Saturday Night Live kicked off its 39th season on Saturday with host Tina Fey, musical guest Arcade Fire, a surprise appearance by Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul and the introduction of six new SNL cast members. That’s right, six new faces will be gracing the show this year.
Gone are the days of Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis, all for whom called the 2012-2013 season of SNL their last. Seth Meyers will also be leaving the show this February to host Late Night, after an impressive seven years behind the desk of Weekend Update. A strong group of comedians and characters we have all come to know and love are gone, yes, but impressive fresh talent will fill the gap: Beck Bennett, Noel Wells, Michael O’Brien, Brooks Wheelan, Kyle Mooney and John Milhiser bring experience and impassioned acting. You may recognize a few of these actors from their previous work – Bennett is the guy from the AT&T commercials and O’Brien trained with The Second City (which performed at St. Olaf a few weeks ago!) before auditioning for SNL.
Fey, an SNL alumna, is one of the show’s greatest success stories, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Throughout her reappearance Saturday night, she was easily the best part of each skit, effortlessly transitioning from an Albanian woman with a fake hand to a former porn star attempting to sell a pair of Manolo Blahniks. She was, however, a little excessive in doling out the advice throughout the show, using her opening sketch to instruct the newbies in the ways of SNL, and later taking a few moments during the Weekend Update to give new anchor Cecily Strong some pointers.
For Breaking Bad fanatics, this episode was also full of references to the hit TV show and its upcoming finale. Aaron Paul made appearances in three sketches, one of which involved him talking about Walter White’s cancer during Obama’s speech on Obamacare, a sketch which ended with Obama almost revealing the dramatic ending to the series.
Finally, Arcade Fire returned as musical guest for the third time, sporting some wacky outfits and showcasing their creative spirit. Lead female vocalist Régine Chassagne even sang from inside a reflective box. Artsy?
Overall, the episode was a strong start to a new season – especially given the fact that it was the first show for half of the cast. Tina Fey was a welcome return to the show, and although the newbies have a lot to live up to, they are off to a good start.