'Defiance' and 'Bates Motel' Review Update

Because it's our birthday, we're taking an extra day off for writing this Saturday, during which we also plan to enjoy Free Comic Book Day at our local comic book shop with our brother. Therefore, our reviews for 'Defiance' and 'Bates Motel' may be a bit late. 

Review: 'Bates Motel: The Truth'

'Bates Motel: The Truth,' 2013, Universal Television. Written by Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin. Directed by Tucker Gates. Starring Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.  Rated TV-14 for suggestive dialogue, language, sexual situations, and violence. Airs 10.00 p.m. EST on Mondays on A&E, or catch up on full episodes at http://www.aetv.com/bates-motel/.


The sex slave ring storyline comes to a head in this episode, so hang on. It starts with Norma (Vera Farmiga, pictured) trying to come to terms with the fact that her boyfriend, Deputy Zack Shelby (Mike Vogel), is part of a sex slave ring. 

She doesn't handle it well. In fact, she goes a bit nutters, running off and trying to go see Zack, which Norman (Freddie Highmore, pictured on the right) thinks is a really bad idea. With difficulty, he convinces Norma to wait and do things the right way; and with Norma's help, he also convinces Emma (Olivia Cooke) to wait to tell the police. 

Then Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Norman go to Keith Summers' (Earl Brown) boat to look for Keith's belt, the incriminating evidence Zack has against Norma. But whilst they're out, Zack visits Norma, who must then act as if everything's normal whilst there's a sex slave in her hotel. 

Dylan also confesses to his boss that he killed Ethan's (Terry Chen) murderer; Dylan's boss tells him he did good, and also tells him how to get rid of the evidence. 

There's a terrific shoot-out scene in this episode, along with yet another shocking revelation as we finally find out what really happened to Norman's father. 

Review: 'Cat Breeds of the World' by Desmond Morris

Cat Breeds of the World by Desmond Morris, 1999, Viking, $19.95, hardbound, 256 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: Striking. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble. 


This is one of the first books we ever owned on cat breeds, and it still stands out as an exceptional book. One note we may make as to improvements that could be made: there aren't any pictures of the coat colours and patterns, which we would very much like to see. 

That being said, the book is remarkable, not only in its beautiful colour photographs, but in its information on cats in general and the different breeds in particular. The information on cats as a species is found in the introduction, which is 20 pages long and includes topics such as 'Breed Popularity,' 'Cat Shows,' 'Abnormal Breeds,' and 'Feline Anatomy.' For ourselves, some of the more intriguing information comes under the heading 'Feline Anatomy'; here is where we learn that the majority of blue-eyed white cats are genetically deaf due to a malformation in the inner ear (cats who have one blue eye are deaf only in one ear); that cats' third eyelid is called the haw; and that whiskers are not only feelers, but act as air-current detectors. 

After the introduction come the chapters on specific breeds. Here we are treated not only to pictures of felines representing each breed, but to facts and folklore on the breeds. A brief description of appearance is given, personality is evaluated, and the colour forms which are acceptable for each breed are noted. Also listed are breed clubs. 

If you like this one, try: Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds by J. Anne Helgren.