'Ringer' Review: Mysterious TV Drama Buffy Fans Will Love

Television icon Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to TV in the CW’s “Ringer” and she looks better than ever playing estranged twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan.

Bridget Kelly (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is six months sober and starting to turn her life around. She’s finally clean of alcohol, drugs and free of her job as a stripper. The twisted part to Bridget’s life is she is also the sole witness in a murder trial and scared for her life. FBI Agent Victor Machado (Nestor Carbonell, “Lost”) has assured her he and his team can protect her, but Bridget knows despite their help that her life is on the line. Telling no one, Bridget flees to New York City to reconcile with her twin sister Siobhan Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar).

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Siobhan lives a completely opposite life from her sister. She’s wealthy, confident, and married to the handsome Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffud, “Fantastic Four”). Living what looks like a perfect life, it’s also a life where no one knows Bridget even exists. It appears that Bridget and Siobhan are rekindling their relationship, when Siobhan suddenly commits suicide, or so we think. Bridget makes the decision (and what seems like a five-second thought process) to take on Siobhan’s life in hopes to wash away her own. But Siobhan’s superficial fairytale isn’t what it seems and Bridget discovers secrets about her sister’s marriage, her best friend Gemma (Tara Summers, “Boston Legal”) and Gemma’s husband, Henry (Kristoffer Polaha, “Life Unexpected”).

“Ringer” is not your typical “chick show.” Yes, it’s a drama, it has a love triangle, and it has good-looking actors. What “Ringer” brings to the table over other female-led shows is that it’s reminiscent of film noir. Some prominent moods of film noir are melancholy, paranoia, guilt, and evil. While Bridget comes across as post-suicidal, Siobhan looks like she could ultimately corrupt the devil therefore tying into the film noir mood. Sarah Michelle Gellar is not shy about playing evil. Think back to 1999 when she played Kathryn in “Cruel Intentions.” Siobhan mirrors Kathryn, but with blonde hair and a classier wardrobe.

I applaud creators and writers Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder for creating a show on TV that has mysterious plot lines, dramatic make-up and costumes, and interesting camera shots that make the show all the more suspenseful. As an avid Buffy fan, I hope this starring role will trigger Sarah Michelle Gellar’s comeback and we will see more of her in the future.

Where “Ringer” could fail (but hopefully not) is that several secrets and plot twists were revealed in its Pilot episode, which could make for a repetitive season. It appears that Bridget has a tough personality and could knock the living daylights out of someone, but is that really her character or is that a little Buffy shining through? I have high hopes for the season, as I’m sure every dedicated “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fan does too.

“Ringer” is on the CW Tuesdays at 9 pm EST.

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