- Title: The Pretender – Prison Story
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Fueled by both a childhood simulation Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) becomes a prison guard on death row at Oakfield Penitentiary in order to poke around the case of a car thief (David Proval) convicted of first-degree murder on the eve of his release from prison. Jarod is spurred on by the man’s daughter (Rebecca Cross) who spent youth becoming a lawyer and despite the recent setback still believes in his innocence.
To help him in the case Jarod relies on an old-timer (Brock Peters) who knows far more about what is actually going on in the prison than anyone else and a skittish guard (Dean Norris) who is in far over his head. Getting a bad vibe from both a tough-ass prison guard (Sam McMurray) and the warden (Marshall Bell) who may be turning a blind eye to the truth, Jarod discovers link between the recently murdered convict and several others who were all transfers to the prison with ties back to same crime family whose deaths were arranged for the right price.
In the B-story Miss Parker (Andrea Parker), Broots (Jon Gries) and Sydney (Patrick Bauchau) are all stuck in a crappy motel room hoping to trap Jarod at a pre-arranged meeting which he has no intention of making. The elaborate set-up is actually a giant size version of Monopoly (which Broots figures out) and is also important for introducing the recurring issue of Parker’s ulcer which has only grown to trouble her more with the added stress Jarod’s games continue to cause.
