"Bates Motel" Final season - the best bits

This frustratingly inconsistent show is going out in style.

• Episode 1's opening sequence was masterly, thanks to writer/producer Kerry Ehrin (eps 2-5  have different writers). There's even a shower curtain reference, with tongue firmly in cheek.
•  The show is at its best when Norma and Norman duke it out (e.g. the scene in the woods with them both brandishing flashlights).
• Chick's viking funeral in Episode 3 was just plain weird. No kimono needed.
• The cheerily lit Bates house with dining room table elegantly set for dinner, contrasting with the reality of Norman's squalid existence.
• Marion Crane (Rhianna) walks past a sign for real estate: "R. A. Bloch" (shout out to the original novel by Robert Bloch).
• Episode 6 was a clever reinterpretation of  key "Psycho" scenes. Not a dud scene. The series most consistent episode. Respectful of its source material, then improving upon it. Producers Ehrin and Cuse scripted this episode. Note: "Sam Loomis" was John Gavin's character in the original movie.
• Episode 7 (scripted by Freddie Highmore) demonstrates Highmore's black sense of humour (see early scenes - bathroom clean-up and dumping Loomis in the well: "Make a wish").
• The intrepid sheriff (Brooke Smith - so good in "Ray Donovan") has some great scenes with Norman in Episode 8.
• Episode 9 had one decent scene - Emma visiting Norman in jail - the rest was tedious padding.
• Episode 10's climax was more like a Greek tragedy. Max Thieriot acted his socks off. The dinner table scene was truly macabre. The show went out in style. (Small gripe: If you were Emma - 30 mins into episode - wouldn't you ignore Dylan and ring the police yourself?)

"Bates Motel" Season 2, Episode 2, A&E, Will I keep watching? Maybe This Time...

"Bates Motel" is at its best when goes for quirky/unhinged.
 Like... Norma asking her gyno questions about blackouts; the "Mr Sandman" duet; Norman (British actor Freddie Highmore) going nutso on mom outside the community theatre; Norma wowing the crowd with a tune from "Cabaret" ("Maybe This Time"). For a minute I thought I was watching "Smash". Don't get me wrong, Vera's got a good voice (she is also one of the producers for the show).
Norman auditioning for "South Pacific" (an inspired choice). There was a shower scene in that show. Was Janet Leigh thinking/humming "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair"?
But there isn't enough of this nutty Twin Peaks meets Peyton Place stuff.
The drugs subplot is deadly dull. Bradley was also a bore. Oxy-girl (Olivia Cooke) is wasted.
We can only hope Norma's long lost brother will inject more quirky/unhinged elements into a fairly pedestrian second season (so far).

The problem with TV second seasons

Okay, the first season was great, there was a teaser to get you to watch the second season.... then you tune in.....
It could go either way.
First there's disappointment. Exhibit 1. (as Rod Serling used to say) "Bates Motel"
It was a flimsy idea to start with, but the charisma of Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore must have convinced producers. It seems this show is treading water. Where is it going? We know what happens to Norman, but the journey is no fun anymore.
Exhibit 2 "The News Room"

Then there's surprise:
"Hannibal" Struggling with the ratings, many thought it wouldn't return. The quality and style of this show has always been consistent. This new season is compelling and, if anything, richer than last year. This is a prequel that works, unlike Season 2 of "Bates Motel".
Season 2 of "Orphan Black" is better than the first season, fleshed out characters and more complicated setups.

Jury's out:
"Banshee"
"Da Vinci's Demons"
(Even though both have been given a third season.)
BBC3's "In The Flesh" (3 extra episodes in this series, was it a good idea?)

"Bates Motel" Season 2, Episode 1, A&E, Was it worth the wait?

No, not after this season opener. If it wasn't for the screen charisma of Farmiga and Highmore, I don't think I'd be bothered.
Only four highlights:

1. Norman in the basement stuffing a beaver (It's a cheap laugh, but it was a pretty dull episode).
2. Mum and teenage son driving traumas in the Mercedes (Okay mom, YOU drive). 
3. My wife still likes the fact that the sheriff bears a resemblance to Anthony Perkins.
4. Norma's rant in the Council Chambers (reminiscent of Harper Valley PTA business).

Slim pickings.

"Bates Motel" Series 1 final, Episode 10 "Midnight" review

Let me say from the start, Vera Farmiga is amazing as Norma Bates. She is such an accomplished actress. So good in Clooney's "Up in the Air" (2009).
In this final episode, one minute it's screwball comedy delivery, then she is telling Norman about sibling incest and a violent father. The Bates family Christmas dinner must have been a laff riot.
Lots of great bits this week:
The target practice scene with Dylan and Norma was endearing. Midnight at the docks.... don't piss off Sheriff Romano! At screwy Miss Watson's place ... Norman becomes 'teacher's pet' - the pivotal scene when Norman hears mom (in his head) tell him, "You know what you have to do....." The die is cast. No turning back now. The cliffchanger, does Norman top his teacher?
A great end to Series 1, paving the way for more Bates twistedness/White Pine Bay corruption in Series 2.

I'm in.

"Bates Motel" Season 1, Episode 8 "A Boy and his Dog", A and E , TV series, review, no spoilers

How appropriate for Mr Decody, Emma's taxidermist dad, to have a Hitchcock like English accent. Norman has a new hobby - taxidermy ... things are fitting in nicely now. What about when he exploded with his well-meaning teacher. Freddie Highmore plays the tortured Norman like a tightly wound spring  The strength of this series lies in the talent of two leads, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.

I liked Emma's (Olivia Cooke) high school toilet confrontation: Emma - 1, Mean Girls - 0.
Mr Abernathy also showed his true colours, went from quiet menace with Norma to popping a little surprise in her bed. Intrigued by sleazy Sheriff Romano's mention of the "big boss" to Norma (if my ears didn't deceive me). Isn't the actor a dead ringer for Anthony Perkins? Dylan, the prodigal son, is turning out to be Mr Nice Guy. Yes, I googled "trimmers".

Why my wife hated Episode 6 of "Bates Motel", "The Truth", review

This is a guest post from my wife:

What a disappointing load of bollocks this episode was! I've loved this series so far so I'm really pissed off that this was such a shallow, obvious piece of crap.
I love it when I'm watching a film or TV program and I say, "Wow, I didn't see that one coming!" Well, this certainly didn't happen here. I saw the ending coming as soon as Norma (Vera Fermiga) went to a motel room for a bit of nooky with her dodgy lover.
It didn't make sense! Norma should so easily have said to the deputy, "Sorry, the boys will be home soon" or "Take me now, here on the patio" or even "Not tonight, I have a splitting headache."
But no, off they toddle to do the dirty in the motel room close to Jiao, the escaped sex slave. STUPID STUPID STUPID. Norma would not have done this.
The other predictable bit of writing came with the obvious physical similarities between Dylan and the bent cop, Shelby. You knew that at some stage there would be a confrontation between these two and we wouldn't know which one would make it after the shootout.
What a disappointment. Perhaps the writer(s) have used up all their good ideas. I don't know whether I'll be watching again. Maybe just one more time, to see if this was just an anomaly.

"Bates Motel" Episode 5 "Ocean View" TV series, A and E, recap, review

Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke), super sleuth (Nancy Drew avec wheelie oxygen tank) is back. I've missed her. She shares Norman's taste in dorky sweater choices (crap stripes, Fair Isle?).  She finally tracks down Asian sex slave, Jiao. Emma asks Norman to clean up Jiao's vom back at the Bates Motel .... Norman, steer clear of the shower, that comes LATER.

Norma is becoming a real worry for Norman.  Looking unusually normal, he comes swaggering home (sans crap sweater) from an amorous night with Bradley, only to meet unforgiving, guilt-trip-inducing Norma, fresh out of the slammer. Poor Norman, a psycho in the making. The scene in the Mercedes with Norma and Normette is a beauty. Two exceptional actors (Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore) show their stuff.
Dylan (is it me, or does his top row of choppers look different since the last ep) is the voice of reason in this affair. The two bros looked cute on the motor bike. Dylan has no time for Norma. For good reason. Who will she top in the next episode?  Loverboy, Deputy Shelby, the only one who knows about the incriminating evidence?

"Bates Motel" Episode 2 "Nice town you picked, Norma" review

"Nice town you picked, Norma" sums up the episode.
A whole can of worms has been opened in ep 2. This town has as many skeletons in its closet as "Twin Peaks". Sorry, that was a crap sentence. The writing in this episode is a LOT better.This is a pretty smart series, so far.
For a start Momma Bates' (Norma.... who knew?) first born appears, Dylan (Max Thieriot). What a charmer, not.  Needless to say the bros don't kick it off. Norman has a new study-buddy (Emma) with cystic fibrosis (terminal, as Norma indelicately enquires on their first meeting). Emma is a great little detective, as well as a William Blake fan. It is hard to run from rifle toting dudes when you have an oxygen bottle strapped to you.
Momma Bates is being seduced by dodgy Deputy Shelby, who hints at the underbelly of his town. Don't f**k with the city fathers. Well for a start, they have some sex slavery ring going on - see sketches of semi-naked Asian girls from last week - Norman found a pad last week in a motel room (No 4?). Two people have been incinerated in a 24 hour period - one in a BMW 7 series, another hanging artistically in the town square. Nice location photography in British Columbia, by the way.
The labyrinthine plot has nods to Psycho.  Check out the Norman's girlfriend's taxidermy store. The whole of the Bates' house and motel is stuck in a 1960 time warp - that decor in the kitchen!  Norman watches a classic black and white movie in his room.
Weird observations:
Is it just me or is Vera Farmiga looking more and more like Felicity Huffman? No relation, the former having Ukrainian parents.
The sheriff resembles Anthony Perkins circa 1960's - that haircut.

Bring on next week, it's gettin' good. Can the scriptwriters maintain this cracking pace? I am wearying of "The Following", it's running out of puff....Ryan better catch some high ranking dudes pretty fast, perhaps in ep 10...but I digress).

"Bates Motel" new tv series on A&E - Worth a look

This could have been a tawdry piece of crap but the cast and the script rise above this.
Vera Farmiga as mama Bates (starred with Clooney in Up in the Air) plays the best multi-faceted nutbag since Jessica Lange donned the nun's habit. English child actor Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) nails the part of Norman Bates.
The first episode treads the tightrope between creepy and camp. The attempted rape scene is not for the squeamish. The scene with the policeman investigating the motel bathroom is delicious. And what was that soft porn sketch book Norman found under the carpet? How did Mr Bates really die?
Lots to like. I am sure this will only be a one season, 10 episodes affair. How far can they stretch it? That being said, I'll definitely give it a go next week.