First You Dream, Then You Die

It was well written, tense, the foreshadowing was a little on the nose. The acting of our leads was great. There is one scene in the middle of the episode that went WAY farther than likely neccessary. But, I want to see where the show goes from here.

At first glance, I did not think Bates Motel sounded like a good idea. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is an amazing film, and all remakes or sequels/prequels of that film has failed because they could not stand up to the original. Plus there is that thing in today's world where it is considered cool to make new material based on pre-existing material often to mediocre results. Which is understandable why I and many others were hesitant when this show was announced. After this pilot episode, "First You Dream, Then You Die, " I came away rather impressed. Yes, the episode feels like a pilot, but there was enough material to keep me intrigued.

I loved the setting of the film. The showrunners moved the film to modern day but I love the use of outdated fashion, technology, etc. It gives the show more of a creepy vibe. Speaking of which, I liked how they kept the house and motel intact from the original film, although it became more clearer because you know, it is not 1960 anymore. The small-town feel is great and is important in a series like this.

I think the characters we are introduced to (or reintroduced) work well and the cast is great and well-rounded. Let's start with the characters and actors whose chemistry will make or break the show; Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates (also known to us as "Mother"). Highmore as Bates is a little dry in the pilot, but he gets way better. He has big shoes to fill, but he is just getting used to those shoes here. He has his tendency to look/act nervous very well and we see the buds being placed which of course would blossom into him being a full-fledged serial killer. Vera Farmiga impressed me. She gives Norma a complete range of emotion. She is a caring and loving mother to Norman, but she is also manipulative, demanding, and only wants Norman for herself. Other characters here: Max Theriot as Norman's brother, Dylan Massett. We only hear his voice here, but we will meet him next episode, Nestor Carbonell as the Sheriff Alex Romero. Carbonell is great in these kind of roles so it is a no-brainer he plays the town's sheriff, Nicola Peltz as Bradley Martin who is the typical teenage girl that gets around, but she welcomes Norman to her group, and Olivia Cooke as Emma Decody, who is also a teenaged girl that welcomes Norman and she suffers from a disease that can make her not breathe well. Other characters to take note are W. Earl Brown as Keith Summers, Keegan Connor Tracy as Miss Watson and Mike Vogel as Deputy Zach Shelby.

Let's discuss the story of this pilot, shall we. Six months after the untimely death of her husband, Norma Bates and her son Norman moves to White Pine Bay, Oregon. Norma purchased a motel from a foreclosure sale. She has plans to patch the place up and have it open for business. There are problems she must face including the constant threats from previous owner Keith Summers and the town's plan to build a bypass around the town thus taking business away from the hotel. Norman gets accepted at his new school, despite his mother not being pleased. When Norman escapes in the middle of the night to party with them, Keith Summers will show exactly why he does not like Norma.

Overall, this is a very intriguing start to this new series. There is much to take in and it gives me hope that this show will actually turn out well. The showrunners Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrlin seems to know what they are doing. They can tighten up the dialogue and maybe we could do without that vicious and rather degrading sexual assault scene, but this episode marks a good start to the series. I love the creepy, small-town atmosphere and I like how these characters are being developed.

My Grade: A-

Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" is on of the best films ever made in my opinion and I often believe that some things should just be left as they are (the remake was utterly pointless in my opinion). And so I was in two minds as to whether I should watch Bates Motel. I wrongly assumed that it would be set in the 1940's/50's to tie in with the original movie but to my surprise it is set firmly in the 21st Century, which is by no means a bad thing. Brit Freddie Highmore is really good as young Norman, though he looks older than the 17 year old that he's playing (he was 21), and Vera Fermiga makes for a very hot looking Mom. There are some nice retro touches, for example Mrs Bates drives a lovely looking classic Mercedes, bit of a nod to the original maybe. First time viewing for me, hopefully I will stick with the rest of series 1.

Bates Motel: 'First You Dream, Then You Die' (2013)

Rating: B+

A&E's "Bates Motel" mini-series is basically going to be re-working PSYCHO IV. If you've seen that film then you know it shows what was going on with Mrs. Bates and Norman before the events in the original Alfred Hitchcock film. While that prequel wasn't perfect, it at least put a nice wrap-around story to the original film.

This first episode introduces us to Norma (Vera Farmiga) and her 17-year-old son Norman (Freddie Highmore). As the episode opens we see Norman finding his father dead and a short time later he moves with his mother to a new home with a hotel that she bought. From here we see Norman try to become friends with people at school and try to connect with others but it's clear that his mother wants him for her own.

It's clear that this episode was just meant to make the viewer become familiar with the characters as this here is the major selling point. There's really nothing story wise that really jumps out at you and I think it might be fair to say that there were a few too many moments that weren't all that believable. This includes Norman being accepted by a cute group of girls at school. This here just seemed like a stretch especially when you consider that this film takes place in current times and just look at how Norman is dressed. Highly unlikely he's going to be accepted. There's also a major twist that happens to mother near the middle of the picture, which was a bit of a stretch but I certainly won't ruin it for people. Still, there's no question that what is here was enough to keep me interested throughout the running time and it left me wanting more, which is the most important thing. Farmiga is really good in her role of mother and I really loved the more tender side she shows but the evil that's lying beneath is hinted at and the actress appears perfect for certain events that should follow. I also thought Highmore was extremely believable in the role of Norman and it seems like he's going to do the part justice.

The setup for this show is great and the dark, horrorific tone of this show has me excited for the episodes to come. The casting of Vera Farminga as Norma Bates was perfect. Can not wait to see where Bates Motel goes from here!