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See what classic 'Saturday Night Live' character returned to discuss Trump

Actor Dana Carvey appeared on the most recent episode of 'SNL' to chat with Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as portrayed by Darrell Hammond and Taran Killam, respectively.

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Dana Edelson/NBC
Actors Dana Carvey (r.) and Taran Killam (l.) appear on 'Saturday Night Live.'

One of the most memorable characters on "Saturday Night Live" returned for the May 7 episode, with actor Dana Carvey's Church Lady appearing on the newest installment to discuss the election.

Mr. Carvey starred on the NBC program from 1986 to 1993 and appeared as the Church Lady, a woman named Enid Strict who hosts a program titled "Church Chat." She often harangues her guests for actions she views as sinful.  

Entertainment Weekly ranked the Church Lady as one of the best "SNL" characters of all time, with staff calling Carvey's segment "hilarious." 

Carvey's newest appearance as Ms. Strict included the Church Lady speaking with presidential candidates Donald Trump (Darrell Hammond) and Ted Cruz (Taran Killam). 

Carvey's character is one of many in the history of "SNL" that have popped up for repeat segments. 

Those on the show and those who watch it can be divided over whether recurring characters are a good idea and how often one should be used.

"I never had a problem with repeating characters," Buck Henry, who hosted the show several times, told authors James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales for the book "Live From New York." "I thought, why not keep going and doing it? You would only stop it if you had a concept that didn't live up to the characters."

Some reviewers criticize the show for what they see as relying too much on recurring characters. When Rolling Stone writers ranked the best "SNL" characters, they wrote of one of cast member Chevy Chase's characters, "[It's] the perfect example of a one-joke character who appears the exact right number of times (once) with the exact right number of jokes (one)."

"Bonus points for not trying to milk Gene Frenkle into a recurring bit," the magazine added about one of Will Ferrell's characters. 

However, the sheer amount of lists that rank the best recurring "SNL" characters show that many of them were a hit with viewers. Wayne Campbell, portrayed by Mike Myers, is among those who have appeared on the most episodes, according to Vulture, yet Wayne often makes lists of the best "SNL" characters ever, with Paste writer Kristen Blanton ranking Wayne and his sidekick Garth as the best to have appeared on the program.

The duo had an "inspired theme song with unforgettable lyrics," Ms. Blanton wrote of the segment.

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