Recollections of "All in the Family" treat it like it was a masterfully-planned and fully-baked idea. However according to a thing I read, the prejudiced Archie Bunker character was meant to be a buffoonish foil. Audiences loved Carroll O’Connor's character so much and made the show so successful that they let him run wild even though it went against the shitlib theme of the show. He was retooled as prejudiced but with a good heart. Today he is about the only thing remembered about the show, lol.