Flakiest Night of the Week

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Nothing is wasted on the show. For the first one, Rosie Michaels thought of the Bees, the repertory company dressed up in striped costumes with springy antennae, who descended on a startled host. But nobody laughed. Then Candy Bergen fell in love with them and became a Bee for the Bee-capades. Now the Bees are a staple. Recently they became South American killer bees who crossed the border crying, "Your pollen or your wife!"

SN was devised as a development project from which people and ideas could be spun off. In fact, the whole show may be spun off by NBC. The network is anxious to air a prime-time special. But Ebersol and Michaels fear that could kill the whole thing. "And if it did work," says Ebersol with a sigh, "we'd have to think up a whole new idea for late Saturday night."