Just finished watching the first season of Bates Motel, and its' pretty good. Mainly because Vera Farmiga is carrying the show, its' her acting that really makes the script rise above some weak moments.
Not sure Freddie Highmore was the best choice for Norman Bates, he just looks too goofy and dumb to be a psychopath, and in the moments when he has to show his dark streak, he comes up a bit short. Some of the romance angle and high school stuff also seems totally incongruent with Hitchcock's Norman Bates. But I have decided not to make any comparisons with Psycho, because if you take Bates Motel as a show in its' own right, then there is no need for over-analysing. Overall a good show, made me want to watch the second and subsequent seasons.