Article: `SNL' and the Censors; NBC Holds the Line Against Controversy

For years the writers of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" have sallied forth to tilt with the windmill of network censorship. Now the battle seems to have reached a turning point. The windmill is winning.

"It used to be more of a fight," says producer Lorne Michaels. "Now it's just a flat `no.' " Michaels, who produced the first five seasons of the show, and the past two, says many of the sketches done during the satirical program's heyday in the late '70s would never get past network censors now. At least one network censor agrees.

"Saturday Night Live" returns for its 13th season on Oct. 17, with last year's cast intact. Steve Martin will host the first show; it will be announced in New ...

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