# Bates Motel: The Complete First Season - Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12750[/img] 
*Title: Bates Motel: The Complete First Season* 

*Movie:* :4stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*Audio:* :3.5stars: 
*Extras:* :1star: 

*HTS Overall Score:*74




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12751[/img]*Summary*
How do you create a full on prequel/reimagining to one of the greatest and first serial killers of all time? That was my first thought when I heard about “Bates Motel”. “Psycho” is one of the best Hitchcock movies of all time, in my opinion, and the great grandfather of all modern slasher movies, giving birth to Freddy, Jason, Michael, ghostface and the rest. Norman Bates was a crazed, mentally delusional character with deep seeded mommy issues to a wild extreme, and a penchant for having mommy just a BIT too much inside his head. How are we going to take that character and portray his life as a young child and do it right? Especially considering the fact that this is a TV SERIES, and not a movie. Horror TV series, especially serialized ones, are extremely difficult to pull off due to the fact that you can only keep the intensity level so high before it starts to wear off, or becomes clichéd. Surprisingly “Bates Motel” blends a mixture of psychological horror, drama and criminal elements to keep itself fresh and alive, while still giving you hints of who Norman is about to become all in the same show.

Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) is just a seemingly normal seventeen year old boy, growing up in America. His mother Norma (Vera Farmiga) seems to be a fairly normal, albeit controlling, single mother struggling to raise a son on her own. After the accidental death of Norman’s father the two move to a small North Eastern town to buy a rundown motel and begin life anew. As life would have it, tragedy follows them. The man who used to own the hotel, before he was foreclosed upon, is not happy about his family legacy falling into outside hands and tries to take matters into his own hands, assaulting Norma in her own home. Fortunately Norman is able to save his mother only to have Norma turn around and take matters into her own hands. This starts a chain reaction of lies, deceit and betrayal that saturate the entire show. Hiding the body, keeping the secret and all the while trying to keep up appearances.

As time goes on, people start to suspect Norma of killing the previous owner and a small town will get to talking. The only problem is that the town has secrets of its own. Drugs, violence, lies of its own, all rolled up in a seemingly innocent little package. To make matters worse, Norman’s half-brother, Dillon, (Max Thieriot) moves in with them due to having no place to go. Dillon and mommy dearest don’t exactly get along due to the fact that he sees her for what she is, a manipulative, conniving selfish, and co-dependent woman who will do whatever it takes to get her way. This naturally creates even more turmoil in the dysfunctional family, Dillon with his bitter cynicism, Norma with her co-dependent issues and Norman, a boy who’s been so deeply bonded with his mother that normalcy is something that doesn’t come easy. Throw into the mix a town with enough dirty secrets to make a laundry mat keel over and we have a twisted show that will shock, endear and creep you out all at once.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12752[/img]
What makes or breaks a show like this is the characters. Can they stand up to the tests, or are they one dimensional and forgettable? The first couple episodes of the show made me wonder, the acting was solid, but some of the writing seemed a little too clichéd and I swore they were giving away too much of the show too early (luckily for us that was a bit of diversionary tactic with the writers). As the show progressed the characters really started to come into their own, allowing us to see multiple facets of their characters. Norma Bates is a truly complex woman, psychologically damaged herself, she’s lived a tough life, one that has molded her into a truly conniving and mentally manipulative woman. Due to her circumstances she only has one person left in this world who loves her and she’s locked onto Norman so much that she subconsciously will do anything to keep him near her, including kill if necessary. We watch her use and abuse Norman under the guise of motherly love and “protection” when all she’s doing is keeping Norman away from a normal life in sheer terror that she’ll be left alone. A truly pitiable character we see that she’s not the evil villain that we thought, but more a sad, lonely woman who’s so desperate for love that you pity her, empathize with her and hate her all in a matter of 10 episodes. Norman is every bit as complex, smothered and adored by his mother all at once he has a weird codependent relationship with his mother that is creepy at best, but under that he is still a seemingly normal boy, one who wants to go out on a date with the hot girl at school, one who just wants to have a life, a normal life with friends, school and his writing. Unfortunately with a mother like Norma that’s rather difficult to do. As the show progresses we realize that there’s something under the surface of Norman Bates, something that explains just why Norma is so protective over Norman this whole time, a secret that explains his past, AND his future all at once. With all of this messed up dysfunctionality Dillon is about the only SANE seeming one in the family, and he’s the one working as a low level drug enforcement officer for a pot dealer!

The show starts off a little rocky, with a couple of episodes that are above average, but nothing that will intrigue you too wildly. With the addition of the town’s dirty little secrets it almost loses its horror edge and becomes a crime drama, intertwining dirty cops, pot dealers and family squabbles. By the time the second half of the season hits, the show truly hits its stride, with the crime drama intertwining itself so deeply with the psychological changes forming in Norman that it creates a genre all its own. I mean, what kind of show can actually make you care about a character that you KNOW you’re going to end up hating to the point where you almost forget that he’s going to become a villain and start to understand a woman that seems so villainous that you could never find anything likeable about her in the span of a few hours of entertainment? To say I’m impressed with the show is an understatement, what seemed to be a time bomb waiting to happen has become a very impressive show that will hopefully be able to keep up this level of intensity in upcoming seasons.

*Rating:* 

Not Rated.



*Video* :4.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12753[/img]“Bates Motel” is given a VERY pleasing 1.78:1 VC-1 transfer for us here today, filled with rich primaries and soft browns that give this show a very earthy feel. The transfer is incredibly well detailed thanks to the digital cinematography and only carries a slight hint of softness every once in a while. Blacks are deep and inky, showing tons of fine detail, never once did I have a reason to complain about the night scenes or underground shots. The show has that modern “orange and teal” color grading to it, but the orange tends to mix very well with the copious amount of browns to create that earthy feel that I was talking about earlier. The lush northeastern country is ripe for showing off all shades of colors and is just beautiful to look at in general. Contrasts are spot on and flesh tones are accurate as can be. With the lack of digital manipulation or artifacting I’d say this is one of the better looking TV series out there today. Well Done Universal. 








*Audio* :3.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12754[/img]“Bates Motel” has a fairly solid audio track, with the only flaw being that it’s a standard budget television show. As such the usual factors come into play, Front heavy sound track with only mild use of the surrounds and LFE track. That is not to say it is a bad track at all, with the source it’s given it’s actually very well done. Dialogue is crisp and clean, with no wild dynamic range to worry about, the front soundstage is very pleasing with nice ambience and great panning effects, especially the simple ambience of cars driving by or the sound of the woods. LFE is mild and used rarely, mostly just to punctuate the mood with a few “jump” moments and to accompany the score. What it does, it does very well, just don’t expect the track to completely envelope you and pull you in like an action movie or high budget film. 


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=12755[/img]*Extras* :1star: 
• Paley Center Panel Discussion with the Cast and Creative Team
• Deleted Scenes












*Overall:* :3.5stars:

Being that I was a bit leery of the show going in, I’m glad that my fears were unfounded. “Bates Motel” is a wildly entertaining psychological show that allows the characters to grow and expand, as well as actually give the viewers an actual surprise (which in itself is surprising when you know just who the main character will be in the future), allowing us to see what makes Norman tick and asks the question, was he created this way BY his mother? Or was his homicidal tendencies always there, lying dormant, waiting to be let out all along. Hopefully this bodes well for future seasons and will allow for the show to expand and delve deeper into the psychology of a serial killer. With great video and solid audio the show is one of the more unique shows on television and deserves a watch at the very LEAST. 

*Additional Information:*

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot
Created by: Anthony Cipriano
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 VC-1
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: NR
Runtime: 466 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: Sept 17th, 2013



*Buy Bates Motel: The Complete First Season Blu-ray on Amazon*



*Recommendation: Watch It​*







More about Mike


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## asere

I love that show and can't wait for season 2 to air. Vera is excellent! Thanks for excellent review.


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## tripplej

Another great review. Thanks. I personally never heard of this series. What channel was it on? I will have to catch the series on dvd now that I have read the review. Very interesting story to say the least.


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## asere

tripplej said:


> Another great review. Thanks. I personally never heard of this series. What channel was it on? I will have to catch the series on dvd now that I have read the review. Very interesting story to say the least.


Its on A&E.


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## typ44q

I, like most was very skeptical about this show. I thought the idea was great and the potential to see the events that created the Norman Bates that everyone knows from the movie Psycho was great but it also could of been a train wreck. I am happy to say that I think they are doing a great job with this series and I am looking forward to the next season.


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## asere

Did anyone see the season finale for session 2?
I liked how Norma and Dillon expressed how they felt towards each other.


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## Mike Edwards

I've been waiting for the blu-ray release so I can binge season 2.... .sticks fingers in ears...lalalalalalala!!!


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## asere

This show is in my opinion one of the best written shows I've seen in awhile. The story is solid and just keeps getting better.


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## Mike Edwards

asere said:


> This show is in my opinion one of the best written shows I've seen in awhile. The story is solid and just keeps getting better.


This and Hannibal really surprised me. redoing classic horror villains in a TV show is usually an eyebrow raiser, but they've knocked it out of the park


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## asere

Mike Edwards said:


> This and Hannibal really surprised me. redoing classic horror villains in a TV show is usually an eyebrow raiser, but they've knocked it out of the park


I did see the previews to Hannibal but at the time I thought it would get axed and why bother but yes I hear it's excellent.


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