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"He was a cop, and good at his job. But he committed the ultimate sin and testified against other cops gone bad - cops that tried to kill him, but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands, an outlaw hunting outlaws, a bounty hunter - a RENEGADE!"
—The Opening Narration
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Reno Raines, a formerly well-respected policeman, is framed for the shooting of his girlfriend Valerie and the murder of another cop by Donald "Dutch" Dixon, and is forced to go on the run from the very law he used to uphold. Thus, his becomes a mission to find the evidence that will clear him; in the meantime, he works alongside noted bounty-hunter Bobby Sixkiller under the alias "Vince Black" to bring other criminals to justice.
Renegade starred actor Lorenzo Lamas in the titular role, and ran for five years, from September 1992 to April 1997, for a total of five seasons, 110 episodes in all. Seasons 1-4 ran on broadcast Syndication, with Season 5 airing on the USA Network. The series was one of several produced by the now-deceased Stephen J. Cannell.
By the way, this series is NOT related in any way to the Mass Effect/Command and Conquer fan-fiction story.
Tropes:[]
- Action Girl: Cheyenne, when she wasn't being the Damsel in Distress.
- Action Prologue: Every episode had one.
- Adventure Towns
- Alliterative Name/Awesome McCoolname: Reno Raines (played by Lorenzo Lamas no less) and Donald "Dutch" Dixon.
- And the Adventure Continues...: When the evidence is finally found to clear Reno of Dixon's first murder and implicate Dutch in the murder of his wife to silence her as a potential witness, it's Dixon who ends up on the run...with Reno now being the one to hunt him.
- Arch Enemy: Dixon to Reno.
- Ascended Fangirl: Sandy Carruthers, Cheyenne's replacement, had taken bounty hunting lessons provided in Bobby Sixkiller's home video courses, and had graduated from said courses at the time of her joining Reno and Bobby at the beginning of Season 5.
- The Atoner: One episode features a small colony of ex-cons who have become this and are trying to make an honest living. Unfortunately, several of the local townspeople are jerks toward them.
- Badass Longcoat: Reno wears these from time to time.
- Badass Long Hair: Reno lets his flow free or does it in a ponytail.
- Beard of Evil: Dutch Dixon.
- Bounty Hunter: Reno and company aren't the only ones shown in the series.
- But Now I Must Go
- Clear My Name: The main point of the series.
- Convenient Coma: Valerie, Reno's girlfriend, falls into one after being shot during the attempt on Reno's life in the first episode. She dies.
- Cool Bike: Reno rides one.
- Cool Shades: Reno, Bobby Sixkiller and Dixon wear them from time to time.
- Damsel in Distress: Cheyenne Phillips, Bobby Sixkiller's sister and assistant and Reno's love interest, sometimes acted as this; her replacement, Sandy Carruthers, would later take up this mantle on occasion. A number of one-shot female characters played this role Once an Episode as well.
- Deadpan Snarker: Reno has a lot of moments of this. As shown in the Season 5 episode "Top Ten With a Bullet":
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- Defeat Means Friendship: Bobby Sixkiller, Reno's main ally in his quest, had originally been hired by Dixon to capture Reno.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Dutch Dixon.
- Dirty Cop: Dutch Dixon, and several others who tried to kill Reno and wounded his girlfriend prior to the series proper. Several minor characters throughout the series fit the mold as well.
- Doppelganger: The plot of the Season 1 episode "The Two Renos."
- The Drifter: Reno, by necessity.
- Estrogen Brigade Bait: Observe the page image.
- Everything's Better with Motorcycles: Most persons, whether good or evil, have one.
- Evil Counterpart: Dutch Dixon to Reno Raines. Reno is officially an outlaw but is one of the good guys; Dixon, the Big Bad and the man who framed him, is seen by most as an upstanding police lieutenant.
- "Get Out of Jail Free" Card: A frequent occurrence.
- Girl of the Week
- Guns Akimbo
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Guess.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: One episode featured convicts being hunted for fun/as target practice by novice/wannabe assassins.
- Inspector Javert: Most police in the series play it straight. Also done with Dutch Dixon, officially; but it's also subverted in that his acting this way is merely to cover up the fact that he framed Reno for his own crime.
- Invincible Hero: Averted. Reno is certainly tough, but even he can and does get injured - sometimes seriously so (it's a plot point in one episode).
- It's a Wonderful Plot: The Season 4 episode "The Road Not Taken" has Reno, having been captured and placed in a holding cell, wishing he'd never been born. Be Careful What You Wish For, Reno.
- It's Personal: The whole Reno Raines/Dutch Dixon feud.
- Knight Errant: Reno.
- Magical Native American: Bobby Sixkiller, in the Season 1 episode "Eye of the Storm."
- Magical Negro: Averted. Reno is the partner and employee to the Native American Sixkiller, and occasionally acts as his moral center and advisor. He's basically a Magical Caucasian.
- Manipulative Bastard: Dutch Dixon, once again.
- Mighty Glacier: Bobby Sixkiller.
- Missed Him by That Much: One episode ends with Reno and Bobby arriving at Hound Adams' last known location...only to find a video-taped message from him demanding that Reno kill Dixon before Adams will come forward to vindicate Reno. Naturally, Reno is not amused.
- Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Bobby Sixkiller.
- Opening Narration: A very Crazy Awesome one, outlined at the top of the page.
- Put on a Bus: Cheyenne Phillips at the end of Season 4, replaced by Sandy Carruthers (played by Sandra Ferguson). The real-life reason was the split between Lorenzo Lamas and Kathleen Kinmont, who had been married in 1989 and divorced in 1993, but continued to stay civil for the sake of the show--until Lamas began a relationship with Playboy model Shauna Sand. In response to this, Kinmont went on the Howard Stern show and slammed Lamas' new relationship; in response, she got fired by Lamas, who was at that time the show's executive producer. These links provide further detail.
- Shirtless Scene: Reno gets his fair share.
- Sibling Team: Bobby and Cheyenne are step-siblings.
- Smug Snake: Dutch Dixon.
- Stern Chase: Reno seeks to find the one witness who can clear his name; simultaneously, Dixon seeks to capture/kill Reno.
- Story Arc: Finding Hound Adams, the witness who can clear Reno's name, is this. Compounding the issue is the fact that Adams refuses to come forward unless Reno kills Dixon first, out of fear for his own life.
- Tattooed Crook: Well, Reno DOES have tattoos, and he's painted as a crook - but he's not really one.
- Techno Wizard: Sandy Carruthers uses a computer to pinpoint the identity of the person who's stolen Bobby's jeep--in her debut episode, no less.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Played with - one town Reno and Bobby visit has a secret that the residents don't want getting out. The secret in question? The town is the residence of legendary outlaw D.B. Cooper, now an old man.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Reno and Cheyenne.
- Untrusting Community
- Villain of the Week
- Villain with Good Publicity: Dutch Dixon.
- Walking the Earth: Reno has to keep on the move throughout the series.
- Wanted Poster
- Would Not Hit a Girl: Reno. It's used against him on at least one occasion.