Bates Motel

Can we talk about the Bates' for a little bit?

First of all, I'm a huge Hitchcock fan and therefore, you are required to bear through some Psycho trivia before I continue:

• First (American) movie to include a toilet. Hitchcock had to make sure it was necessary to the plot, so that he could keep it in.
• The (90!) splices in the shower scene were so fast that the sensors were sure they had seen some nudity. The slowed it way down, and had to admit that there wasn't any.
• Did you notice all of the taxidermy in the scene where Norman and Marion are eating sandwiches? The Birds was Hitchcock's next film.
• Psycho is based off a true story, serial killer: Ed Gein.
• Hitchcock's last film in black and white. He thought it would be too gory in color. 
• Hitch was forced to use money from his television show because of the lack of support from studios.

I love that they brought in an older brother, Dylan, for Norman. Brings in a whole other aspect of Norman's family life. I hope they interact more in the next couple episodes. I keep wondering what the writers are going to do with Dylan's character. Will he help Norman develop into his own person, or will Norma interfere and send him packing?

I also really love that the whole set is very classic, but still set in modern day. When I saw the first episode, I was assuming that it was set in the 60s. Before I knew it, Norman had earbuds in, listening to music and girls were wearing leggings.

By the time I saw Psycho for the first time, I already knew about the infamous shower scene. However, the scene where Detective Arbogast is stabbed by 'Norma' is what shocked me. So the stairway got me really excited when they first showed it in Bates Motel.

Now we know that one of the first things we hear from Norman in Psycho is a lie. "My mother moved here and bought this hotel with a guy." That quote is very summarized; I couldn't remember what he said exactly.

When I first heard about Bates Motel, I was worried it would just be really kitschy, but the teasers got my hopes up. Who could replace Anthony Perkins as the adorable, but frightening, psychopath? Overall, I think Hitchcock would be proud of this series if he had been around for it.

Does Norman actually see visions and go into trances? Or is his mother planting ideas? Who killed Norman's father? How long until Norman kills his mother and her lover? Is that what really happened?