Season two of The Twilight Zone ran for 29 episodes from September 30 1960 - June 2 1961. In many ways I still can't decide which series quality level I prefer - consistency or wildly variable. Whereas the show's debut season contained not a single stinker, not even The Mighty Casey, season two has seven of them, yet also has some greater highs. It's a manic depressive season that opens with the very first below-par episode, and another four that effortlessly make my bottom ten, yet nearly half of the run is above average. There's perhaps a laziness at work, with the central concept ("It's weird because of The Twilight Zone") omitting the necessity for a credible premise, and it's striking that the supernatural stories that made up a lot of the first season have been toned down. If there's one legitimate criticism that can be made of Rod Serling's writing, it's that the voice of the writer can often be heard through all of the characters' mouths, even if it's just one of his creations in his otherwise-excellent The Obsolete Man saying "case in point", one of Rod's favourite narration catchphrases. Serling again took the brunt of the writing duties, crafting twenty of the scripts, and his exhaustion is naturally beginning to show at this stage. Yet while it's tempting to think that all the classic episodes are by other writers, Rod still scribes my favourites, with the first-class Nick of Time and the rarely-discussed The Silence, which is wonderfully written, and The Eye of the Beholder, which is superb despite the innate predictability of its central conceit. Yet Season One had 58% of its episodes that were above average in quality - for season two, even despite the depleted numbers, this had plummeted to 41%, with 34% scraping mediocrity. On a production note, then not only were seven less episodes made, but six were shot onto videotape and recorded "as live" on a soundstage. While it's easy to criticise the standards of such episodes, many of them - Twenty-Two and Static particularly - would have been minor classics if shot on film. In fact, of the six VT episodes - unique in The Twilight Zone's canon - only the diabolical The Whole Truth disappoints. Another curiosity for season two is that Rod, newly entrenched in his on-screen narration capacity, didn't go on set for a handful of episodes, being crassly overdubbed onto the action using "grey screen". As the VT episodes make his autocue reading obvious, then this isn't the kindest season to Rod's performance, and in one episode (Long Distance Call) there isn't even an appearance or opening narration by yer man. Trivia buffs might also like to know that he smokes in five of the episodes, a now incongruous practise which he indulged in twenty-six episodes in all. I don't mean to sound like I'm getting at Rod - I love the old bugger to bits really. And despite my moans, there's also much diversity in the storytelling (particularly from the other writers) and direction is often thoughtful and innovative. Not only that, but Rod finally learnt how to write a decent comedy episode with Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? Classic Episode: Nick of Time Original Air Date: 18/11/1960 Writer: Richard Matheson Director: Richard L Bare Synopsis: A magical episode that explores the nature of superstition, and, in a charming coda, parallel lives. Like a tall story, it progresses to ever more extreme heights, yet is built up so logically that you're taken along every step of the way. Not perhaps the greatest actor who ever lived, William Shatner (who also starred in the likeable but overrated episode about a dream at 10,000 metres or something) was never better than he is here. Combine this with some top rate direction and excellent writing, and you have the indefinable magic of a classic Twilight Zone episode. Rating: * * * * Not-So-Classic Episode: Back There Original Air Date: 13/1/1961 Writer: Rod Serling Director: David Orrick McDearmon Synopsis: There were seven below-par episodes in season two, but Back There actually kicks off a trilogy of cack, with bottom ten bedfellows The Whole Truth and The Invaders running consecutively. Stodgily, woodenly acted and poorly scripted, this is a nonsense of stock SF clichés and again underlines the potential laziness of the premise. That is, writers don't actually need to think of an explanation, just "it's the Twilight Zone" is enough. Well, sorry, it isn't enough, and the "twist" handkerchief ending would be more surprising if it hadn't already happened just twelve weeks earlier in King Nine Will Not Return. Combine this with Rod's final narration repeating the "moral of the week" that the cast have already told us, and a smug "you've never heard of a man travelling backwards in time before tonight" (What, not even when H.G. Wells wrote about it the century before?) and you've got a serious challenger for worst-ever episode. Rating: * * Just bubbling under: while this was my second least-favourite episode, The Whole Truth and The Invaders were hot on its heels.