The CW started the new fall season with the television return of Sarah Michelle Geller in Ringer. If you are a fan, you will be seeing a lot of her as she plays identical twins, Bridget and Siobhan, who both have crazy, messed up lives. The pilot episode was a bit hit or miss. While I loved the premise of the show, there is room for improvement in the look and feel onscreen.
At the beginning of the episode, it appeared that Bridget was the troubled sister and Siobhan was the perfect sister. The twist that Siobhan had troubles of her own and that she “killed herself” because of these troubles was a pleasant surprise. The pilot was packed full of information about the twins, but really created more questions than answers. It appears that the mysteries will be a complex web of motives, characters, and intrigue. This has me hooked … for now. Though, the story could easily become overly convoluted.
There were perhaps too many questions created for a first episode: Who is Siobhan? What “arrangement” did she have with her husband? Does she love Gemma’s husband, Henry? What happened to the little boy, Sean? Who is the baby daddy? Do any of these have to do with someone trying to kill her or is that something else entirely?
Bridget’s life didn’t leave us with as many questions, but FBI Agent Machado’s (Nestor Carbonell) quest to find her looks to be a fun cat-and-mouse chase. Plus, I expect that she will have some difficulties trying to pretend to be Siobhan. Lastly, what will she do with the man who tried to kill her?
I don’t mind all those questions, because the biggest question of all was answered. Did Siobhan really kill herself? When we saw that she was alive and aware of what was going on, I was officially hooked. I was afraid that Siobhan’s status would remain a secret and wasn’t thrilled with that idea. Going forward, I’d like to see each episode more balanced between seeing what both Bridget and Siobhan are doing.
The final question of the episode: Who was Siobhan talking to on the phone? I can’t wait to find out!
While I didn’t have problems with the story, I didn’t like the execution. The twin scenes were annoying to watch. The flipping between the front and back of the sisters during a conversation was irritating. It was obvious that it was a split screen or a double. I don’t want to notice that when I’m watching. I should be able to believe that there are two actresses on screen playing the sisters. My other complaint was the use of mirrors. I’m hoping that was only used in the pilot and the mirrors go away or at least are only used sporadically.
What did you think of Ringer? Intrigued or bored?
Watch the episode online now!
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Sep 15, 2011 @ 12:34 EST5EDT
I agree with pretty much your entire summation of the show. I was distracted by the back and forth cuts too. They could have used a wider shot for the reverse angles so you saw more than a whisp of hair from the back. It would have sold the illusion better (although that wide overhead shot of the two walking through Siobhan’s condo was pretty awesome). I thought the look of the show was rather dark and muted, almost murky at times, which was a turn-off to watch, and I’m not sure I liked the performance of Siobhan’s best friend. She seemed to be trying too hard. I was about ready to call this a one-shot show, but the little reveal at the end got me hooked for a second look. If they can build the intrigue without getting too convoluted, then I might hang in. The real question is: How long can a show like this continue before it totally jumps the shark?
The boat scenes were incredibly badly green screened. That 2 minutes alone reeked of “small budget” and came close to making me turn off the show. It got better. Unlike the reviewer I don’t want to see 2 lives. I want to see Bridget’s life trying to unravel Siobhan’s mysteries while Machado tries to track down Bridget.
Two things would make me stop watching – SMG acting like she’s back on a soap opera (could see bits peaking through this hour) and writing this like it’s a soap instead of a prime time show.
- Hopefully past the pilot they get a better green screen budget because the boat scene, the beach house, and the construction site view just looked incredibly fake.
– I hope they flashback to the time between Bridget watching TV and Richard finding the guard tied and gagged. I feel like there has to be more motivation for her to flee than what we got.
– I know its the CW, but can they get rid of the moody attempting to sound indie music? It just doesn’t fit with the tone of the show. Especially that Chicago song cover.
– The ending made me laugh. She just hangs up immediately, not bothering to hear the problem is and starts touching her refection in the mirror. The symbolism was a little to blunt with all the mirror scenes they used.
– Everything you said about how they filmed the twin scenes
– I’m interested with where they can go plotwise. I want to know what Siobahn (did I spell that right?) is planning, who is trying to kill who, and its nice to see Richard from LOST on TV again. It was a pilot which tend to be made on the cheap so hopefully they fix the terrible post-work, fill in every plot point they just flat out rushed through, and keep the CW music to a minimum. Then I think the show will really match the potential that everyone was expecting this show.
Did you read the QS post too? I found the music to be incredibly annoying as well.
I read your complaint about the music after I posted that comment. I think The CW requires that music because they did it during Nikita in the occasional episodes I saw and it was just as ill fitting as it was here. But hey they gotta keep up with what teen girls want, they don’t care about you or I.
About the ending, I saw a CW Fall Preview where the person on the phone with Siobhan actually says “We have a problem, Bridget is still alive.” instead of just “We have a problem.”.
I KNEW when I watched the show something was missing at the end…
The thing that kept nagging at me the whole episode is what parents named their twins “Bridget” and “Siobhan”? did they see the future and know that one of them was going a be a Manhattan millionaire and the other was going to be a middle America meth head, and name them accordingly?