I'm thinking of tackling Bates Motel

I enjoyed it a lot at the time, though I’d say it went on about a season too long

You should be aware that on set Vera Farmiga was known to roll her eyes at Freddie Highmore.

Worth it OP. The actors who play Norman and Norma are very good friends in real life and it shows in the way they play off of each other. Husband and I are on our second rewatch. Enjoy!

Yes.

Max was gorgeous, and showed his girthy dong frequently.

Probably one of the most uncomfortable series I’ve ever watched. But then again I’ve never resolved my Oedipal complexes.

Max has certainly lead a charmed life. Born in the lap of luxury, grew up to be a handsome man. He’s on the CBS hour-long drama “Seal Team” and I watch just because I have the hots for him.

Does Max show his ass on this series?

I loved the series & enjoyed it from start to finish.

All of the cast have great chemistry together.

Fun fact = the tall guy in the final season (was his character's name Chick or something?) ended up playing bad guy Beta on The Walking Dead.

I only watched one season.

No.

If you're like me, you'll realise that two good performances can't save the awful writing but you'll drag yourself to the finish line and hate yourself for it. On the bright side, if you harbour dreams of fem twinks driving straight girls and women mad with desire for four seasons straight, you are in luck

I loved it. Especially the first season. It did get a little ragged in subsequent seasons. But totally worth it, I think.

I love Vera Farmiga in almost everything, so I guess I should give this one a go as well.

It's a good show, watch it

Yes, you definitely should. The entire show is only 50 episodes, so basically one season of American network TV. Vera is amazing as always, and Freddie Highmore is an incredible match for her; the show excels in every scene between those two. Plus, it has the delicious Max Thieriot, and Nestor Carbonell, and Mike Vogel, playing an officer that is very reminiscent of Norma's other son. And even playing a serial killer, Freddie Highmore is adorable.

The show is trash, but Vera Farmiga is worth watching in ANYTHING. She's fantastic.

Stick with "Psycho"...

It was okay, but I only hung in for the first 2 seasons.

I, too, will go back to it if I ever catch up with better stuff. I love Mike Vogel and Scream Queen Max Thieriot.

[quote] It's a good show

Is it a positive show?

I thought it was great - definitely worth watching.

It wasn’t Donny & Marie, R20.

I watched a little bit of it and liked it.

Is Sheriff Romero wearing guyliner? His eyes look like they're dressed in the kohl some middle eastern men apply.

R23, I think that’s his natural eye shading. I’ve seen him in other roles.

It's pure trash, let's be honest here, but is moderately entertaining and well worth watching for Max Thieriot alone.

Are there any white actors with yellow skin on the show?

Bates is about a 7/10. Where its great, you can tell the effort and the experience is sublime. Everywhere else is lower key and kinda schlocky, especially to pad out episode length and numbers. I see-sawed from places of 'this is so crazy and I want more' to 'this acting and writing is shit'. Would have been much more appropriate for miniseasons.

Musty odor. Ran out of toilet paper. Dated furnishings. Owner is creepy. Pass.

If you like things like "Ozark" you'll prob like Bates Motel. I thought it was good and had some interesting plot twists.

[quote] It's pure trash, let's be honest here, but is moderately entertaining and well worth watching for Max Thieriot alone.

No it’s not and he’s not.

Max ThieriTHOT is hot!

I found Norman's character incredibly annoying, especially in the later seasons.

As others have said, when it's centered on the Norma/Norman relationship, it's firing on all cylinders. The fact that Farmiga never got an Emmy is a travesty. Season 4 and 5 are a must. The earlier years are good, but there's a lot of subplots (some work, some don't).

Yes, there are definitely certain subplots (mostly concerning Max's character, sadly) that are superfluous and go nowhere. But the show is not a huge time commitment, only 10 per season.

Nestor Carbonell directed 3 episodes (Season 3 Ep 5, "The Deal," Season 4 Ep 7, "There's No Place Like Home," and Season 5 Ep 5, "Dreams Die First"), Freddie wrote 2 episodes (Season 4 Ep 8, "Unfaithful," and Season 5 Ep 7, "Inseparable) and directed one (Season 5 Ep 8, "The Body"), while Max directed an episode (Season 5 Ep 4, "Hidden").

Nestor also directed Freddie in The Good Doctor for 2 episodes.

I really enjoyed it. It's not high art but when it's good it's very good.

I loved it as well. In spite of the dreadful Olivia Cooke I kept watching.

Really good the first two seasons. The final season is a bit tedious.

I would highly recommend it. I watched all 5 seasons.

Now, I want to watch it all again, but cannot find out where it can be streamed.

I am outside the USA and blocked from Netflix USA, even with using the Smart DNS of Unlocator.

Here's an example of ridiculous writing. When Norma storms out to Portland, Norman has an over the top meltdown because he thinks she's never coming back. I thought that whole plotline was so contrived.

R39 the whole point is that they have a deeply unhealthy relationship.

R40: I get that, but if they are so close, don't you think Norman would know that his mom isn't really leaving him for good after one stupid fight?

R40 I once had a friend who overdosed on pills because her boyfriend went to work. To work. Sick people aren't the most rational.

r38 Where are you?

I liked this show, but I'm of the opinion that it could have been chopped down to three seasons by simply eliminating the long, lingering looks each character gives at the end of a scene.

Vera Farmiga’s Norma is an extraordinary character study, and her performance makes Norman Bates as a character mostly make sense.

The show lost me ultimately with the evil drug trade plot. A series based on a movie with a barely-there plot had to come up with something as a plot to tie everything together, but to me, the writers made a terrible decision with the whole Reefer Madness angle. Of all things they could have come up with.

I loved it when Norman goes to the gay bar as Norma and gets fucked by guys then runs into them in the daytime and cannot remember a thing.

R45 I think they were going the Twin Peaks vibe: "this is a town full of secrets"

But only the Bates family is interesting.

I just started watching it on Netflix, and because I'm disconnecting Netflix at the end of the month, I have to watch about three episodes per day. The first season was awesome. They have taken liberties with the characters and setting, but they smartly decided to completely own the set design from the 1960 movie. Excellent decision to keep fans of the movie engaged. I'm in the second season now and starting lose some of my interest, but I have heard that the fourth and fifth seasons are the best, so I'm going to keep going. The lead actors are consistently great.

This show moves at steady pace and keeps the suspense going. It feels similar to Twin Peaks, but it's so much better.

I agree that it went on a season or two too long (like most series) buy enjoyed the majority of it. I thought Vera was amazing (isn’t she always?) and the twist on Janet Leigh’s character was unexpected and wonderful.

Three seasons too long for me.

Like horror and terror films, it starts well but doesn't know how to finish. A two season story could have been quite good. At some point I accidentally skipped far ahead and then made it a bit if a habit, skipping an occasional episode without loss.

I enjoyed it but would have enjoyed it more had it been a much tighter story

It's worth it just to see Nestor Carbinell's manscara. He must apply it with a butter knife.

Freddie Highmore is absolutely adorable and gorgeous.

Vera is good in absolutely everything, including "The Orphan."

Nestor is not wearing makeup - he has a condition called Blatt Distichiasis, when people are born with two sets of eyelashes so it looks like eyeliner. i read about this a couple years ago when i was watching this show and i kept wondering why the makeup.

Vera Farmiga's Norma is crazy as fuck, and it's fabulous. I love her wardrobe in this show. They dress her like a 1950s housewife and it looks great on her.

Max Thieriot has roided or just bodybuilt himself up too far now that he’s playing a Navy SEAL, but he was hot as balls on this show, even though much of his screen time is spent in unremarkable subplots.

Yeah, he has the worst stories on Bates Motel.

R48 here again. I've gotten through Season 2 and started Season 3. It's still really good, but I am losing interest in the side plots. I guess because this show is considered horror, it couldn't be considered a serious contender for awards? Vera Farmiga should have earned at least multiple Emmy nominations; she is fascinating to watch in every single scene.

One thing that a binge watcher would notice more than someone who tuned in week to week is the very high kill count. It does test plausibility that so many murders could occur in this "small town" in such a short amount of time without getting attention from the FBI. It's also interesting that Dylan kills just as many people as Norman does, but he is not believed to be dangerous because he's not insane.

OP - you should enjoy a series, not start it like its a chore.

Never cared for the ending. Norman should've lived and it just before cutting to black, Marion Crane should've showed up to check in.

The show wasn’t a prequel to the movie, it was a reinvention of the whole Norman Bates myth. It needed to have its own ending.

Should I watch this or AHS?

They both have their pluses and minuses, but I'd say Bates Motel is a more worthwhile show and doesn't go off the rails as often as AHS. The quality of AHS differs from season to season and, most of the time, episode to episode.

The non Norman/Norma stories are all dreadful.

R48 here again. I just finished watching the last episode, and I loved the entire series.

It has great acting, very good writing and story construction, and excellent production values. I think any fans of Hitchcock's Psycho would love this series. And give Vera Farmiga all the awards! She's amazing. My favorite parts were the dinner party during Season 3 ("The Last Supper") when all six of the main characters are together in one place, and the several episodes at the end of Season 4 when Norma and Alex are married and Norman is away. When you know that the story is working as tragedy, these high points are poignant and bittersweet. I was also surprised and pleased by the moments of laugh out loud comedy, particularly during Seasons 4 and 5.

If there are any weak spots, it's that the series goes on a bit long. They took 50 episodes to tell a story that could have been done in 30 to 35. Seasons 2 and 3 are uneven and have the weakest episodes. But overall I would recommend it and may watch it again.

The wardrobe and set decoration are fantastic.

Who knew Vera had that AMAZING singing voice?! Her “Maybe This Time” was phenomenal. I’d love to see her in a musical. Weirdly, I think she’d be a great Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.

And just because it cannot be said enough, Max Thierot is ridiculously hot on this show. Ridiculously.

I liked it......

I'd rather tackle Max Thieriot.