It would be difficult to overestimate the impact that Canadian writer-producer Lorne Michaels had on modern American TV comedy and rock music programming. Perhaps more than any other figure, he was responsible for mainstreaming so-called countercultural values – e.g., jokes about sex, drugs and rock'n'roll; left-leaning politics – through that most pervasive of mediums. As the Emmy-winning creator and producer of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ), Michaels was not only responsible for helming one of the longest-running comedy and variety programs in television history, but for shepherding a bonafide pop culture phenomenon that, with few exceptions, remained as cutting edge and relevant in its later seasons as it did during its debut 1975 season....