Ringer

Gellar commands every scene. Hers is a true, potent star turn. [12 Sep 2011, p.43]

Two Sarah Michelle Gellars may not be better than one, but they're certainly just as good. And thankfully, that's more than good enough to get the new TV season off to a roaring early start.

The first episode opens and closes on the cliffhanger of Bridget-as-Siobhan being stalked by an unseen menace, but which sister is the actual target? As long as Ringer keeps us asking questions like this, and Gellar keeps us engaged in the deluxe and twisted sister act, we're more than happy to be put through the romantic-suspense wringer.

Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to TV Tuesday night in a show that could be a lot of soapy fun, but may require more work than some TV viewers will want to put in.

Adopting a kitchen-sink approach, Ringer dumps out so many bread crumbs at the outset it's hard not to wonder where they might lead.

I'll admit that between the CW and ABC Family, I'm having trouble keeping track of the duos who've been separated at birth, switched at birth, given up at birth and in the case of Ringer, apparently just found themselves drifting apart into different worlds, but by halfway through tonight's pilot, I felt as if I'd seen this one before.

The lousy effects that put the twins in the same room are sloppy, and the story line--ripped from a cheesy daytime soap--is worse.