Bates Motel on A&E, March 18, 10:00 PM.

[Anthropophagus]

Love the movies so I'll be checking this out tonight, seems like there's a good buzz about the series and the promos were pretty creepy.

[Mikey Horror]

My God this was terrible. They might as well have just put it on network TV and called it "Norman's Creek". The only thing missing was that "I don't wanna wait" song.

[Anthropophagus]

Yes, I had no idea they would update this to a contemporary setting.
I thought it would be a prequel of sorts to the event leading up to the original Hitchcock classic.
It did not live up to my expectations but I will give it another chance next week.
On the plus side, I thought the actor portraying Norman did so pretty convincingly with nods to the Anthony Perkins character in terms of body language and mannerisms.
I did not hate it as much as the remake with that dork from The Wedding Crashers from a few years back, that was heinous.

[Steel76]

I´m a HUGE fan of Psycho, and I didn´t think is was bad at all. I liked the actor who played Norman, and the scene with the dead body and the cops in the motel room had a bit of an Hitchcock vibe to it.

And even though it has been moved into modern times, it´s still kinda a prequel as it´s the same house, motel, characters and the beginning of the madness.

I was worried during the first 5 minutes that they would change it all by using a new setting (since it opened with Norman and his mother living in another house), but gladly they built an almost perfect replica of the house and motel from the original Psycho movies.

I´m chocked that I hadn´t even heard ANYTHING about this, and just stubled upon the pilot episode yesterday, so maybe I liked it because I hadn´t had a chanse to build up any expectations.
Even though it had some teen-oriented crap in it, it seems like there will be enough of material for us older viewers as well. And Norman´s mother sure is a MILF hehe

I will continue to watch and see if it goes into the direction I´m hoping for, with the descent into murder and mayhem, leading up to the events in the Hitchcock classic.

Sure, I would have loved it if it was set back in the 50:s, but I´ll live

[evildeadfan123]

Originally Posted by Steel76

I´m a HUGE fan of Psycho, and I didn´t think is was bad at all. I liked the actor who played Norman, and the scene with the dead body and the cops in the motel room had a bit of an Hitchcock vibe to it.

And even though it has been moved into modern times, it´s still kinda a prequel as it´s the same house, motel, characters and the beginning of the madness.

I was worried during the first 5 minutes that they would change it all by using a new setting (since it opened with Norman and his mother living in another house), but gladly they built an almost perfect replica of the house and motel from the original Psycho movies.

I´m chocked that I hadn´t even heard ANYTHING about this, and just stubled upon the pilot episode yesterday, so maybe I liked it because I hadn´t had a chanse to build up any expectations.
Even though it had some teen-oriented crap in it, it seems like there will be enough of material for us older viewers as well. And Norman´s mother sure is a MILF hehe

I will continue to watch and see if it goes into the direction I´m hoping for, with the descent into murder and mayhem, leading up to the events in the Hitchcock classic.

Sure, I would have loved it if it was set back in the 50:s, but I´ll live

So am I, and I just purchased The Psycho Legacy on DVD, and I own all 4 Psycho Movies. I taped the pilot last night, and the really creepy part is Norman is played by Freddie Highmore, who was the lead kid in the remake of Tim Burton's Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, as Charlie, and the actress playing Norma was the actress who was in Orphan a few years ago.

[maybrick]

People always forget that Psycho was a book before it was a movie, and while its virtually impossible to divorce oneself from hitchcock's classic completely, I've always felt there was little need to tie any new work so intrinsically to the original. Doing that is precisely the reason why the 1998 remake failed so utterly. The old Perkins storyline has run its course and the best thing this new series can do is to take the arc in directions we don't expect.

[Anthropophagus]

Even though it was not exactly what I was expecting, more suspense/horror themed shows on the tube is always a good thing.
I believe the pilot did show some promise, and will continue to watch.

[russweiss]

This was really promoted in the theaters. I saw the making of/trailer about half a dozen times. I rarely watch commercial television so probably won't get around to seeing this until it hits home video.

[spawningblue]

Surprised by all the praise this is getting. I saw the previews for this a billion times (Not by choice but as a commercial) and watched the first 10 min. and was completely turned off. You're right it's probably because I am too attached to the orignal films, but I am one of the few who wasn't bothered by the remake. There was something about this, it did feel a little too Dawson's Creek to me. The mom is too hot and they both seem way too normal from what I always pictured them to be.

[Mutilated Prey]

I just watched the pilot and besides the obvious terrible decision to put the Bates story in modern times I felt it was a decent watch. It's not just that they are set in the present, but as you watch from the beginning you have the feeling it is actually set in the 50's based on clothes and cars. Then suddenly you see a bunch of hot chachas's playing with their SmartPhones. It's a shock that makes you like "wtf?". However, if you can get past that the story, acting and pace are somewhat enjoyable. I was impressed A&E made a few scenes so graphic too, and I don't just mean the violence. Also, 10 PM on a Monday night is a dead time slot for me, so I'll continue to watch.

[17thJuggalo]

I thought the first episode was decent, but nothing all that special. I thought the kid playing Norman wasn't all that good and that Norma was the much stronger actor. Two things that I thought were strange was that the student counselor looked like she was straight out of the 1960's and that the cop really looked like Anthony Perkins.

One thing that I don't like though: everyone is incredibly attractive. From the students, to the "disabled but relate-able girl next door", to the cops, they all looked like they walked off an Abercrombie photo shoot. Just really took me out of it and confirmed that "Dawson's Creek" vibe that was mentioned earlier in the thread.

[Mutilated Prey]

Most folks being good looking doesn't bother me - when they are all ugly does though.

That guy that lost the hotel to the bank wasn't exactly Tom Selleck

[Anthropophagus]

Originally Posted by Mutilated Prey

I just watched the pilot and besides the obvious terrible decision to put the Bates story in modern times I felt it was a decent watch. It's not just that they are set in the present, but as you watch from the beginning you have the feeling it is actually set in the 50's based on clothes and cars. Then suddenly you see a bunch of hot chachas's playing with their SmartPhones. It's a shock that makes you like "wtf?". However, if you can get past that the story, acting and pace are somewhat enjoyable. I was impressed A&E made a few scenes so graphic too, and I don't just mean the violence. Also, 10 PM on a Monday night is a dead time slot for me, so I'll continue to watch.

That was exactly the impression I got, when the cell phones and the techno style music in the girls' car started up it was like being transported into a different show entirely for me.

[zombiehorror]

Originally Posted by Mutilated Prey

It's not just that they are set in the present, but as you watch from the beginning you have the feeling it is actually set in the 50's based on clothes and cars. Then suddenly you see a bunch of hot chachas's playing with their SmartPhones. It's a shock that makes you like "wtf?".

Originally Posted by Anthropophagus

That was exactly the impression I got, when the cell phones and the techno style music in the girls' car started up it was like being transported into a different show entirely for me.

In the beginning when Norman is running for his mother (after he finds his father) he runs past a modern tv, you can see it in the background...of course this could have just ended up as a set dressing gaff if the show wasn't set in modern day! I think the ambiguity of timeline in the beginning was purposeful though!

[17thJuggalo]

Originally Posted by Mutilated Prey

\That guy that lost the hotel to the bank wasn't exactly Tom Selleck

Haha yeah, which is probably why

Spoiler: he was offed immediately. Apparently not looking like a model makes you a creepy rapist in this show.