In 1985, Saturday Night Live’s returning writer Michael O’Donoghue publicly criticised the programme, calling it “an embarrassment” and comparing it to watching old men die. His remarks followed a short, troubled return under creator Lorne Michaels and illustrated the creative turmoil that threatened to undermine the show’s relaunch.

O’Donoghue had been rehired when Michaels returned after five years away, but his plan to make short films did not come to fruition and a proposed monologue mocking host Chevy Chase was never broadcast. He was dismissed after only about a month, while the season’s inexperienced cast and uneven sketches attracted widespread criticism; most of that cast was replaced after the season.