THE 'RINGER' PILOT

Having just seen the pilot of RINGER so far, I’m putting down my thoughts on what I liked, didn't like and what this series might turn into

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Sarah Michelle Gellar’s back on the small screen, and with quite a bang, I must say. Having read only a few good reviews of the beginning of this show, I was not expecting all that much, despite the promos, which looked really promising. However, I found that the pilot was quite interesting, and almost lived up to the promo. In fact, the promo very aptly summarized the pilot, which added the necessary details, and gave us a little more about the obviously mysterious lives of the twins Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin would progress.

WHAT I LIKED

The basic premise of the show is gripping, definitely, and makes us want to know what Bridget has stepped into, having assumed her twin sister Siobhan’s identity. I think there’s going to be a lot at Siobhan’s end as well, as she seems to have escaped from whatever Bridget will now have to deal with. I like the mystery and the level of intrigue brought about by twists like Siobhan running away to Paris, Bridget shooting a man who was looking for Siobhan and also finding out about Siobhan’s pregnancy. In all of that, I enjoyed watching Sarah Michelle Gellar again, even though I expected a little more from her performance. However, her part in the pilot at least wasn’t all that demanding, so I am hoping for more intensity as the show progresses. The casting of the show is quite impressive. Besides the leading lady, Ioan Gruffudd and Nestor Carbonell make for a strong, known acting presence in the series. Other elements like the background score, the costumes, the art direction, as well as the general packaging, by way of the opening and closing title/credits, also seem to be in the right direction, and that’s important, as these elements form a solid background for any series.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The way the premise was set was a little too abrupt. I believe the series prologue should have been done in a little more detail, even if it had to take an entire episode to reach the point where Bridget becomes Siobhan. The editing in this regard was less than impressive, with exceptions of scenes like the one in which Bridget is on the phone with Malcolm, telling him how she’s assumed Siobhan’s identity, with the interspersed clips of her in The Hamptons house after Siobhan’s disappearance. As for other developments in the pilot, since the writers decided to squeeze so much into it, I thought that maybe a stronger foundation should have been set for the supporting characters and the side storylines. Another detail that should have been dealt with a little better was how Bridget eases into Siobhan’s life. I think that details of people and social engagements in Siobhan’s life seemed to be discovered by Bridget rather conveniently. I think there should’ve been more of a challenge. Moreover, there should have been more of Bridget learning Siobhan’s mannerisms and behavior, etc. They may be twins and may have grown up together, but as we know, for the last six years, they lived apart and lived very different lives. Maybe we’ll see such factors becoming more of a challenge later.

So there it is. To sum it up, there were some negatives and some positives about the pilot. I am very much looking forward to watching the next couple of episodes, to discover more about the mystery and to hopefully see the writers and actors exploring the potential they have to turn this into a fantastic mystery drama.  

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