At its best, The Andy Griffith Show consistently mixed humor and sentiment in perfect proportions. The show never left Nielsen’s top 10 during its eight-year run, and fans still adore its feel-good vibes and laugh-out-loud moments.

However, there’s a massive gap in quality between the show’s black and white seasons and its frequently awful color episodes. With the departures of Don Knotts and producer Aaron Ruben after the fifth season, comedy often ceased to be a concern during the final three seasons, and the show lost almost all traces of its quirky, country flavor. Here are 10 times the series didn’t have viewers whistling a happy tune. (Surprise! One is from the black and white days.)

Mayberry R.F.D.

April 1, 1968

Backdoor pilots are seldom popular with viewers, and this is no exception. It’s particularly disappointing because it’s the final episode of The Andy Griffith Show.

Not only is the episode seldom amusing, but it doesn’t even closely resemble the spinoff that followed. While this segment focuses on Mayberry R.F.D. protagonist Sam Jones, the episode’s central concern centers on his dealings with the Vincente family, who have recently arrived in the United States. The Vincentes encompass nearly every Italian cliché in the book, and they couldn’t be more obnoxious. It’s no wonder they were not carried over into the subsequent series.

Sam for Town Council

March 11, 1968

The transition to Mayberry R.F.D. began with this episode that introduces Ken Berry’s dull Sam Jones character. Like so many color episodes, it’s boring and unfunny, but it also lacks the series’ good feelings, as Emmett’s friends support Sam Jones over him in the race for head of the city council. Even that conflict brings no comedic tension to the episode.

The plot is a headscratcher as Sam Jones has never been mentioned before, but he’s suddenly best pals with all of Mayberry’s men. Even the credits mess up as Roy Engel’s Mr. Parkins character is mislabeled as Mrs. Parkins.

Opie’s Drugstore Job

January 15, 1968

Like Aunt Bee, Opie long ago stopped being written as a comedic character. This slow-moving episode finds him working a part-time job at a drugstore’s soda fountain.

There’s almost no comedy, and the plot twist, if you can call it one, has Opie breaking what he believes to be an expensive bottle of perfume. It turns out the bottle was just for display and contained no perfume. Wouldn’t Opie have realized that when he cleaned up his mess? Despite lifeless episodes like this one, the series still managed to ascend to first place in the ratings during its final season.

A Trip to Mexico

September 25, 1967

Few laughs. No good feelings. And a contrived plot.

When Aunt Bee wins an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Mexico, she is torn over which one of her dear friends to ask to accompany her—Clara or Myrtle. Clara, with whom she has been friends for decades. Or Myrtle, a character invented just to make the plot work.

It wasn’t worth the trouble, as it yielded an unpleasant episode. Bee decides to ask both women to pay for only half of their trip. The result? The ungrateful crones start fighting before their flight even leaves, and they continue their petty nastiness throughout the journey. Although it’s later indicated they had some good times on the trip, it’s hard to believe based on what we were shown.

The Senior Play

November 14, 1966

An unfunny half hour, even by color episode standards. Helen Crump helps Mayberry teenagers mount a high school play. Their contemporary dances offend the principal, who shuts down the production. Grumpy Crump demonstrates that the dances of his day were just as risqué and convinces him to let the play go ahead.

Despite the potential for comedic tension, the by-the-numbers plot fails to elicit laughs.

Three Wishes for Opie

December 21, 1964

Although this episode has its fans, I’m not one of them. Its gimmicky plot makes it the weakest black-and-white segment.

Crabby Helen is distraught because she believes Andy has been spreading the rumor that they are getting married. As if there were even a remote chance Andy would do so.  It turns out that Barney was gossiping about their potential nuptials, something he has done repeatedly, including in the previous episode!

If that weren’t dumb enough, Barney thought they were getting married because Opie wished for it to happen. His belief was based on some other Opie wishes that came true thanks to ridiculous coincidences. It’s all quite hokey and seldom funny. The show’s upcoming decline in quality was foreshadowed by a largely disappointing final black-and-white season, as episodes began to lack energy, with too many rehashed stories and worn-out jokes.

Helen’s Past

February 19, 1968

Andy discovers a newspaper photo of Helen being arrested in Kansas City, with the accompanying story conveniently missing. Andy fails to ask Helen about the photo, and Goober and Howard spy the clipping on Andy’s desk. Soon, everyone except Helen is aware of rumors about her.

Andy discovers the unlikely truth that Helen had gone undercover as part of her thesis on organized crime, and all charges against her were subsequently dismissed.

The dumb plot and paucity of laughs are exacerbated by Goober’s stupid and annoying behavior, which is unfortunate because he had recently been portrayed as being more mature. Oddly, Helen acts relatively low-key, even though in many episodes she has gone ballistic over seemingly minor issues.

Wyatt Earp Rides Again

January 31, 1966

An uncharacteristic episode that barely resembles The Andy Griffith Show. Much of the segment involves guest characters— a Wild West Show promoter and his main attraction, a wimpy-looking but surprisingly tough alleged relative of Wyatt Earp. Little of note happens in much of the episode.

It briefly appears the plot is going to turn into a spoof of High Noon, but the script never fully commits to that direction. The conclusion is dumb, and by this point, it’s difficult to imagine anyone cares. On a positive note, this is the last episode in which the watered-down Barney replacement, Warren, appears.

The Gypsies

February 21, 1966

This is sixties sitcom silliness at its worst. The gypsy episode was a standard trope around this time in TV history and it’s a shame to see the Andy Griffith Show stoop to this gimmick, especially when the results are so poor.

The gypsies cheat, steal, tell fortunes and put a curse on Andy. And the citizens of Mayberry act incredibly naïve and stupid, becoming easy marks and believing a gypsy curse is causing a dry spell. No surprise, there are no genuine laughs in this one.

The Church Organ

December 13, 1965

At best, there is a smile here and there. But there are no laughs in this clunker. And that’s hardly the only problem with the series’ worst episode.

The church needs to replace its aging organ, but in very un-Mayberry fashion, everyone backs out of their pledges to contribute money to pay for a new organ. The conclusion is embarrassingly bad. Clara Edwards charms a single farmer into selling his organ to the church in payments over time by singing “Some Enchanted Evening” while playing said organ. Apparently, he’d never seen a woman before if he fell for that sourpuss.