CW's 'Ringer' rings a bit hollow

So if you're one of the people who've been eagerly awaiting Sarah Michelle Gellar's return to TV tonight in the CW's "Ringer" (9 p.m., PHL17), it's  time to ask yourself: Was it SMG I've missed, or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"?

Gellar gets to play not one, but two characters in "Ringer," a soapy, slightly noir-ish mystery whose basic premise mirrors ABC's "The Lying Game" -- twins switch places, then one disappears before they can switch back -- yet neither of these very attractive women has the power to permanently dispatch the undead.

If that's a deal-breaker for you, it's best to know now.

Gellar, who's still gorgeous but seems a tad brittle as Bridget/Siobhan, gets to play both a recovering drug addict with heart of gold (or at least a heart) as well as the seemingly good girl who turns out to be anything but, and I'm sorry, neither of them works for me.

The wealthy Siobhan, naturally, has failed to convey important information to her on-the-skids twin before disappearing off the side of a boat, including the precise nature of her marriage to the rich and equally gorgeous Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd).

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.

And that's something I promise you I never felt about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."