What’s On: Marion Crane (Rihanna) Checks Into ‘Bates Motel’, But Will It Be A One-Way Reservation?
Bates Motel (10/9c, A&E): Finally, the episode Psycho fans have been waiting for: The intersection of the 1960 Hitchcock classic and this clever contemporary prequel, which in its final season has dramatized the psychological deterioration of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) after the death of mother Norma (Vera Farmiga), whose spirit just won’t the poor boy go. Mother and son are one, and it’s not a healthy combo—and Norman is in a particularly vulnerable state when Marion Crane (Rihanna assuming the role Janet Leigh played in the original film) checks in. “Wow, this is retro,” she says when he brings her into his office for a sandwich. She has no idea. And while a shower does play a significant part in what comes next, no spoilers on how this stormy night plays out. In other Bates news, Norman’s brother Dylan (Max Theriot) learns his mother has been dead for two years and decides to confront Norman—which only adds to the emotional trauma. Not an episode to be missed.
Best of Saul Goodman Marathon (AMC, starts at 9 am/8c, AMC): The third-season premiere of Better Call Saul, the acclaimed Breaking Bad sequel, is two weeks away. To prep fans, and to remind everyone just who Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) is going to become, for better and for worse, AMC airs a daylong marathon (through 3:30 am/2:30c) of Saul’s greatest moments—which means his lowest—during the run of Breaking Bad.
Rock and a Hard Place (10/9c, HBO): Dwayne Johnson produces and appears in this documentary, inspired by the future Rock’s delinquent youth (which included multiple arrests), in which a group of 38 young inmates are inducted into the Miami-Dade County Corrections & Rehabilitation Boot Camp Program. Not everyone will make it through the intensive and grueling 16-week process, with drill instructors pushing them to the physical limit to instill discipline in their ranks. But the program reports a recidivism rate of only 15% (significantly below the national prison average of 70%).
Inside Monday TV: Today’s streaming highlight: British comedy Asylum (Acorn TV), about a CIA whistleblower (Ben Miller) who takes refuge in an embassy. A year later, with his notoriety fading, he becomes such an irritant that everyone wants him to just leave already. … The first elimination will occur on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars (8/7c), and the world wants to know how William Shatner will react if Bachelor Nick is the first to go. … Two scene-stealing pros face off when Brenda Vaccaro guests on CBS’s Superior Donuts (9/8c) as Randy’s (Katey Sagal) visiting mom, whom Arthur (Judd Hirsch) is urged to ask out on a date, which would be his first in years.
