There’s an existential question that runs throughout “Saturday Night,” Jason Reitman’s love letter to the iconic “Saturday Night Live,” and its chaotic entry into the world on Oct. 11, 1975. People keep asking the show’s creator and producer, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) what, exactly, the show is? It’s a question he’s not able to answer until nearly the end of the movie, at about 11:15 p.m.

The film, which starts at 10 p.m., and takes place over the course of the 90 minutes leading up to the very first live show, utilizes an ominous ticking clock to countdown the minutes until showtime. Over the course of those 90 minutes (which the film, with a run time of 1 hour and 49 minutes, fudges a bit) whatever can go wrong already has, will, or is in the process of going wrong, swirling around the preternaturally calm eye of the storm, Lorne.

The existential question of what this show is or will be thrums underneath the constant churn of crisis that Lorne attempts to manage: will Belushi (Matt Wood) sign his contract? Will NBC exec David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) throw to a Johnny Carson rerun? How should Lorne’s estranged wife Rosie (Rachel Sennott) be credited? Can they find a lighting designer? And those are only a few of the quandaries, qualms and queries that Lorne constantly fields as he attempts to get something resembling television on the air by 11:30 p.m.

Reitman, who co-wrote the script with his longtime collaborator Gil Kenan, has said that he was inspired by a short stint guest-writing on “SNL” to structure this 50th anniversary tribute film around the 90 minutes before the show goes on air. Based on interviews with those who were there, the film is a cavalcade of stars, both in the young actors playing now familiar faces (Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner), and in a couple of high-profile actors making appearances as TV legends (Dafoe; J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle). Comedy nerds will delight in the presence of writers like Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener), Al Franken (Taylor Gray) and Herb Sargent (Tracy Letts).

But Reitman and the talented young cast manage to make “Saturday Night” much more than just young actors having fun in bell-bottoms and wigs. Shot on Super 16mm by Eric Steelberg with an antsy, roaming camera that swoons and zigzags up and down the hallways of 30 Rock, peering into dressing rooms and ping-ponging back and forth between the determined Lorne and his doubting partner, Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), there’s a wild, stimulant-addled energy to the film that is only enhanced by Jon Batiste’s jittery-jazzy score of piano and percussion (the musician also appears as musical guest Billy Preston).

Throughout the chaos, camaraderie and conflict, Reitman and Kenan thread snippets of biographical information, especially about Lorne and Rosie’s relationship, as well as these bigger-picture questions. We witness the nerves, excitement and burgeoning relationships and rivalries that gave the show its frenetic and electrifying energy, and cinematically, Reitman captures all of that and then some.

“Saturday Night” is enormously entertaining and at times excessively busy, though a few bright spots emerge from the crowd, delivering real performances. Smith is astonishing as the arrogant Chase, seemingly channeling him, and LaBelle, one of the most exciting young actors to come along in a long time, steadily and earnestly holds the center as a young Lorne, somehow remaining steadfast in his belief that the show will, and must, go on. Somehow, it does — as we knew it would — when Lorne surrenders to the madness.

As Lorne tries to explain the show to a group of NBC executives, he says that it’s television by and for the people who grew up on it. It’s a generational shift from the vaudeville roots embodied by Berle. He’s attempting to capture lighting in a bottle, to both create culture and reflect it back to the audience, to throw something at the wall and see if it sticks. That such a revolutionary program came about as the result of a contract dispute between NBC and Carson (as explicated in a blow-out argument between Dick and Lorne), only makes it all the more magical that it even exists.

Though “Saturday Night,” the film, feels ephemeral and somewhat fleeting, it represents something that has endured, and continues to, through the sheer force of will that is Lorne Michaels.

‘Saturday Night’

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language throughout, sexual references, some drug use and brief graphic nudity)

Running time: 1:49

How to watch: In select theaters Oct. 4, in wide release Oct. 11

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Federal investigators were unable to determine the cause of a fatal small-plane crash that killed Dave Rathbun, 52, of Hermantown, on Feb. 24, 2023, when the aircraft he was piloting crashed into the frozen St. Louis River near Grassy Point in West Duluth.

In its final report last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Rathbun’s 2016 Cirrus SR22 rapidly descended before striking the frozen river nose-down “for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.”

Investigation of the wreckage revealed no “preimpact mechanical malfunctions,” and the autopsy, hampered by the severity of his injuries, found “mild to moderate” narrowing of coronary arteries by plaque but “no other significant natural disease was identified,” the report said.

The autopsy on Rathbun’s body determined the cause of death to be “multiple blunt force injuries” and that it was an “accident.”

Rathbun, an engineer at Cirrus Aircraft for 26 years, was the plane’s only occupant.

According to the NTSB, Rathbun took off from the Duluth International Airport to reposition his plane to the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior, Wis., where it was stored.

It was flying at an altitude of 1,300 feet on a 4-mile approach for runway 14 at the Bong Airport when it “suddenly pitched down about” 30 degrees and crashed into the river, leaving a 300-foot trail of debris, the NTSB said. The crash happened at 4:07 p.m. — just 4 minutes after he took off.

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Dozens of volunteers are needed to rake yards and bag leaves for seniors and people with disabilities in Washington County.

Rake a Difference Day, sponsored by the nonprofit Community Thread, will be Oct. 26, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

Last year, Community Thread organized more than 225 volunteers to rake 298 bags of leaves for 39 homeowners. Volunteer groups included families, Scout troops, Rotary clubs, school groups, companies and neighborhood associations.

People interested in volunteering can call 651-439-7434 or visit communitythreadmn.org.

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By MICHAEL PHILLIS, JEFF AMY and BRITTANY PETERSON

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 5-gallon containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water.

Flooding tore through the city’s water system, destroying so much infrastructure that officials said repairs could take weeks. To make do, Anna Ramsey arrived Wednesday with her two children, who each left carrying plastic bags filled with 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of water.

“We have no water. We have no power. But I think it’s also been humbling,” Ramsey said.

Helene’s path through the Southeast left a trail of power outages so large the darkness was visible from space. Tens of trillions of gallons of rain fell and more than 200 people were killed, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, and search crews must trudge through knee-deep debris to learn whether residents are safe.

It also damaged water utilities so severely and over such a wide inland area that one federal official said the toll “could be considered unprecedented.” As of Thursday, about 136,000 people in the Southeast were served by a nonoperational water provider and more than 1.8 million were living under a boil water advisory, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Western North Carolina was especially hard hit. Officials are facing a difficult rebuilding task made harder by the steep, narrow valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains that during a more typical October would attract throngs of fall tourists.

“The challenges of the geography are just fewer roads, fewer access points, fewer areas of flat ground to stage resources” said Brian Smith, acting deputy division director for the EPA’s water division in the Southeast.

After days without water, people long for more than just a sponge bath.

“I would love a shower,” said Sue Riles in Asheville. “Running water would be incredible.”

The raging floodwaters of Helene destroyed crucial parts of Asheville’s water system, scouring out the pipes that convey water from a reservoir in the mountains above town that is the largest of three water supplies for the system. To reach a second reservoir that was knocked offline, a road had to be rebuilt.

Boosted output from the third source restored water flow in some southern Asheville neighborhoods Friday, but without full repairs schools may not be able to resume in-person classes, hospitals may not restore normal operations, and the city’s hotels and restaurants may not fully reopen.

Even water that’s unfit to drink is scarce. Drew Reisinger, the elected Buncombe County register of deeds, worries about people in apartments who can’t easily haul a bucket of water from a creek to flush their toilet. Officials are advising people to collect nondrinkable water for household needs from a local swimming pool.

“One thing no one is talking about is the amount of poop that exists in every toilet in Asheville,” he said. “We’re dealing with a public health emergency.”

It’s a situation that becomes more dangerous the longer it lasts. Even in communities fortunate enough to have running water, hundreds of providers have issued boil water notices indicating the water could be contaminated. But boiling water for cooking and drinking is time consuming and small mistakes can cause stomach illness, according to Natalie Exum, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Every day that goes by, you could be exposed to a pathogen,” Exum said. “These basic services that we take for granted in our everyday lives actually do do a lot to prevent illness.”

Travis Edwards’ faucet worked immediately after the storm. He filled as many containers as he could for himself and his child, but it didn’t take long for the flow to weaken, then stop. They rationed water, switching to hand sanitizer and barely putting any on toothbrushes.

“(We) didn’t realize how dehydrated we were getting,” he said.

Federal officials have shipped millions of gallons of water to areas where people also might not be able to make phone calls or switch on the lights.

Power has been restored to about 62% of homes and businesses and 8,000 crews are out working to restore power in the hardest hit parts of North Carolina, federal officials said Thursday. In 10 counties, about half of the cell sites are still down.

The first step for some utilities is simply figuring out how bad the damage is, a job that might require EPA expertise in extreme cases. Ruptured water pipes are a huge problem. They often run beneath roads, many of which were crumpled and twisted by floodwaters.

“Pretty much anytime you see a major road damaged, there’s a very good chance that there’s a pipe in there that’s also gotten damaged,” said Mark White, drinking water global practice leader at the engineering firm CDM Smith.

Generally, repairs start at the treatment plant and move outward, with fixes in nearby big pipes done first, according to the EPA.

“Over time, you’ll gradually get water to more and more people,” White said.

Many people are still missing people, and water repair employees don’t typically work around search and rescue operations. It takes a toll, according to Kevin Morley, manager of federal relations with the American Water Works Association.

“There’s emotional support that is really important for all the people involved. You’re seeing people’s lives just wiped out,” he said.

Even private well owners aren’t immune. Pumps on private wells may have lost power and overtopping floodwaters can contaminate them.

There’s often a “blind faith” assumption that drinking water won’t fail. In this case, the technology was insufficient, according to Craig Colten. Before retiring to Asheville, he was a professor in Louisiana focused on resilience to extreme weather. He hopes Helene will prompt politicians to spend more to ensure infrastructure withstands destructive storms.

And climate change will only make the problem more severe, said Erik Olson, a health and food expert at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

“I think states and the federal government really need to step back and start looking at how we’re going to prepare for these extreme weather events that are going to be occurring and recurring every single year,” he said.

Edwards has developed a system to save water. He’ll soap dirty dishes and rinse them with a trickle of water with bleach, which is caught and transferred to a bucket — useable for the toilet.

Power and some cell service have returned for him. And water distribution sites have guaranteed some measure of normalcy: Edwards feels like he can start going out to see friends again.

“To not feel guilty about using more than a cup of water to, like, wash yourself … I’m really, really grateful,” he said.

Phillis reported from St. Louis. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed from Washington.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment