Wednesday, March 20, 2019

A Modern Classic: Renegade (1992)

It wasn't so much that the networks stopped buying series from author-producer-sometime actor Stephen J. Cannell, but there was more money to be made in the syndication market.

In 1992, Cannell created, produced, and co-starred in Renegade. Cannell played a corrupt California cop, who'd later weasel his way into becoming a Federal marshal, who framed San Diego cop Reno Raines (Lorenzo Lamas, ex-Falcon Crest) for murder. In a way, it was a flipped negative of the seminal 60's drama, The Fugitive. While Raines was on the run, it just happened that Dixon was as crooked as they came, and unlike on Fugitive, Dixon had no redeeming value.

Scope the pilot. The narrator is the inestimable Don LaFontaine.



Co-star Branscombe Richmond branched out into movies a few years back, as he co-starred with Dwayne Johnson in "The Scorpion King". Lorenzo Lamas was last seen playing, ironically enough, a corrupt cop, on the El Rey series, Lucha Underground.

Renegade lasted five seasons (1992-7), and my memories of it come from daily reruns.

Rating: B.

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