Geek Syndicate Issue 9 March 2014 | Page 73

Geek Syndicate Rating G G G GG Episode Listing: 1. “First You Dream, Then You Die” 2. “Nice Town You Picked, Norma...” 3. “What’s Wrong with Norman” 4. “Trust Me” 5. “Ocean View” 6. “The Truth” 7. “The Man in Number 9” 8. “A Boy and His Dog” 9. “Underwater” the first ten episodes so set it up to be wrapped up nicely within a single year. To be fair they had good cause. This show should never have worked. But as the show developed, so did the audience and with that development, the show runners realised that they could slow down, reset and prepare to be around for a while yet. The show isn’t perfect. It’s true that the series is at i’s best when it focuses on the Bates family, rather than its frequent veering off into Twin Peaks style events and characters. That’s not to say that this doesn’t work, because it does. But the story of the boy and the mother who loves him just that little bit too much is far stronger and more compelling than ideas from a television show from a quarter of a century ago. Also it can be a bit soapy and when the story isn’t on the Bates family relationships, it feels very familiar. But these are small points in what is overall a very good first year. strong characters and confidant show running. Only time will tell if this story has legs to run past another season but for now Bates Motel is a pleasant surprise, and one that deserves your time. 10. “Midnight” Fact fans: A&E’s “Bates Motel” is not the first attempt at making a television show based in the universe of Psycho. That honour fell to a 1987 pilot starring Bud Cort, Lori Petty, and Jason Bateman that failed to be picked up by a network and wound up airing as a TV movie on NBC. Phil Hobden So the ultimate question: Is Bates Motel worth your time? In a word, yes. Alongside the similar Movie-to-TV show, Hannibal, this was one of the surprises of the 2013 television schedule. Charming and chilling in equal measure (much like Norman I guess) this is a show that, despite all the predictions of doom and gloom, broke through with great performances, 73