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Bates Motel
S1.E1
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IMDbPro

First You Dream, Then You Die

  • Episode aired Mar 18, 2013
  • TV-14
  • 48m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
Freddie Highmore in Bates Motel (2013)
DramaHorrorMysteryThriller

Six months after the death of her husband, Norma Bates and her youngest son Norman relocate to White Pine Bay, Oregon where she has bought a small motel in a foreclosure sale. The place is r... Read allSix months after the death of her husband, Norma Bates and her youngest son Norman relocate to White Pine Bay, Oregon where she has bought a small motel in a foreclosure sale. The place is run down but she hopes to make a go of it despite threats from the former owner Keith Summe... Read allSix months after the death of her husband, Norma Bates and her youngest son Norman relocate to White Pine Bay, Oregon where she has bought a small motel in a foreclosure sale. The place is run down but she hopes to make a go of it despite threats from the former owner Keith Summers and news that the town may build a bypass around the town.

  • Director
    • Tucker Gates
  • Writers
    • Carlton Cuse
    • Kerry Ehrin
    • Anthony Cipriano
  • Stars
    • Vera Farmiga
    • Freddie Highmore
    • Max Thieriot
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    3.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tucker Gates
    • Writers
      • Carlton Cuse
      • Kerry Ehrin
      • Anthony Cipriano
    • Stars
      • Vera Farmiga
      • Freddie Highmore
      • Max Thieriot
    • 17User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos36

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    Top cast20

    Edit
    Vera Farmiga
    Vera Farmiga
    • Norma Louise Bates
    Freddie Highmore
    Freddie Highmore
    • Norman Bates
    Max Thieriot
    Max Thieriot
    • Dylan Massett
    • (voice)
    Olivia Cooke
    Olivia Cooke
    • Emma Decody
    Nicola Peltz Beckham
    Nicola Peltz Beckham
    • Bradley Martin
    • (as Nicola Peltz)
    W. Earl Brown
    W. Earl Brown
    • Keith Summers
    Nestor Carbonell
    Nestor Carbonell
    • Sheriff Alex Romero
    David Cubitt
    David Cubitt
    • Sam Bates
    Keegan Connor Tracy
    Keegan Connor Tracy
    • Miss Blaire Watson
    Mike Vogel
    Mike Vogel
    • Deputy Zack Shelby
    Richard Harmon
    Richard Harmon
    • Richard Sylmore
    Emmalyn Estrada
    • Hayden
    Jenna Romanin
    Jenna Romanin
    • Jenna
    Conchita Campbell
    Conchita Campbell
    • Kennedy
    Brittney Wilson
    Brittney Wilson
    • Lissa
    Stephen Boersma
    • Dude #1
    Carolyn Adair
    Carolyn Adair
    • Driver
    • (uncredited)
    James Allore
    • Townsperson
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Tucker Gates
    • Writers
      • Carlton Cuse
      • Kerry Ehrin
      • Anthony Cipriano
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    8.03.7K
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    Featured reviews

    9gab-14712

    Young Norman Bates!

    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-
    9suebutrichard

    Dark, secretive, and intriguing

    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!
    5theobvious-35428

    Every modern TV show I've ever seen

    Hour-long "psychological" drama? Check. Unnecessary modern adaptation of a superior work? Check. Overdone mood lighting in every scene? Check. Teenagers interacting in ways that teenagers do not interact in? Check. Unpleasant and draining to watch? Double check.

    They're all very similar, so if you are into any dramatic shows made in the last ten years or so you will probably enjoy this too. I lost interest before the end of this first episode, in which a young Norman Bates (a perfectly cast Freddie Highmore) moves to a new town following the mysterious death of his father. Naturally his mother Norma (Vera Farminga, who I usually enjoy watching) is right there with him. Together they open the soon-to-be-infamous Bates Motel and more bad things happen from there.

    I gave it a shot, but it's not my cup of tea. I think I'll watch "Psycho" instead.
    7Stevieboy666

    A promising start

    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.
    9thornsburynathan

    Viscerally Unpleasant, Makes Me Want to Continue

    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.

    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The filmmakers shot a scene with Dylan (Max Thieriot) sitting on the floor in the Bates' empty former-home calling Norma (Vera Farmiga). Their conversation was retained in the final cut, but only Norma's reaction is featured; Dylan remained unseen until the next episode. The slightly-longer alternate version of this sequence appears in the deleted scenes section of the DVD/Blu-Ray release.
    • Goofs
      In Season 1, the Bates had just arrived to Oregon after moving from Arizona. So Norma's car had a set of standard, front and rear Arizona license plates. Nice detail, except that Arizona only issues one standard license plate, for the rear.
    • Quotes

      Norma Louise Bates: Norman, no matter what, this'll become public. And it'll be in all the papers. Everyone in town will know about it. Who is going to book a room in the "rape-slash-murder" motel?

    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojo: Top 50 Satisfying Deaths of Hated TV Characters (2025)
    • Soundtracks
      Wham Bam
      (uncredited)

      Performed by Clooney

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 18, 2013 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Bates Motel
    • Filming locations
      • Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • American Genre Film Archive
      • Kerry Ehrin Productions
      • Universal Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 48m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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