NBC’s Saturday Night Live television show has seen its fortunes wax and wane at various times. I have been a loyal watcher of the show since the last year of the original comedy troupe. I am not one of those who think that the show never recovered from the the departure of the original cast but I do recognize when it was good and when it was bad.

Much of the quality of the show is dependent on who are the cast members at any given time. I think that the ensemble in the early 90’s with Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Janice Hooks were at least as comparable to the original cast. This year’s ensemble is not too bad but lacks any real outstanding talent that people will recognize in a flash.

One thing though that always have kept the show relevant is its takes on the current political situation of the moment and this year’s election is no different. The dynamics of the race truly make it different in the approaches that can be taken on the show. Early this year, the ongoing campaign between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama made the show skits topic of much commentary that spilled over into the news shows. The current presidential campaign would have its moments for satire but when Sarah Palin was picked as the vice presidential candidate for the Republicans, the show had a source of material that will keep on giving. Palin’s most recent interview with CBS which most discussion thereof have classified charitably as incoherent has proven to be fodder for numerous Youtube videos and parodies. But as always, the writers at Saturday Night Live managed to nail it perfectly.