Bates Motel- Series Premire

 
     "Bates Motel" premiered on A&E tonight! Being a fan of "Psycho," I was very excited to watch the show. Freddie Highmore stars as Norman Bates with Vera Farmiga as Norma Louise Bates who I find to be the perfect actors to play the roles. The show explores the disturbing childhood of Norman prior to the events depicted in Alfred Hitchcock's film and Robert Bloch's book "Psycho." I loved the fact that the original Universal Studio set was used in the show. It has always been my favorite part of the back lot tour and it was great to see it come to life again on the screen. I expected the movie to be set in the late 1940's to early 1950's given the date of the film and Norman's age. Norman's clothes remind of the 60's or 70's in some the previews but i was disappointed and confused when Norman whipped out his iPhone and plugged in his headphones. I don't think the show should have been set in modern times.
                                                                *SPOILERS*
    There were many elements of the show and scenes that alluded to his later mental issues. It is very apparent how close he is with his mother. They move constantly and they are all each other has. Norma often makes Norman feel guilty if he ever doesn't spend time with him. I wish that Norman would have been more of a loner and would have enjoyed spending time with his mom, I feel like it would make more sense given his later attachment to her dead body (movie).
    The show is a lot more disturbing then I hoped. I realize that in its time "Psycho" was very scary but some points of the show push the limits. The worst scene was when Norman had sneaked out to attend a party and the former owner of the motel came again to confront Norma. He proceeded to attack and rape her (not showed directly, implied). I found the rape part of the scene unnecessary and uncomfortable, they should have stopped before the rape or during the attack. Norman comes and knocks the man out and when he leaves the room Norma stabs the man multiple times. The two easily brush off the murder and clean up the blood and dump the body. You can certainly see where Norman learned his murderous ways! Another disturbing aspect was the journal Norman found under the carpet that was filled with drawings of girls being chained up and injected. The end of the show leads me to think that this lead to his obsession with torturing the girls that came to the motel (movie). I am intrigued to see how the show will progress and will continue to watch as long as it doesn't get too disturbing!