between the end of season 3 and the entire season 4. Season 3's finale was very powerful. Then season 4 ran for 18 weeks without a single reference to the major developments that occurred in Season 3's finale. It never even got tied up in Season 4's finale, and that's just inexcusable. The show teased its viewers, which is fine to a certain extent; it's what contributes to its addictive quality. But the Season 3 to Season 4 gap is just too large to be acceptable at any level. The writers clearly got lost and took the viewers along for far too many dead end rides. The shows also got a little too heavy handed with Jarod's delivery of the moral punchlines; they were too over-acted and predictable.
When it's all said and done, however, The Pretender is one of the best shows, if not THE best show, of its kind to ever air. The characters -- and some of the lessons -- will stick around in one's mind for a long, long time.
The Pretender: Rating: 8.5/10
