The Jaded Horror Fan – No Vacancy
Steve Wood
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Why does Psycho have an origin story in the form of a TV show? Has anyone ever thought to themselves “Hey, I wonder what Norman Bates was like during his high school years?” I know I never gave a shit.
The story of Norman Bates in the original Psycho never had me wondering what he was like as a kid, and honestly, I think I saw the Gus Van Sant version before I ever watched the original. I haven’t seen any of the sequels, nor do I care to, before you ask.
The 1998 remake came and went and did little for anyone; fast forward to 2013, and we’re introduced to a little TV show called “Bates Motel.” I wasn’t sure how to feel going into the show, but I was on board for a vast majority of the first season. Things started to sway when the little town in Oregon where they live turned into a character. We’ve seen the “this small town has secrets” plot device time and time again, and the world of Psycho has to be one of the last places I’d think to see it used.
Regardless of the contrived plot device, the town started to hold my interest over Norman, especially for the first couple of seasons as he was really just a whiny kid with the occasional violent act. Norma was the real problem during this time, as she not so much enabled his behavior, but covered it up and refused to acknowledge the fact her son was a weirdo. What should have bothered me but didn’t was the inclusion of a half-brother named Dylan since his story was more interesting than Norman’s. What did bother me was the typical high school drama Norman faced with potential love interests and overall angst. Who wants to see this version of Norman Bates?
The biggest issue I have is the amount of time it’s taking for this prequel to wrap up. We’re 4-1/2 seasons in and still have a long way to go before we see anything that resembles the real Norman. Are they going to kill off Norma in the show and have Norman run the motel like in the movie? I doubt it, especially with the vast amount of pull from Vera Farmiga. I see “Bates Motel” going on for far too long and entering territory where they will have problems coming to a close without rushing.
The beauty of Psycho was the small and self-contained story. Hitchcock didn’t bother us with the detailed explanation of how Norman came to be; we just started where we started and ended where we should have. Psycho is one of the better examples of the “get in late and leave early” method of storytelling. Even in doing so, we still learned that Norman was a deeply disturbed person and his mother was a big part of that.
With all of the small town junk tossed in, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate Sheriff Romero, or maybe I only like his character because of Nestor Carbonell’s portrayal. Either way, his relationship with Norma is an interesting one, and I’m curious to see just how far he’ll go to help her cover Norman’s actions. Besides him, Norma is the only reason I really watch “Bates Motel.” With her essentially being the star, it’s going to be pretty effective when Norman finally kills and “becomes” her.
The bottom line is that the story just feels disjointed, and if the focus were actually on Norman, we’d have a better show in the end. Some of the side stories are interesting, but they just don’t fit in the world of Norman Bates. However, I’m going to stick around, just as I have with “The Walking Dead” over the years, mainly because my wife is obsessed with Vera Farmiga.
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