Ringer 1.01 'Pilot'

I have been waiting for this show for a long time, and I'm not alone. Seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar back on our screens is something a lot of people have been freaking out about and though it wasn't perfect, the 'Ringer' premiere episode was a fun ride and worth most of the excitement. The series seems to have a lot going for it but it has a few kinks that it needs to work out.

Synopsis: Bridget Kelly turns to her twin sister Siobhan for redemption as part of her road to sobriety. When her sister supposedly kills herself, Bridget steals her identity in order to protect herself from a man who wants her dead after she witnessed a murder.

First episodes are very difficult things to get right. You have to tackle a number of different things at once. It has to introduce all the characters, all the plots that you want to develop and also get across just how you want the show to be perceived not just by networks but by the audience too. Ringer did all of these things but it’s the show itself that needs rectifying, not the stories.

All of the major plots that will surely envelop the series are introduced, and there are A LOT of them. Firstly we have our major Siobhan mystery. While the reveal of her suicide being staged was pretty ‘No duh’ it was great to get it out there so early on. Even though it wasn’t much of a shock, the moment was done with enough brilliance to entice me back.

Secondly we have Bridget’s dodgy past not just with her drug problem, but with her sister too. The bad blood between them is probably something the show should steer clear of for a while given all that’s going on already, especially since there is very little opportunities for them to interact, or so it would seem, at this point.

Obviously the major part of the episode was taken up with Siobhan’s life that Bridget has to adapt to, which she does quite quickly. A lot of it is pretty standard stuff, but other more interesting elements of it like her stepdaughter’s dug problem to help to stir it up a bit. Of course, we also have Siobhan’s life being in danger too which is yet another thing that the show needs time to explore.

Bridget is a fabulous protagonist. It’s nice that she isn’t your normal leading lady; she has flaws, a dark past and has made some mistakes making her a very relatable and likable young woman. Having an all too perfect lead can make them terribly unlikable a sometimes.  Aside from Siobhan, who seems to have much more to her than meets the eye and I'm looking forward to seeing what the show will do with her, the rest of the characters are quite generic. This is the first episode though, so I'll give it time.

The cast itself aren’t the greatest that I’ve seen, but Gellar herself was at her best. I do have a little trouble shaking the whole Buffy tag, but I’m sure once I get a lot more used to her as another long-running character it won’t be too hard. Tackling two vastly different roles is obviously very difficult and she manages to give Bridget a tragically likable persona and Siobhan just the right amount of pain, friendliness and coldness to make her an interesting commodity. It's great to see Kristoffer Polaha back after 'Life Unexpected' too.

Where the show falls down is its overly ambitious nature. There are a few too many things going on at once, and I’m worried that it might fall apart quite easily if they try to accomplish this much so quickly. It moves at such a fast pace that it might find itself running out of steam after a while. The show takes itself so seriously too, and without something fun and light to hang onto some shows can become difficult to watch. Of course some parts were a little ridiculous too; the writers need to learn to embrace that part of it and make it a pro and not a con.

Was it perfect? No, it wasn’t but it was largely entertaining and visually flawless (aside from that awful boat scene) so I will definitely be giving this show a very good chance. I think if it stops trying so hard, it could be something great.

7/10