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I think that the key phrase in my review of Ringer the other day was "wider audience." ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shadowkat67 made a pretty good argument last night about why people who like good soap operas would like Ringer. But I have to completely disagree with her conclusion that you'd have to like soap operas to like Ringer. Danielle Steele and Jackie Collins make my skin crawl. But I'm liking Ringer. Instead of trying to convince you that it's not a soap opera, which is most likely a mistake, I'll just say that it's more than that.
What is Ringer like to me? I was having a hard time comparing it to anything till it dawned on me after last night's episode. It's a new twist on the classic show The Fugitive. Where Dr. Richard Kimble wanted nothing more to be able to stop running, Bridget wants nothing more than to run away. In both cases the detective chasing after them knows exactly what they look like. In Kimble's case he has to keep running from his detective. In Bridget's case her best strategy is to hide in plain sight, talk to the detective when he insists, and be mildly uncooperative, which happens to fit the "disguise" she's using perfectly. Kimble ends up helping strangers in his search for the person who might be able to clear him. Bridget ends up helping people who mistakenly think they know her.
Ringer is far from the best show on TV, but it is entertaining and at least for now intriguing.
I watched the premiere of Unforgettable last night. Unremarkable might be a more accurate title. There's nothing wrong with it. There will be people who'll like it a lot. Unfortunately it's about as copy cat as you can get. Yet another crime drama with a tough, smart female lead with a male partner who's sweet on her if not already in love with her. She's got a superpower, if not a supernatural power. You can name the things it's derivative of for yourself. The writing is not special. The setting isn't eye-popping. The female lead is kind of ordinary looking, unless you've got a serious thing for red-heads. The male lead is a cross between ruggedly handsome and broken-down shabby. If you love murder mysteries where you have little chance of solving the mystery yourself, it may be the show for you. I wouldn't flee screaming from more episodes myself, but I think I'll probably turn the TV off rather than bother to switch channels to watch it.
shadowkat67 made a pretty good argument last night about why people who like good soap operas would like Ringer. But I have to completely disagree with her conclusion that you'd have to like soap operas to like Ringer. Danielle Steele and Jackie Collins make my skin crawl. But I'm liking Ringer. Instead of trying to convince you that it's not a soap opera, which is most likely a mistake, I'll just say that it's more than that. What is Ringer like to me? I was having a hard time comparing it to anything till it dawned on me after last night's episode. It's a new twist on the classic show The Fugitive. Where Dr. Richard Kimble wanted nothing more to be able to stop running, Bridget wants nothing more than to run away. In both cases the detective chasing after them knows exactly what they look like. In Kimble's case he has to keep running from his detective. In Bridget's case her best strategy is to hide in plain sight, talk to the detective when he insists, and be mildly uncooperative, which happens to fit the "disguise" she's using perfectly. Kimble ends up helping strangers in his search for the person who might be able to clear him. Bridget ends up helping people who mistakenly think they know her.
Ringer is far from the best show on TV, but it is entertaining and at least for now intriguing.
I watched the premiere of Unforgettable last night. Unremarkable might be a more accurate title. There's nothing wrong with it. There will be people who'll like it a lot. Unfortunately it's about as copy cat as you can get. Yet another crime drama with a tough, smart female lead with a male partner who's sweet on her if not already in love with her. She's got a superpower, if not a supernatural power. You can name the things it's derivative of for yourself. The writing is not special. The setting isn't eye-popping. The female lead is kind of ordinary looking, unless you've got a serious thing for red-heads. The male lead is a cross between ruggedly handsome and broken-down shabby. If you love murder mysteries where you have little chance of solving the mystery yourself, it may be the show for you. I wouldn't flee screaming from more episodes myself, but I think I'll probably turn the TV off rather than bother to switch channels to watch it.
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I'm responding to the posts that despise Ringer due to its clunky soapy writing. While raving about Breaking Bad and Veronica Mars.
It's less over the top than Collins. But it's also not really The Fugitive...which was a guy who jumps from place to place, making no long term connections and fairly episodic in style - each story is wrapped up neatly. Ringer is serialized, none of the stories are wrapped up neatly, and emotion is emphasized over
plot.
Do you remember an old mini-series starring the actress who was on Hart to Hart? Stephanie something or other? About two identical twins that switched places and one dies, while the other one continues in her place? It reminds me a lot of that. Also a great deal of the made-for-tv flicks on Lifetime Movie Network.
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I don't remember the Stefanie Powers mini-series, but I do vaguely remember other things like you describe with adult casts.
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And reminded me a little of Hitchcock and that old 1980s film with Andrew McCarthy where their boss dies...and they spend the whole flick lugging him around with them, pretending he's still alive because they have no clue what to do with him. (I kept thinking during that and during this - isn't that body going to start smelling soon? Yes, I've watched too many criminal procedurals in my life time.)
It's admittedly more interesting than the Dalla/Dynasty/daytime soap trope - in that you aren't plagued with multiple and often brain-numbingly dull sub-threads and characters who have zip to do with one another or the main plot line yet time is spent on. Or wacky out of character moments, or wackier still insane plot developments (ie - an entire year was a dream, or whoops, did we kill so and so? Never mind, that was their evil twin Suzie or a clone or an illusion or not that big a cliff, because they are back and better than ever.)
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But still, the bit with the body was classic.
Then, of course, it disappears! (I so knew that would happen.)
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If she knew the hit was coming, she'd also expect there to never be a reason to look for her wherever she's since gone.
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Or...she may know who was doing the hit, and engineered for the person to take out her sister instead of her, by faking her death?
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Oh we're on the same page. Because that's more or less the reason I'm still watching. There's hints here and there that the real story is whatever is going on with Siobhan. We already know pretty much everything about Bridget - they gave us that bit up front. But Siobhan is the mystery.
And there's the question mark of what Siobhan's husband and his business partner were up to. (I'm hoping not just an affair. There's a hint it might be more than that - since he said we need to stop it (after he found out Siobhan was preggers). And clearly he was sleeping with Siobhan, or he wouldn't believe it was his. (I was half surprised he thought it was his, because I was under the impression they weren't sleeping together for a bit there.) ).
So who is trying to kill Siobhan? Assuming they are, and it's not Siobhan who hired the hitman to off Bridget.
How much does Gemma know about the affair and Siobhan, and how close were they really?
Why did Siobhan take off?
Why did she fake her death - with just her twin sister present, who no one knows exists? Also why did she make sure her sister knew that no one knew Bridget existed?
From interviews - Gellar states the difference between Bridget and Siobhan is Bridget seeking redemption, Siobhan is seeking revenge. Which sounds intriguing. So who is Siobhan seeking revenge against? Bridget? Or everyone? And why? Who is Scean and what happened to him?
That's pretty much why I'm still watching. Somewhat intrigued by the whole Siobhan thing.
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What they should have done was have her set up an account under her twin sister's name or another alias, and take it out under that alias.
Of course then they wouldn't have that scene.
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There are ways to make it look like it was stolen by a third party or *something* (I am not the devious type who knows these things, but you hear about them...)
So, yeah, logic is not in high supply here.
; )
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moved it around, but Siobhan is hardly a hacker.
Dlgood is right, it does remind me a great deal of those old Bette Davis style melodramatic thrillers, which were a lot of fun.
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Yup, this is part of what I meant when I said, as a fan of superhero comics, I love the potential for identity porn on Ringer. *g*
I haven't had a chance to see last night's ep yet, but I'll review when I have! But you make a really good point about The Fugitive. I'm glad to hear that Bridget helps someone out in 1x02 and that the show will have some episodic focus, instead of having the characters be entirely self-involved or the show focusing entirely on the season-long arc.
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The Powers film was about two twins, older, in their 30s, one has a rich life, one a housewife who is depressed, they meet, and both envy the other's life - so flip places. (So far no resemblance to Ringer) Then one gets killed. And the other one is stuck in her sister's life - that's when it becomes very much like Ringer.
It's more family drama than noir though.
There's been several movies too...I've seen a lot of things in this particular trope.
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I'm not sure whether all of the Hitchcock references (Vertigo, Rope, + a few others I couldn't place) are straight homages or black humor. I hope the staff is clever enough to throw a bunch of jokes in even as they keep the tone. SMG can do bitchy/quippy black humor mixed with panic well (if a bit broadly) so they ought to use it.