"The Pretender" is a television series about Jarod, a genius with unique abilities, and The Centre, a shadowy organization that imprisoned him as a child and exploited his gifts. Jarod has escaped from the Centre, and now, he uses his gifts to help the helpless. In addition, Jarod is searching for his family, and attempting to elude Centre personnel, who are intent on recapturing their pretender. But the Centre's henchmen are not just mindless, evil bad guys. In many cases, they are complex, multi-faceted, and very human characters. Sydney, Broots, and Miss Parker are three such Centre employees, and their multi-dimensionality adds greatly to the appeal of the show.