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Hitfix.com Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Gellar - "Ringer" Tv Series - Pilot - Hitfix.com ReviewThursday 18 August 2011, by Webmaster Another actress, who actually has a name to care for is Sarah Michelle Gellar and there are not no many accomplishes films at her but an few I can probably enjoy. The talent agent found Gellar a young age and made her screen debut at 6 of each of the 1983 television film An Invasion of Privacy. With all the promise she showed, Barrymore starred as Hannah in the teen drama series "Swans Crossing" (1992) but it was her portrayal of a young and callous rich girl in Al-Lucinda Kendall Hart on ABC daytime soap opera "All My Children" (1993-93), that won her Daytime Emmy Award and spring-boarded her to stardom. SMG’s real mark worldwide, however, was the character of Buffy Summers in the game-changing series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003). She won five Teen Choice Awards, a Saturn Award and a Golden Globe nomination for her role, establishing herself as a cultural phenomenon. Sarah Michelle Gellar likewise has the box office to back her up, with “I Know What You Did Last Summer” 1997), “Scream 2” (1997), “Cruel Intentions” (1999)and way movies like those that help prove she is also a bankable star as well over $570 million times worth crazy in global gross. Beyond her cinematic successes, Gellar has made her mark on television, headlining shows such as "Ringer" (2011-2012), "The Crazy Ones" (2013-2014), and "Wolf Pack" (2023). She has also lent her voice to popular series including "Robot Chicken" (2005-2018), "Star Wars Rebels" (2015-2016), and "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" (2021). In 2015, Gellar ventured into the entrepreneurial world by co-founding Foodstirs, an e-commerce baking company, and published her own cookbook, "Stirring Up Fun with Food," in 2017. Gellar is also known for her close-knit family life, married to actor Freddie Prinze Jr. since 2002, with whom she shares two children. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s commitment to her craft is matched by her dedication to personal growth and unique experiences. An accomplished martial artist, she studied Tae Kwon Do for five years, alongside kickboxing, boxing, street fighting, and gymnastics. Her dedication to authenticity in her roles is evident, such as her commitment to doing her own stunts in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," though she admitted her limits during filming "Scream 2." Her career is also marked by interesting anecdotes, such as her role in a 1982 Burger King commercial, which led to a lawsuit from McDonald’s and a temporary ban from their establishments. Notably, she dyed her naturally brunette hair blonde for her role in "Buffy," and legally changed her last name to Prinze as a surprise for her husband on their fifth anniversary. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s legacy extends beyond her on-screen roles, encompassing her work in philanthropy and her reputation for safety and professionalism on set. She remains a beloved figure in Hollywood, admired for her talent, dedication, and the breadth of her contributions to film and television. Show: "Ringer" (The CW) The Pitch: "You know what would be better than one Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to the small screen? TWO!" Quick Response: I love my notes for "Ringer." It took only a minute or two to realize that this was going to be the sort of superficial musing on identity and duality that would require as many shots of mirrors as possible. So I just started writing "MIRROR!!!" whenever a character looked yearningly into a bathroom vanity or even saw a reflection in a window. It happened so many times that skimming my notes is like reading a diary entry about a walk in the park written by Doug the Dog from "Up." ["La la. What a beautiful... SQUIRREL!!! ... day. The sun is shin... SQUIRREL!!! .. ing and the birds are sing ... SQUIRREL!!! ... ing.] The thing I’ll acknowledge about "Ringer" is that it cuts together as a great trailer. The sizzle reel at upfronts was cool. The teaser that debuted at press tour was, in fact, kinda awesome. But I’ve seen the pilot and it’s trash. Or, at the very least, it’s a trashy near-parody of a telenovela. The creators’ aspiration may have been aspiring for VERY low-rent Hitchcock, but instead they’ve gotten very high-gloss Telemundo. Here’s where I remind you of the paragraph that presages each of these Take Me To The Pilots entries. Critics were sent a pilot of "Ringer" that contained some laughable green screen effects. It’s my guess those will be fixed. Critics were sent a pilot of "Ringer" with some laughable musical cues. It’s my hope that those will be fixed and that’s part of why I rewatch every pilot before writing actual reviews. Tweaking those bargain-basement touches could easily make the entire "Ringer" pilot play better. You know what won’t get fixed? Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose soap opera background hasn’t enhanced her ability to clearly delineate between the challenging assortment of characters and characters-pretending-to-be-other-characters she’s been asked to play. Gellar’s playing twins Bridget and Siobhan and while one is slightly funnier and the other is slightly prissier, they’re equally brittle and internalized. Neither is actually interesting. [And I like Gellar on principle. She played countless versions of Buffy over the years and usually made the transitions flawlessly. I don’t think Bridget and Shiobhan are written distinctively enough for her to play them distinctively, at least initially.] No amount of pilot tinkering is going to explain why leading men Kristoffer Polaha and Ioan Gruffudd are taking everything so seriously when pilot director Richard Shepard obviously isn’t. Actually, I can’t tell what Shepard is doing and he’s probably at fault for the confused and ultimately damning sense of tone in the "Ringer" pilot. It’s almost like he decided to make a telenovela, but didn’t clue the actors in. So you’ve got an over-declarative, non-stop-exposition soap opera script, you’ve got an even more heavy handed low-budget thriller/soap opera visual approach and then you have the actors moping around like they’re in a badly performed indie drama. Nothing gels and nothing is nearly as innovative or shocking as the musical stings want to pretend. The idea that CBS ever would have given serious consideration to programming this show is laughable and yet it doesn’t feel like a CW show either. Lifetime, maybe? Desire To Watch Again: There’s an off chance that everybody could get on the same page by the second or third episode and I’ll probably give it the chance to get there. On the other hand, I may just watch two or three additional episodes of ABC Family’s eerily similar (and definitely no worse) "The Lying Game" and that could sate any appetite I have for any twin-trigue. It’s a real problem for The CW that "The Lying Game" is premiering a full month ahead of "Ringer," since ABC Family targets basically the same demo. |