Those were the days. From 1971 to 1979, All in the Family entertained millions of viewers with fresh plots, important subjects, realism, and gut-busting humor. There is a strong argument that it’s the best television sitcom ever. However, not every episode was a winner. Here are ten episodes of All in the Family that only a meathead could love.

10. Archie is Missing (November 9, 1974)

If there’s any doubt about Archie Bunker’s importance to All in the Family, a three-episode arc during the fifth season erases all skepticism. Carroll O’Connor held out for a new contract, missing two consecutive segments while only making a cameo in a third.

This episode aired in the middle of O’Connor’s holdout. With no idea how the O’Connor situation would play out, this episode served as little more than a placeholder. The plot, such as it was, had Mike and Gloria suspecting Archie had run off with another woman. The lack of believability and the absence of the show’s sharp character humor make this a rare episode that’s worth skipping.

9. Gloria is Nervous (December 8, 1975)

When Mike and Gloria Stivic moved from the Bunker house to their dwelling next door in the sixth season, the series produced a few episodes that heavily featured Mike and Gloria without the fireworks Archie added to stories.

Except for “Gloria’s False Alarm” from the seventh season, most of these Archieless segments don’t work. This one is no exception. Even Edith doesn’t add much as she’s missing her comedy partner.

The story is relatable as Gloria is moody when her pregnancy is overdue. Despite her crankiness and Mike’s irritation, there’s little comedic energy and no clever story beats to get the laughs going.

8. Mike Faces Life (October 27, 1975)

This is another good story that generates almost no comedy. Gloria and Mike fight back when she loses her job due to pregnancy.

The only highlight is the duo confronting a personnel manager, but even that ignites little comedic heat. Archie spends most of the episode off-screen. Edith details an uncle’s tragic death—an unfunny running joke that won’t run for long. Thank goodness, because it was never funny, like most of this episode.

7. Success Story (March 20, 1971)

The first season of All in the Family was experimental. Only the pilot and the season ender were great, as the series wouldn’t truly take off until the second season.

Like many early episodes, this one struggles to find consistent humor in both acts. While there are some laughs from Edith early on, act two is repetitive and mostly a waste of time as Archie and his old Army pals share corny jokes, while Mike pretends they are funny.

The story is too simplistic, as Archie’s visiting friend is wealthy but unhappy. The conclusion—money doesn’t buy happiness—could have been done by almost any sitcom.  

6. Edith’s Final Respects (October 22, 1978)

Edith spends most of the episode talking to a corpse, and you’ll end up envying the deceased.

Without Mike and Gloria, the last season of All in the Family was closer in tone to its follow-up, Archie Bunker’s Place. Many of that season’s segments were lighter on humor and were performed with less energy because they were no longer presented before a studio audience. Still, most of these slower, quieter episodes were watchable. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t. The second act is as slow as molasses.

It’s unfortunate because the script comes from widely respected writers Bob Weiskopf and Bob Schiller (I Love Lucy, The Flip Wilson Show, Maude), who wrote several of the show’s best episodes the previous season, and Sam Greenbaum, who scripted the uproarious Maude episode “Vivan’s First Funeral.”

The script even cheats by portraying the late Aunt Rose as ancient and estranged from the family, neither of which was true in her fifth-season appearance.

5. Archie is Worried About His Job (March 16, 1971)

An uncharacteristically wacky yet unfunny second act makes this easily the weakest episode of the first season. 

The segment starts with realistic touches about family life and a plot that has Archie worried about losing his job. In a nice dramatic moment, Archie looks back on the damage done to his father when he lost his job during the depression.  

Unfortunately, those intimate family moments devolve into a noisy second act that produces only two laughs. With a cop, a drunk, a spacey neighbor, a pizza deliveryman, and an elderly night watchman added to the mix, too much time is devoted to lesser talents in guest roles (Burt Mustin excepted).

4. Archie Sees a Mugging (January 29, 1972)

It’s too bad two of the series’ worst episodes come from the landmark second season.

This season was full of classics, but this bad story made for a noisy and annoying episode.

None of the major plot points are believable. Archie lies to the police about the details of a mugging because he lied to his family about the details to get him out of talking to the police in the first place. So, what’s his motivation to continue the lie? Especially when that lie appears to finger the mob. 

In another unbelievable twist, Archie’s lie appears in the newspaper, along with his name and address, the day after he talked to the police. It’s tough to laugh once all logic goes out the window, especially when Archie appears to be the only one taking the situation seriously.

3. Mike Goes Skiing (January 22, 1977)

Tremendously dull, this is another episode that’s mainly about Mike and Gloria, with very little Archie.

Mike tricks Gloria into letting him go skiing with the guys on the weekend when her friend Trudy is holding an engagement party. While Struthers and Reiner both lift the material, it is far too thin.

2. Archie’s Dog Day Afternoon (March 12, 1977)

Almost the worst, and certainly the least funny episode of the series. The threadbare story has Archie feuding with Barney’s dog, Rusty, and then accidentally backing over its leg with his cab.

As weak and fluffy as the story is, the teleplay is just as bad. A lot of the jokes fall flat, and the scene at the vet is so unfunny that it may put you to sleep (bad pun intended).

1. Edith Writes a Song (October 9, 1971)

If you don’t believe the story, you don’t laugh. And that’s why this episode is terrible.

The Bunkers spend the first act debating whether to spend the family pot on a gun or put Edith’s poem to music. Many of the jokes fall flat.

Any hopes for salvaging the episode end when the family home is invaded by wisecracking burglars. The scene lacks realism, ruining almost all of the comedy. The plot is handled so clumsily and unbelievably—the burglars answer the phone when they’re supposed to be hiding out and don’t even take anything from the Bunkers—that any point the script tries to make gets lost. The series would handle the gun issue much better in the season three episode “Archie and the Editorial.”