Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bates Motel: The Complete Series

 

Bates Motel is partly a prequel to, and mostly a reboot of, the Psycho franchise, which began with the iconic 1960s Horror film by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Perkins. The series ran for five seasons on A&E from 2013 to 2017, producing 50 episodes. The main cast throughout the series includes Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell, with Nicola Peltz appearing as a regular early in the show and Kenny Johnson being brought back as a series regular in later seasons. The supporting and recurring cast across the seasons is large, featuring Mike Vogel, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jere Burns, Michael O'Neill, Michael Eklund, Paloma Kwiatkowski, Michael Vartan, Kathleen Robertson, Kevin Rahm, Joshua Leonard, Ryan Hurst, Wilson Bethel, Tracy Spiridakos, Damon Gupton, Marshall Allman, Isabelle McNally, Austin Nichols, and pop star Rihanna. 

The series tells the story of a young Norman Bates, who moves with his mother, Norma, from Arizona to White Pine Bay, Oregon, where she has purchased a property with a house and hotel out of bankruptcy after the death of Norman's father. Throughout the series, we learn more about Norma and Norman's past, Norman's escalating mental health issues and his descent into the character from the movies, and that the town and its residents have many secrets.

The 10-episode seasons work well for this show because they let the writers tell a specific portion of the story without things getting stale, leaving viewers wanting more by the end of each season. The early seasons introduce and develop the characters and largely revolve around the town's massive drug operation. As the series moves along, the focus turns to Norman's dissociative identity disorder being discovered by people outside the family, and his time being treated at the Pineview institution. The final stretch definitely incorporates elements from the original film and pays homage to it, but the writers put their own distinct spin on the established lore. For example, the final season introduces Marion Crane but significantly expands her backstory, and the ending will likely surprise many people who expected the series to conclude exactly where the 1960 film begins.

The Blu-ray set is a 10-disc set that packages the five individual season releases into a decorative outer box. Each season is a two-disc set packaged in its own individual keep case inside the box, so the content of the discs is exactly the same as the single-season releases, and you do not get anything different if you already own those. The A/V quality is excellent and remains very good across all fifty episodes, ensuring the show looks and sounds great in HD on a home setup. The bonus features are on the discs for each respective season, though they do get a bit lighter in the middle seasons. There are deleted scenes included on the discs for every single season, a 45-minute cast and creator interview from season one, the "Bates Motel After Hours" episodes for season two, a featurette on Norman's psychotic break for season three, and a gag reel alongside retrospective featurettes looking back at the show's legacy on the final season discs.

Overall, the series is well-written and very well-acted from the first season to the last. Because it is set in the modern day rather than being a pure prequel, the writers have more creative license to tell their own story, drawing inspiration from atmospheric shows like Twin Peaks and The Killing. While Freddie Highmore's Norman Bates has elements of Perkins' Norman Bates, he doesn't try to copy him, and he does a lot of heavy lifting as the show goes on. Vera Farmiga is the absolute standout, playing Norma as a mix of concerned, overprotective, and creepy, and doing a fantastic job transitioning into "Mother," the internalized version of Norma that Norman interacts with as his alternate identity. The other actors do a wonderful job with their characters, and the writers balance the ensemble well, giving actors like Thieriot, Cooke, Carbonell, and Johnson great material to work with. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the Psycho franchise or serial dramas that include many different elements, the series is absolutely worth watching, and this set makes a perfect conclusion to your physical media collection.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bates Motel: Season 5

 

The 10-episode fifth and final season of Bates Motel aired during the spring of 2017. All of the main cast members returned for the final stretch, including Vera Farmiga, despite her character, Norma, dying at the end of the previous season. The guest and recurring cast includes Kenny Johnson and Ryan Hurst, who reprise their roles as Caleb and Chick, respectively. New additions to the cast include Isabelle McNally, Austin Nichols, and pop star Rihanna, who guest-starred after the series creators discovered she was a massive fan of the show. Series creator Carlton Cuse also makes a brief cameo appearance in one of the episodes.

Most of the season focuses on wrapping up the overall story, though it does so in a much different way than many viewers might expect. The narrative definitely incorporates elements from the original film and pays homage to it, but the writers put their own distinct spin on the established lore. For example, the season introduces iconic character Marion Crane but significantly expands her backstory beyond what was seen in the movie. The ending will likely surprise many people, especially those who expected the series to conclude exactly where the 1960 film begins.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set that can be purchased individually or as part of the complete series release. The discs are packaged in their own keep case. The A/V quality continues to be extremely good, ensuring the episodes look and sound great in HD. The bonus features are a bit more robust for the final season, including deleted scenes for every episode and a gag reel spanning the entire five-season run of the series. There are also a couple of featurettes that serve as series retrospectives, featuring interviews with cast members and creators looking back on the show's legacy, fandom, and more.

The series continues to be very well written and very well acted in its final year. Everyone does a great job in their respective roles, but Vera Farmiga is the absolute standout of the season. She does a great job transitioning from playing the living Norma Bates to playing "Mother," the internalized version of Norma that Norman interacts with as his alternate identity. Freddie Highmore does a lot of heavy lifting as well. Several scenes transition between Highmore and Farmiga acting as "Mother," so they had to coordinate their performances to look seamless (which you see a bit of in the bonus material). The writers do a fantastic job of keeping the suspense high while delivering a satisfying conclusion to this modern-day reimagining. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the series, you absolutely have to watch the final season to see how it all ends, and it makes a perfect conclusion to your physical media collection.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bates Motel: Season 4

 

The 10-episode fourth season of Bates Motel aired during the spring of 2016. Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell all returned as series regulars. The big additions to the cast in recurring roles this season were Damon Gupton, who plays a psychiatrist who starts treating Norman, and Marshall Allman as Julian, another patient at the Pineview institution where Norman is being treated.

Most of the season focuses on Norman coming closer to the person he is in the original film. His dissociative identity disorder is discovered (to those outside of the family), but it is still not widely known, and the series gives a backstory for why he developed it in the first place. The most consequential death in the series so far occurs this season, setting up different threads for how exactly the final season could play out. Obviously, we know what the ultimate outcome will be, which also hints at the fates of at least some of the characters, but we do not know how the writers will get there.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set that can be purchased individually or as part of the complete series release. The discs are packaged in their own keep case. The A/V quality remains very good, and the episodes look and sound great in HD. The bonus features are lighter this season, with the only extras being deleted scenes included on each disc. There are about 15 minutes of deleted scenes on disc one and a little over 17 minutes on disc two.

The series continues to be well-written and very well acted, with all of the actors doing a great job in their roles. Obviously, however, as the series gets closer to where the movie would pick up, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore have to do most of the heavy lifting. Nestor Carbonell's role continues to increase this season, and he is great in the role. The writers do a great job of keeping the material engaging and balanced for the cast members. Ultimately, it is a wonderful season that is absolutely worth watching and makes a great addition to your collection.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Disclosure Day

 

Disclosure Day is the 2026 science-fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay written by David Koepp. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Colin Firth in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel, and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.

The plot follows a television meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild (played by Blunt), and a cybersecurity analyst, Daniel Kelner (played by O'Connor), who unexpectedly find themselves thrown together on a high-stakes mission that neither fully understands. All while being chased by a shadowy organization and helped by an underground resistance group. The movie starts with little setup, starting off with a standoff between O'Connor and Firth's characters. We learn that Kelner has stolen evidence of an extraterrestrial cover-up and plans to disclose the definitive existence of alien life to the entire world. Firth plays a government contractor named Hugo, who is trying to prevent the secret from being released. Margaret begins exhibiting weird behavior and feels a pull to find and help Kelner, all to the dismay of everyone around her, including her boyfriend, Jackson (played by Russell). 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. It also comes with a digital code that can be redeemed on Movies Anywhere. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding, and the digital effects are so good that it is genuinely hard to tell what was done with practical effects and what was done digitally. The bonus content is completely included on the UHD disc itself. It features a making-of featurette that runs just under an hour, as well as a short feature focusing on the long-term working relationship between Spielberg and his legendary composer, John Williams. Both features are good and are well worth a look for people who like watching the bonus content on physical releases.

The movie is good, with a nice blend of action, drama, and suspense. It was very well acted, with Blunt and Firth being the clear standouts of the production, although all of the actors did a very good job in their respective roles. The writing was good overall but got a bit cheesy and silly in parts, especially toward the end of the film during the climax. It seems like this is what Spielberg likely would have done with Close Encounters of the Third Kind if the special-effects technology had been good enough back in the late 1970s. While it is not a direct sequel to Close Encounters, it feels like a modern update of that story. Ultimately, it is a very entertaining sci-fi thriller that is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bates Motel: Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of Bates Motel aired during the spring of 2015. Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell all returned as series regulars. Kenny Johnson, who plays Norma's brother, Caleb, was also brought back and promoted to a series regular this season. Kevin Rahm was added as a recurring character, serving as the main villain of the season. Joshua Leonard and Ryan Hurst were also brought on as recurring characters, and both Nicola Peltz and Keegan Connor Tracy made appearances reprising their roles as Bradley Martin and Miss Watson, respectively. Wilson Bethel and Tracy Spiridakos also had guest roles in the season.

This was another strong season for the series, and it brought the character of Norman much closer to who he was in the original movie. That progression required excellent performances by both Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga, and both delivered completely. The individual story arcs throughout the season are very well handled. The storylines involving Caleb and Dylan's relationship, Caleb trying to reconcile with and apologize to Norma, and Norman and Emma's relationship were all strong. The main storyline involving Norma, Alex Romero, and Kevin Rahm's character, Bob Paris, was also very good. The 10-episode seasons work very well for this show because they allow the writers to tell a specific portion of the story without things ever getting stale, leaving viewers wanting more by the end of the season.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set that can be purchased individually or as part of the complete series release. The discs are packaged in their own keep case. The A/V quality remains very good, ensuring the show looks and sounds great on a home setup. The bonus features are a bit lighter this season than in previous years. There are deleted scenes included on each disc, with at least one deleted scene available for each episode of the season. There is also a featurette that focuses on Norman's psychotic break and essentially being taken over by a version of Norma.

The writers do a great job giving the entire cast good material to work with, and the series continues to be well-written and very well acted. All the actors step up to the material, and the writers do a great job of leaving viewers wondering how the fates of the various characters will play out to the point where the events of the original film pick up. Ultimately, if you enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, this one is absolutely worth watching and makes a great addition to your collection.