Debbie:
Sarah Michelle Gellar returned to television this week in The CW’s Ringer. While not a perfect pilot (and not my favorite of the new season), I enjoyed it and think the show’s got a lot of potential. I was pleasantly surprised by Gellar’s performance; I wasn’t sure she had the chops to play twins well but she pulled it off. Nestor Carbonell was some sweet stunt casting and just another reason for people (read: Losties) to watch.
What do you think about the potential for Ringer?
Bob:
I think it has some.
I wouldn’t call Gellar’s performance a surprise. She proved over seven years on Buffy that she has some serious acting chops. That was a very demanding role, and she played it well throughout. I will be curious to see how she does playing two distinct characters moving forward. It was a bit hard to tell in the pilot, as it was very Bridget-heavy, as I suspect the rest of the show will be. I have to admit that I was wondering why all of the promos featured both Bridget and Siobhan so heavily, only to kill one of them off in the first episode. I should have seen the end of episode twist coming.
With that being said, I hope the series can continue to hammer us with twists and turns. It could definitely be one of the better shows of the new season if it is well done. I’m always hungry for a good serial drama as they are so hard to find these days. I have high hopes, but low expectations, if you know what I mean.
The supporting cast is strong, although I’m wondering if Gemma is going to be as annoying and clueless as I fear. She seems to be the one innocent in the whole thing. The other thing that drove me nuts through the whole episode, and this is a minor pet peeve of mine, was all the fricking music. I’m not sure there was a single line of dialogue that wasn’t spoken over a song, or part of the background score. I found it to be a bit distracting, and when that type of music overload is not done skillfully, it can seem like a crutch to poor writing. As in, “Hey, this dialogue is sort of weak, let’s just through some sad music over it to make the viewers feel more sad.” I don’t know, it rubs me the wrong way.
Debbie:
HA! I didn’t even notice all that music, but you can be sure I’ll be annoyingly attuned to it in the next episode. Thanks for that, Bob.
I guess I need to explain what I mean about Gellar’s acting. Yes, she was stellar as Buffy; I haven’t a complaint in the world when it comes to how she acted that role. But when I saw her in movies, I saw Buffy (with maybe the exception of the one where she was the brunette, which was so memorable that the title escapes me), so I was wondering: if she had difficulty separating herself from Buffy, could she play two different characters in the same show?
I agree with your assessment: high hopes, low expectations. I was very happy that the show ended up on The CW, though — would have crashed and burned on CBS.
Bob:
Does CBS even have a single drama that isn’t a procedural? Maybe if they threw in a bunch of dead bodies and called it CSI: Ringer, it would have been okay. It raises a good question, though. I’m really curious to see what this show will look like week to week. The only thing I’m certain of is that it’s not going to be a procedural.
With all of the characters and deceptions that were established in the pilot, I hope that the writers will be able to juggle them all in an effective and entertaining manner.
Debbie:
Or maybe The Ringerist? I’m loving the serial aspect of Ringer. That’s really my favorite kind of show, and the only ones really like that (that I watch) are supernatural shows, like Vampire Diaries. As much as I love that show, it will be nice to have the humans be the Big Bads for a change.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Sep 15, 2011 @ 13:27 EST5EDT
