Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Part 3: The Centre

Other employees we've seen include Mr. Raines (3.3), Broots (2.7), LeRon (apparently a researcher, played by Ricco Ross), Brigitte (3.8), Garr (a Sweeper or Cleaner who reported directly to Mr. Raines, killed in the SL-27 explosion) and various members of Sweeper teams [including Sam (played by Sam Ayers), who usually reports to Miss Parker, and Willie (played by Willie Gault of the Chicago Bears), who usually reports to Mr. Raines or Mr. Lyle].

3.2 What are everyone's names?
A: From a source within the show, first season:

"....for the sake of public sanity and overall harmony, here is the rundown...

Jarod - has no last name, not even Russell.
Miss Parker - has a first name but it is shrouded in mystery and unknown even to us [Ed. Her first initial is M (unless that stands for Miss). And I don't care what you heard in the graveyard after Thomas died, her first name is not Babara. Thomas' voice said, "I love you, Parker."]
Sydney - has no last name, the Green was placed in publicity materials before the pilot was released and continues to be used (wrongfully) to this day
Sydney's comatose twin brother Jacob - doesn't have a last name either [Ed: Dead twin brother now, and he still doesn't have a last name]
Mr. Parker - See Miss Parker [Ed. He even refused to use his first name in his wedding ceremony!]
Catherine Parker (Miss P's mom) - had both names, now she's dead... coincidence?
Mr. Raines - is too evil to have a first name. [Ed. Since this, Mr. Raines has become William Raines, formerly Dr. Raines (Dr. Billy).]<
Angelo - no last name
Broots - yes, that's how it's spelled. [Ed. No first name.]

Hope this helps clear up the mystery."

Brigitte's full name was eventually Brigitte Parker -- no clue what her maiden name was. Mr. Lyle's real name is Robert (Bobby) Bowman. His original last name, according to his adoption papers, was Arkham (Crash), but he was born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker. Confused yet?

3.3 Who is Mr. Raines? Who shot him?
A: No one is exactly sure what his place in the Centre heirarchy is, including Sydney and Miss Parker. He appears to wield a lot of power, particularly in internal security, since everyone is afraid of him -- or was, until his dealings with Kyle and SL-27 were exposed, giving Mr. Parker a lever against him.

He was once also a doctor (Dr. Billy)-- in fact, he delivered Miss Parker and her twin -- but has apparently been disbarred, or something similar. In 'Flyer,' Jarod found a DSA recording of Mr. Raines and began asking questions. No one's gotten any answers yet, although Miss Parker remembers seeing him leaving the Parker home after Catherine was beaten, months before she was killed. (Keys) With Sweeper teams, he probably arranged the near-murder of a New Orleans private investigator, probably looking for Jarod, and he was seen threatening Jacob the Monday before the accident which left him in a coma. (Jarod's Honor)

He has no apparent scruples; at least once, he deliberately sent Sydney out of the way in order to experiment on Jarod (Back From the Dead Again); he used both Sydney and Jarod in a drug testing, addicting both to an experiemntal mind-expanding nacotic (Junk); he kidnapped Miss Parker's twin brother at birth, reporting the baby dead (see 2.3); and attempted to kidnap a little boy to begin the Pretender Project again. It was because of his experiments that Timmy was killed and Angelo created. (See 3.4.) He was also certainly up to his neck in Project Genesis (see 3.14), and executed Catherine Parker after Ethan's birth, raising the boy as a paranoid and helpless borderline nutcase (see 2.4 and 2.10) and murdering his foster parents.

And for who shot him -- which time? Sydney tried it in (The Dragon House), hitting his oxygen tank by accident, and leaving Raines hospitalized with severe burns . Only Jarod and Miss Parker are aware of Sydney's role in the shooting. (Indy Show). Following Sydney's bombing attempt in SL-27, Raines was confined to a wheelchair but is now up and about again, enough to have been behind yet another attempt to assassinate Mr. Parker; Mr. Parker's life was only saved by Brigitte and his daughter -- Miss Parker took the bullet meant for him. (Donoterase) Mr. Raines disappeared into Big Matumbo's clutches right after that debacle; when he returned, he was sans air tank and had apparently found God.

The second (and successful) time, Mr. Parker shot Raines before he could finish telling Miss Parker whow as the only person alive who still knew the secrets of the Centre. Raines is now quite, quite dead.

Raines was married and had a teenaged daughter named Annie whom he loved; she was murdered by a serial killer around 1978, although he tried to use Jarod to find her. Her body was not found until Jarod located it recently (Once in a Blue Moon). As for his wife, Edna Raines, she was thought to be dead by suicide (a popular Centre theme), but was in fact kept drugged in a nursing home since about the time of Catherine Parker's death. She recently escaped and managed to contact Miss Parker, telling her to carry on the work her mother started. She also refered to something called 'Mirage', and directed Miss Parker to her mother's empty grave. Mrs Raines knew a lot of Centre secrets (she knew Jarod's lullaby), but took them with her to her own grave. She died of an overdose soon after her escape -- tended by Mr. Raines. (School Daze, Corn Man)

Mr. Raines was played by Richard Marcus (Tremors, Enemy Mine).

3.4 Who and what is Angelo? Is he a Pretender? Who plays him? What does he have to do with Jake Lloyd of Star Wars?
A: According to Sydney, Angelo (a.k.a. Cousin It, BuzzBoy, etc.) is not a Pretender, but a kind of savant, who acts as an emotional sponge, picking up and channeling the emotions of his targets. He was more or less 'created' by Mr. Raines -- he came to the Centre as a boy called Timmy, but all traces of his original personality were destroyed when then-Dr. Raines used him in neuroshock experiements in SL-27; it was those experiments which made Angelo into such a high-level empath. (F/X) Mr. Raines sent Angelo to 'channel' Jarod in another attempt to catch him, and has also used him as a walking lie detector to find The Centre's leak.

The only problem is that Angelo is The Centre's leak -- he retrieved and hid the files found in SL-27, helped Jarod and Kyle escape from the Centre, and communicated with both Jarod and Kyle while they were inside and outside. He has the ability to move around within and outside the Centre at will (thanks to a top security access card he obtained and Miss Parker let him keep (Nip and Tuck)), and to contact Jarod. He also has an addiction to Cracker Jack (he addressed letters to Kyle in prison 'C.J.').

A new treatment from Sydney gave Angelo the chance to reverse the damage done by Mr. Raines. After spending several days as a normal person, he gave up the chance at a permanent cure to help another of Mr. Raines' victims. Angelo was one of the two people who could possibly be Miss Parker's twin. (See 2.3); Centre blood tests showed otherwise.

Angelo is played by Paul Dillon, whose other appearances include an episode of 'NYPD Blue', and the movies Cutthroat Island, Fair Game and Blink), as well as a great deal of theatre work. Younger Angelo is played by Jake Lloyd, best known for his role as young Anakin in Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace.

3.5 What is SL-27?
A: SL-27 was first seen when Jacob scribbled it before lapsing back into a coma (Under the Reds). Later, Broots, lead by Jarod, discovered the existence of a hidden sub-level beneath the Centre -- Sub-Level 27.

When Miss Parker and Sydney investigated, they found that the sub-level had been destroyed by fire (in 1987), and at least one person had been killed (though not burned to death; the skeleton they found had a bullet hole though one lens of a pair of glasses). They also found a lab that looked more like a torture chamber, and a set of files related to the Pretenders, including a large file on Jarod. When they returned, the files were missing; Angelo retrieved and hid them. (Baby Love) In 'The Dragon House', they learned that Kyle had been kept in SL-27; it was where Mr. Raines trained him. Sydney found claw marks on a door, and Broots was able to retrieve two DSAs from the destroyed 'brainchild' computer found there. Angelo (as Timmy) was also held in SL-27.

Mr. Raines recently attempted to reactivate SL-27 (Bloodlines); desperate to stop him, Sydney set a bomb which unfortunately went off while damn near every major player in the Centre was down there. Garr was killed and Mr. Raines left in a wheelchair; everyone else survived. (Crazy)

3.6 Where is the bible quote from 'The Dragon House' located and is it a real quote?
A: The quote Jarod reads in the episode is apparently supposed to be from Joshua 19:6 (Old Testament), but no one has been able to locate the actual quote. The quote appears to have been inserted, replacing another line.

3.7 Who is Mr. Lyle?
A: Mr. Lyle was a highly-placed member of The Centre, powerful enough to make Mr. Raines refer to him as 'the boogeyman'; he took over for Mr. Parker during his absence. His methods were, if possible, worse than those used by Mr. Raines; he sold the services of the Centre to the Yakusa to kidnap a Federal witness, using a plan established by one of Jarod's simulations (Past Sim).

Mr. Lyle lost a thumb to the Yakusa (following a set-up courtesy of Mr. Raines and Mr. Parker, with Jarod's completely seperate assistance), and was thought to have been dead. However, he turned up again trailing Jarod, possibly hoping to use his capture as a way to regain his place in The Centre. At the same time, he went on a shooting spree in a Centre field office, stealing a data chip which contained a sequence of genetic codes (possibly those which denote a Pretender). Sent by her father to get rid of the problem, Miss Parker shot Lyle in self-defense and he fell into the water; a body missing a thumb -- and a head -- was later recovered.

Later investigations revealed that Mr. Lyle's real name was Robert Bowman -- he took the name Lyle after his adopted father's first name. Mr. Lyle's adoption was arranged by The Centre, who also apparently interfered in his adolescence, turning Lyle into a killer. He murdered his best friend, then arranged for the body to be found and presumed to be his own; his father was convicted of the murder of his son. ('Crash') He has also been involved with arms dealers and was almost certainly responsible for the beating death of his mail-order bride, Che Ling, and we've seen him shopping for a new one. He was also a suspect in the murder of two female exchange students during his college years (Survival), and two women in Cambodia (The Agent of Year Zero), although the charges were dropped in both cases. And do we need to discuss the bloody torture chamber found in his apartment?

To no one's surprise, Mr. Lyle turned up alive and kidnapped Jarod, hoping to force his way back into the Centre. Jarod was rescued by Kyle, who died in Jarod's place. Lyle escaped again. (Red Rock Jarod) Mr. Lyle was brought back to the Centre when Mr. Parker pulled serious strings, and assigned to the team sent to catch Jarod.

Lyle is also, according to Centre DNA testing, Miss Parker's twin brother, stolen by Mr. Raines at birth. (See 2.3) While she was initially trying to accept him as a brother, she's now more-or-less convinced he is, in fact, a psychopath (she knows about Che Ling), but is still forced to deal with him at the Centre, since her father accepts him totally. So far, his track record with the Centre includes using Sydney's kidnapped son as bait for Jarod, and in all likelihood having an affair with his father's wife; he's not making any friends. He is, however, currently the supervisor of the Three Stooges in their search for Jarod. He knew about Ethan's existence, and the plot to use him for he bombong (see 2.10), but may or may not have known Ethan's parentage. He was certainly point man on the attempt to murder Emily (see 1.14).

Mr. Lyle is played by Jamie Denton, who has appeared in the movies Face/Off, That Old Feeling, and Thieves Quartet. He also made a guest appearance on "Dark Skies" and has done several commercials.

3.8 Who is Brigitte?
A: Brigitte was a Cleaner, brought in to chase Jarod, on the theory that Miss Parker needed help -- and, apparently, supervision. She reported directly to Mr. Lyle, but may have had a past with Mr. Raines, judging from how touchy-feely she was with him during 'Over the Edge'. One of her other jobs apparently included trying to interfere with the Three Stooges; she took a shot at Broots in an attempt to convince him Miss Parker tried to kill him. She also attempted to kill Mr. Parker in a complicated helicopter crash (at least, it appeared that way), but was stopped by Miss Parker. (Toy Surprise)

While Brigitte sometimes affected a British accent, she was actually quite American. She also used Jarod to trade her way back into The Centre's good graces after her stunt with the helicopter, by convincing them that one of the Three Stooges had been feeding Jarod information, preventing his capture. She later hired Mr. Lee to find Jarod before Miss Parker and Mr. Lyle could. (Mr. Lee), and was the assassin responsible for the death of Thomas Gates (see 2.8). However, she did not say who was giving the orders.

Her attempt at catching Jarod failed rather spectacularly, but she landed on her feet, sort of -- she married Mr. Parker (Pool), played the role of step-mommy to Miss Parker and Mr. Lyle for all she was worth, and gave birth to a baby (despite claiming an inability to get pregnant; parentage of the baby is up to the observer -- there was real evidence (as in Broots seeing them) that she'd been having an affair with Mr. Lyle.)

Brigitte died of a placental previa (she bled to death) while giving birth to the baby, with Miss Parker as midwife. After her death, Mr. Parker revealed that he didn't actually give a damn about his 'beloved wife', but just wanted her for the baby -- he framed her for the assassination of Matumbo (see 3.1) and walked away. This seems to be something of a trend with him.

Brigitte was played by Pamela Gidley, last seen as Audrey Westin on "Strange Luck". She has also appeared in the movies 'Aberration', 'The Maze', 'Bombshell', 'Freefall', and 'S.W.F.'.

3.9 Who is Mr. Fenigore?
A: Mr. Fenigore worked for the Centre in an unknown capacity, but was involved in the Pretender Project. He was also Catherine's accomplice in rescuing the children from the Centre. The Centre has been paying him off for years (probably since Catherine's death) to stay quiet about what he knows. He was critically injured in a bank robbery (and further injured by a Centre sniper), but managed to tell Jarod and Miss Parker two things: the "red files" hold answers, and Jarod's father shot Catherine. Mr. Fenigore survived the shooting (contrary to his death certificate), but has his brain scrambled by the Centre and now remembers nothing of his involvement with Mrs. Parker or the shadier side of the Centre (Hope & Prey).

3.10 What are the 'red files'?
A: The red files are literally red file folders containing information about Pretenders and potential Pretenders that were part of the project. There are at least two sets, each with seven files plus an eighth focused on Miss Parker. Jarod was directed to one set (in NuGenesis) by Mr. Fenigor, and Miss Parker found the other on her father's desk.

The known subjects of the red files are Jarod, Kyle, Angelo and Mr. Lyle. Dannie/Einnid ('Silence') and Dara Andrews ('Unhappy Landings') were other possible subjects, leaving at least one Pretender/potential Pretender unaccounted for.

3.11 What is Nugenesis?
A: The NuGenesis Family Center is a fertility clinic and former adoption agency which is somehow connected with the Centre. Jarod investigated after Mr. Fenigor told him it was "where he came from" (Bloodlines). His parents spent a great deal of time there before turning up at a nearby vacation spot with their baby; more recently, Davy Simpkins was tested there before Mr. Raines attempted to use him for the Pretender Project. NuGenesis also 'donated' Major Charles' sperm samples to the Centre, later used to conceive Ethan, and Margaret's ova, used to create Jarod's clone (see 2.10 and 3.14).

3.12 What's the difference between a Sweeper and a Cleaner?
A: This has never been clearly explained. However, Sweepers appear to be the Centre's own private police -- the "enforcers," so to speak -- and are usually used to back someone up (Miss Parker, Mr. Raines). Cleaners (such as Brigitte) appear to be those sent in to "clean up" a messy situation, and often work on their own.

3.13 What is the 'circle of fire'?
A: In a cave in 'Hope & Prey', Jarod found a military flash patch that belonged to his father, which had the emblem of a circle of fire on it -- an emblem identical to the one Miss Parker found on the gun that killed her mother. When she gave the gun to Angelo, he told her to "follow the circle" -- the same thing Jarod's father told him on a vision quest in that cave.

Jarod later met another member of the 'circle of fire' -- a Air Force Special Forces unit of which his father was a member. Editors Speculation: Mrs. Parker's killer (if not Jarod's father/Major Charles) was probably also a member of the same unit. What that group is or what its involvement with the Centre was is anyone's guess.

3.14 What is Donoterase? Project Gemini?
A: Donoterase was a research facility about 50 miles away from the Centre, and the location of Project Gemini, a project to unravel Jarod's genetic code and utilize the information. The latter stages of the project were overseen by Mr Lyle, and resulted in the creation of a clone (played by Ryan Merriman), using Jarod's mother's eggs (stored at Pakor Frozen Foods, a biological storage facility owned and operated by the Centre).

The clone (as yet unnamed) was raised completely isolated, as a Pretender, and taught to believe Jarod had killed his parents. The boy felt his connection to Jarod regardless and was rescued from the Centre by Jarod and Major Charles. He left with Major Charles for parts unknown (Donoterase).

Prior to Donoterase being blown out of the water, we know for certain that it was Mr. Raines' baby, and that the Triumverate, Mr. Parker, Mr. Lyle and Brigitte were in on the game, at least by the end. Sydney had known about the project, but not the reality.

3.15 Who is Mr. White?
A: Mr. White is a Centre operative, reporting to Mr. Lyle, whos pecializes in finding families, presumably to use them against Centre targets. He is currently searching for Jarod's family, like the rest of the universe, and actually located Emily at one point, but traded that information to Jarod in exchange for his own life. (The World's Changing).

3.16 Who is Mr. Cox? Who is he really working for?
A: A OB/GYN doctor and the son of a mortician, whose main hobby is practicing taxidermy in SL-6, Mr. Cox supposedly works directly for the Triumverate; he was sent to act as sort of a Centre Internal Affairs investigator -- or, more accurately, as an assassin. Jarod refers to him as Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots' "executioner" or "the Grim Reaper". (Angels Flight)

As for who he's really working for -- take your pick. Although he was stooging around the Centre and rumored to have been hired to kill Mr. Parker (probably by Mutumbo, and probably through Mr. Lyle (who denies it, of course)), Mr. Parker claims Cox is actually working for him and was in the Centre to get information on who was out to get Mr. Parker. Cox was with Mr. Parker after Brigitte gave birth and died, and took care of disposing of the evidence. ('Til Death Do Us Part)