Ms. Taco's Pilot Review-Ringer

Thank you CW for finally making the Ringer pilot available online! I wasn't able to catch the episode when it aired last Tuesday and have been waiting anxiously! The show stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) as twin sisters Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin, who up until recently hadn't seen each other for the past six years (the reason of which has it's own mystery). After they reconnect, Siobhan appears to commit suicide, and Bridget, who has been dealing with her own demons, both physical and emotional, decides to become Siobhan, so to speak. In doing so, Bridget learns that Siobhan has her own demons to contend with.

I finally was able to check it out this morning, and while it's not the best I've ever seen, I actually think it's a pretty good show. I will say that after seeing the pilot my initial concerns are alive more than ever. Where exactly can they take this show if it were to go beyond season 1? The ruse is fun, but my wonder is not only, how long can it go on, but how long can it go on without becoming silly. My thought is that if it were to go on for several seasons, they'd have to completely revamp the show at some point, a la season 2 of Alias. As for my cancellation concerns, we'll have to see. The show debuted to good ratings but the test is always in the second airing. We'll see how it fairs tomorrow.

As I expected, Gellar shines in roles like this. She's able to play Bridget as Siobhan and have us believe that those in Siobhan's life would be fooled, while at the same time having us still see her as Bridget. As Siobhan especially in the final shot, she hearkens back to her time as Kathryn Merteuil, a role I think she played very, very well. Now, I don't think this character will get her the Emmy noms that Buffy did, oh, wait, but it's fun to watch Gellar have fun with it, which she seems to be doing here.

There's tons of mystery weaved in and out, and the good thing is that I do think it will take at least an entire season to make sense of all of it. There's the entire Bridget and Siobhan history to sort through, there's the various mysteries of Siobhan's life, which I'm guessing Bridget will uncover more of, and there's the reason behind Siobhan's disappearance, to name a few. My guess (and my hope) is that there is more than meets the eye to a lot of the things we saw in the pilot.  

The ending of the episode definitely left me wanting more. My biggest question from that is, did Gemma set her up because she knows of the affair or was it just a coincidence? I do have to admit that by the end I was pretty confused. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I spent six years watching Lost and being confused on a weekly basis. Now, don't get me wrong, this show is not Emmy bait and it's not the second coming of Lost. But, it's enjoyable, it's got some good mysteries, and Gellar is there. That's enough to keep me watching week after week.