On this day in 1978, Saturday Night Live stars talk throwing a U.S. election

Last night, the results of the Iowa caucuses came in and U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat out Bernie Sanders by winning six consecutive coin tosses. While the outcome has serious implications for American politics, by the weekend, Saturday Night Live will probably have turned the event into a joke about a nickel and a prayer.

The famed sketch comedy show has always made political commentary part of its humour, bridging the gap between affairs of state and pop culture with spot-on impressions of U.S. presidents. The hit list ranges from Chevy Chase as President Ford to Dana Carvey as George Bush to Kate McKinnon's recent impression of Hillary Clinton.

On February 2, 1978, a 34-year old Lorne Michaels and beloved star Gilda Radner appeared on CBC's 90 Minutes Live to chat about the beginnings of their new comedy show, Saturday Night Live. It was a risky move; at the end of the 1970s, as sketch shows were giving way to sitcoms, the Canadian producer had created a weekly sketch comedy show, taped before a live audience.  Watch as Michaels and Radner describe the time SNL tried to throw the U.S. presidential election...for real.

Visit the CBC Digital Archives for more throwbacks like this one.