That reminds me, early 80's after the original bunch had departed SNL, the show other than Eddie Murphy was horrible and was almost cancelled at one point.
Late 80's there was a complete upturn with the addition of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon and Mike Myers. Here's one of my favorite routines by my favorite all-time member, Phil Hartman as Regan, and it's really not the same kind of lampooning that is done nowadays, but rather tries to make Regan out to be a genius.
President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL - YouTube