October 1980, most of the original cast members  (Dan Aykroyd (qv), Bill Murray (I) (qv), Gilda Radner (qv),  Jane Curtin (qv), etc.), who had all since left the show, reunited  to put together a special that would parody the upcoming  presidential election between Jimmy Carter (I) (qv) and  Ronald Reagan (I) (qv). The special was to air live on November 1  1980. But just a few days before the special was to air, Carter and  Reagan decided to do another televised debate on November 1. Live  coverage of the debate forced NBC to reschedule. NBC offered  Lorne Michaels (qv) the chance to do the special the following  week, but Michaels refused because it would have been after the  election and the material would no longer be topical.