“Our competition is not so much other television shows as it is Guitar Hero,” he said, referring to the popular video game. The strike wiped out nine scheduled “SNL” shows, and it came at the worst possible time.  “Election years are very good for us,” Mr. Michaels said. The last original show, on Nov. 5, bore that out. The “NBC Nightly News” anchor, Brian Williams, had proved to be a nimble — and popular — host, and Barack Obama was a surprise guest. It was the highest-rated ‘SNL’ show of the year.  “And then we were abruptly shut down,” Mr. Michaels said, adding, “It was one of the most frustrating periods of my life.”  The Iowa caucuses were in the news. And there was so much delicious political material to come. “We missed Mike Huckabee,” Mr. Michaels said. “We never got our shot at Mitt Romney.”  Seth Meyers, the show’s head writer, said, “While we were off, the media called the race over about eight different times.”  Unlike the other staples of late-night television, from Leno to Letterman to Stewart, “SNL” could not easily buck the strike by going back into production, though Mr. Michaels said he considered it.  “The other shows could limp back on the air,” he said. “I thought this cast is talented enough that they could have tried to go on with something written by them.” But he said such an act could have sabotaged the collaboration between writers and performers that is the backbone of the show. Mr. Meyers, for example, was often outside the General Electric building in Manhattan, where the show is performed, walking around carrying a sign and shivering. He said the show’s writers kept on their toes by making wisecracks.  “We formed a wisecrack circle,” he said. He added that the writers at least “stayed in shape” with all that walking and “not having money for food.”  With the strike finally over, Mr. Michaels said he would like to make up for lost time — and wages — by squeezing in as many new shows as feasible before the end of May. “I hope we can do two more in April and two in May,” Mr. Michaels said. That would bring the total “SNL” output for the year to 12 shows, at best, well down from the 20 that had been scheduled.  To make that number, Mr. Michaels had to break his three-decade-old rule about the dreaded four in a row. That’s no problem because the staff seems so happy to be back at work. “But we’ll be comedy-writing the joy right out of everybody,” Mr. Meyers said. “By Friday we’ll all hate each other.”  With an eye toward making the return show come off as smooth as possible — and because he knew the phone number by heart — Mr. Michaels asked Ms. Fey to step in as host this week. Ms. Fey first gained fame on “SNL” as a writer and performer before moving on to the show she created and now stars in, “30 Rock.”  Mr. Michaels acknowledged that Ms. Fey has enough on her plate in trying to get her own show ready to go. “It couldn’t come at a worse time for her,” he said. “But she didn’t know why I was calling.” So she answered the phone and sealed her fate.  Mr. Michaels said that even with her familiarity with the show, he picked Ms. Fey as host because “it was just the right time for her.” He noted that she had won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Producers Guild award in recent months, “all in stealth fashion.” Next week’s host is Ellen Page, star of the Oscar-nominated film “Juno.” After that things get murky until May when Shia LeBoeuf and Steve Carell are committed, largely because both have films (“Indiana Jones” for Mr. LeBoeuf and “Get Smart” for Mr. Carell) opening this spring.  Other committed guests went by the boards over the 100-day strike, including actors like Edie Falco and Ben Affleck. The singer Amy Winehouse had also been scheduled to appear. “I don’t think anyone can put that back together,” Mr. Michaels said.  Despite the worries about whether fans can be coaxed back, Mr. Michaels and Mr. Meyers said they were delighted to be back to the “SNL” grind.  “We’re going to have to do Obama this week,” Mr. Michaels said. “We need to find our Obama.”  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page E1 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘SNL’ Is Ready to Make Up for Lost Time (Clinton and Obama, Beware). Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Lorne Michaels says he recognizes that “SNL” needs to re-establish a pattern of viewer expectations because the show is vulnerable in ways it never has been before.