Goodby-
Initially Lear had planned to end the show after season 8 and All in the Family: The Stivics Go West would have served as the finale. Moreover there was even a goodbye party after that episode taping and a People Magazine cover to commemorate the supposed finale. However, Carroll O’Connor and CBS wanted the show to continue! So in the end, Lear and Tandem Productions relented while Jean Stapleton was convinced to return, but Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were not.
Goodby
Arc
So the clever story arc of Gloria’s pregnancy and birth of Baby Joey was originally meant for season five. However those plans were quickly put on pause because of Carroll O’Connor’s holdout to begin that season, which thus resulted in newer scripts to start the season to explain Archie’s unexpected absence.
Arc
