For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the news of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return to primetime television was a long awaited one. Finally, the beloved SMG would be back on our television screens, this time as twin sisters Siobhan Martin and Bridget Kelly in Ringer.
[Warning, potential spoilers ahead!]
The basic synopsis is that Bridget is a recovering addict and former stripper whose life is in a serious legal mess. Bridget runs away from her problems and visits her well-to-do, estranged sister Siobhan at her house in the Hamptons. (As you do.) They go out on the boat (as you do) and Bridget wakes up from a nap to find that Siobhan has disappeared. Bridget automatically assumes that Siobhan has killed herself because she sees her scarf floating in the water - but we never see a body, nor does Bridget try all that hard to find her. Siobhan conveniently left her handbag, ID and wedding rings behind, so Bridget naturally decides to take over her sister’s life.
Rather unsurprisingly, it would appear that Siobhan’s life in New York isn’t exactly as peachy and lush as Bridget expected, and the over-cooked plot thickens even more when someone tries to kill Bridget, thinking that she is in fact her sister, not herself. Dun dun dun....
Now, while this plot sounds all exciting and as though it is rich with twists, turns, and scandals, I found the pilot episode poorly done. It felt rushed and as though it was trying to do too much and take too many sharp turns at one time. Even the production value seemed rather low. (Did you see the scene in the boat? It looked like they were sitting in a paddling pool.)
The take-over of Siobhan life seemed - despite this being television - rather unbelievable. Even with the convenience of Siobhan's rocky marriage with her emotionally distant husband, Bridget doesn’t seem even slightly concerned with trying to learn about Siobhan’s life. Where are the scenes of her studying her diary and memorizing people’s names? Doesn't she care about people believing her? Getting caught? Even in the cheapest of spy films, when someone tries to take over someone else’s life or identity, they do their bloody homework. Audiences love a good con artist, and Bridget is just banking on the fact that she looks exactly like her sister.
I’ll watch the next episode of Ringer, but if it the second episode isn't better than the first, I'm out of the, er, ring.
Ringer is on the CW, Tuesdays at 9/8c in the US, and on Sky Living, Thursdays at 8 in the UK.