Going nuts over Norman’s mum
WITH little respect for the horror genre, it was with trepidation I dipped a toe into SoHo’s contemporary prequel to Psycho, the surprisingly good Bates Motel (Thursday, 9.30pm).
In Psycho Norman Bates’ mother was no longer with us but had lived on in his subconscious, dressing in her clothes and affecting her speech as he bumped off the unfortunate babe who booked into Bates.
The film screamed of her absence, leaving audiences to wonder what kind of She Devil had produced the Freudian nightmare that was Norman. In this television series Norman’s mummy is very much alive and shares welldeserved above-ground billing with her troubled son.
We meet the co-dep duo at the height of a family tragedy. Norman’s father has kicked the bucket unexpectedly, the inference being that Norma may have had something to do with it. Six months later, with Norma all cashed-up from her husband’s insurance money, the Bates set off in a brand-new Merc for the fictional town of White Pine Bay, Oregon where Norma has bought a rundown motel.
With her ice maiden looks and penetrative gaze Norma is rubbish at parenting. She’s text-book manipulative, subverting Norman’s putative friendships and attempts at extracurricular school activities, and like so many other contemporary mothers tries to be besties with her offspring.
With three episodes under our belt the other character in this plausible back story is the township, which is, as Deputy Sheriff Shelby says, over-represented in well-off folk who can’t account for their personal wealth. The police too appear sinister and there is a lingering misogynistic threat in their encounters with Norma that makes you, although you really shouldn’t, root for Norma.
We witness a violent rape and murder scene when Norma, home alone, is attacked by the man who used to own the motel before it was foreclosed by the bank.
Norman arrives home to mayhem, Norma handcuffed to the table. He hits the intruder on the head then mother finishes the thug off with the kitchen knife. The two conspire to hide the body after Norma stops Norman from ringing the police, telling him to think of the consequences as no one will want to stay at a rapemurder motel. Some would.
She’s so persuasive, so femme sol, so ‘‘you and me against the world’’ and well versed in mother sacrifice dialogue that it’s easy for Norman and for us to go along with her scheming ways. After all, this is prequel country and we can indulge ourselves in seeing it from the side of such a scintillating survivor.
Dylan, Norma’s eldest son to a former marriage recklessly forged at 17, turns up and is given the bad penny treatment by Norma and Norman, drawing him on the out.
Dylan’s blonde and positively sulking in James Dean good looks while Norman’s dark and bookishly sensitive in a Twin Peaks kind of way. Girls want to mother him, boys want to give him the bash.
Emma, a terminally ill student with a nasal breathing tube and trundling an oxygen tank as if it were a must-have accessory,
closer
to keep
Today sees the return on Prime of (7.30pm) with the late Rik Mayall putting in an appearance, while at the same time over on TV3, chef Jamie Oliver starts his new show
and don’t forget the Canes v Crusaders live on Sky Sport 1, from 7pm. Don your Sunday best for the final of
(Sunday, TV One,
8.30pm).