Although “Saturday Night Live” lost its magic touch, as well as its wide popularity during the past few years, Tina Fey and her impressions of Sarah Palin brought more humor to the show ever since the new season began.

And NBC executives made the most of it. The Alaska governor herself made an appearance on the late-night program and so did John McCain. In addition, the network put off its usual Monday night lineup so as to air a two-hour special, “Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2008,” which combined old funny moments and new sketches.

Ratings were boosted impressively, as Sarah Palin drew an estimated 15 million viewers on October 18, a result that represents the show’s highest audience in 14 years. Moreover, approximately 12 million people tuned in for John McCain’s act on “SNL,” while Monday’s special lured 14.4 million viewers, according to estimates released by Nielsen Media Research. Thus, NBC saw its best ratings on a Monday evening since the Golden Globes in January 2007.

If the network had run its regular 8 to 10 p.m. programs, “Heroes” and “My Own Worst Enemy,” it would have definitely scored less, as the shows are usually outshined by other networks’ lineups.

Now that elections are over, “Saturday Night Live” and its creators will have to think of other spoofs, less political maybe. We can imagine a couple of more episodes featuring Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin (we’d actually love it), but, unfortunately, all good things come to an end.