In his lengthy, occasionally lauded career, crime drama pro Stephen J. Cannell created The Rockford Files, Baretta, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Silk Stalkings, 21 Jump Street, and best of all, Renegade. Imagine if Cordell Walker had Jax Teller’s baby, and you’ve got *in hushed tone* Reno “Renegade” Raines.
It’s about a cop (played by Lorenzo “My Playmate Ex-Wife Slept With My 18-Year-Old Son” Lamas) who was framed…FOR A MURDER HE DIDN’T COMMIT. So, he goes on the run “prowling the badlands, an outlaw hunting outlaws,” according to the episode-opening voiceover, with a Native American bounty killer named Bobby Sixkiller and his sister, Cheyenne. Renegade ran for five seasons from 1992-1997. It’s easy to see why.
There are about a million things I love in that video, but three in particular:
1. The slow motion “AHHHHHH.”
2. Renegade kicking a hole through the, um, brick wall, even though there’s clearly enough room for him to get out already. So wasteful, but he doesn’t care — he’s a…Renegade.
3. The tanktop-wearing prisoner’s song about freedom being a “state of mind,” man. Also, there’s an episode of the show titled “Sex, Lies, and Activewear.” That’s just wonderful.
