‘Saturday Night Live’ Recap: 'Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul Steals Show, 6 New Cast Members Debut

Saturday Night Live premiered its 39th season with veteran cast member Tina Fey introducing the half-dozen new players and Aaron Paul dropping by as his Breaking Bad character Jesse Pinkman.

Cold Open:

Jay Pharaoh reprised his impersonation of Barack Obama for a town hall meeting focused on the ever-controversial Obamacare, which provided laughs for those on each side of the political aisle. One woman enthuses about her ability to now be reckless with her health; Ted Cruz (Taran Killam) makes some arguments with the help of Dr. Seuss; a young woman confuses Apple Care with Obamacare. And then, Jesse Pinkman stops by to talk about his poor buddy Walter White.

“I had this friend and he got sick… like cancer sick. But because there wasn’t Obamacare, he couldn’t afford the treatments so he was backed into a corner," he said. "You know what I mean? So he did what any of us would have done; he started cooking meth. And soon it wasn’t just meth, it was murder… and no regular murder. He blew half a guys face off.”

Tina Fey & The New Players:

As host and someone who starred on SNL for nine years, Tina Fey introduced the comedy sketch show’s new members – Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Mike O'Brien, Noel Wells and Brooks Wheelan. After welcoming them to the stage, Fey made them dance behind her during her opening number in gold lame shorts for a bit of hazing. The new players were also broken in though a game show hosted by Kennan Thompson later in the night.

More Aaron Paul/ Breaking Bad:

Aaron Paul appeared in two more skits during SNL’s premiere – once with Drunk Uncle at the News Desk and again during an e-meth commercial. Paul joined Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle as his Meth Nephew who insisted on watching the Breaking Bad finale before they broke into a rendition of “Dance with Somebody.” At the end of the fake promo for an electronic meth pipe, Paul contributes, “E-meth – you know it’s good ‘cuz it’s blue, b–ch.”

Weekend Update:

Cecily Strong made her debut as Seth Meyers’ cohost on Weekend update on Saturday night, and gave a commendable – though jittery – performance. Host Fey approached Strong during the skit to offer some words of advice: “Keep your head down, you do your time," said Fey. "Your first day, you walk over to the biggest guy in the yard and you punch him in the mouth. Don't mess with Texas. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Believe in your nightmares."

Airport:

Probably the SNL premiere’s best skit starred Fey and Killam as airport employees boarding passengers on a flight – one special circumstance at a time. First were the elderly, next were those traveling with small children and children traveling with small parents. What were to follow were the X-Men first class, foreigners selectively understanding English, people with oversized carry-ons, graph-making business travels, etc. Meanwhile, a couple (Kate McKinnon and Bennett), who were none of those things, never got on the overbooked flight.

Musical Guest:

Arcade Fire gave an energetic performance on the SNL stage with tracks “Reflecktor,” “Here Comes the Night Time” and “After Life.”

– Chelsea Regan

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