#20 The Sisters: Jack Elam's character, Pack Landers, is over the top in this one.  He is trying to steal from the nuns, and he calls them 'black crows' which is very offensive by today's standards.  Not one of the good ones for me.

#19 The River I & The River II: Jack Elam and Miriam Colon's characters are a plus, but the idea of these two little kids being out on the river with the rapids and all is far-fetched.  The helicopter scenery in the beginning is good, but it just isn't one of the best episodes.

#18 Catawomper: The two characters, Bud and Kate, bickering and fussing all the time is annoying.  And the idea of Kate going to San Francisco to play the guitar and sing is just silly.  The whole thing just doesn't work for me.

#17 The Miracle Man: Is Sullivan a good guy, or a bad guy?  The plot seems conflicting.  He seems like he is good with the widow's kids and shows them magic tricks and all, but he's plotting against the widow in the land deal.  We don't even know what his interest is in that.  Not one of the good ones.

#16 Hard Labor: The premise of a shady and partly demented judge putting convicts to work in his silver mine is 'out there'.  And the actor who plays Latch should not have been the same actor as the bad guy in the Hostage.  James Arness handled it like a pro, but the episode overall, well, stinks.

#15 Call Me Dodie: Once this girl escapes from the orphanage, I doubt it would have been easy for anyone to bring her back.  At least Matt comes in there at the end and sees what the situation is and promises to clean it up.  Still not one of my favorites.

#14 Slocum: I like the idea of Will Gear in a Gunsmoke episode, and I like his dog, but this one just doesn't work for me.  Four members of the Riker family are killed over one of the sons cheating at cards.  Seems a little silly.

#13 The Avengers: This one just kills me.  Doc's character seems to like the kangaroo court proceedings, and in reality, I think Doc would find it ridiculous.  The whole thing is ridiculous.

#12 The Boy and the Sinner: What can I say about this?  No part of it works.  Just watch it and see what you think.

#11 Little Girl: Now, Matt is a smart man.  When he finds a little girl alone on the prairie it looks like the first thing he would ask is 'do you have any relatives nearby?'  But he doesn't.  He drags this kid all over Dodge and still never asks the question.

#10 Arizona Midnight: The idea of an elephant in Dodge is, yes, way out there.  This one doesn't work on any level.

#9 Brides and Grooms: This could have been okay with a better story.  And we wanted to at least see them all get married, but we didn't even get that!  Just a bunch of fighting.

#8 The Sharecroppers: What a sad way for a twenty-year run to end.  Festus is the only thing this episode has going for it.

#7 Manolo: These people get worked into a frenzy over a son and father fighting each other.  I realize it is a cultural thing, but the fight scenes with all the spectators clapping their hands is a little on the creepy side.  Jess Walton's acting in this one is, well, terrible.

#6 The Boots: I just can't stand the kid's whining.  It's really irritating.

#5 Champion of the World: No one could be as big of a push-over as Bull Bannock.  Alan Hale does a good job with it, but the character is just flawed.  And the professor is an all-out crook.  This one could have been much better.

#4 Sergeant Holly: I don't have anything to say about this except it is terrible.

#3 The War Priest: I am certainly not easy to offend, but Sgt. Holly calls Kitty some names in this episode that are unbelievably offensive. 

#2 Captain Sligo: I'm speechless.

#1 To Ride a Yeller Horse: First of all, the snooty character, Joan Shepherd, would never say 'yeller', so I don't know why they came up with this.  Joan wants the best for her daughter and son.  She thinks she could have been the wife of the governor because of an invitation she never quite got when she was 16.  The character is delusional at best.  And Parker Stevenson doesn't do anything but look good.   I know, I'm brutal.  But this one reeks.