It seemed like a good idea at the time. Take Steve Martin, who did a solid job hosting the Oscars in 2001 and 2003, and throw in Alec Baldwin - who is experiencing a mid-career renaissance - as his comic foil. The pre-show buzz was positive. Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger was salivating over the pairing: "Does everyone else love this idea as much as I do?" He wasn't alone -- many viewers were anticipating sparks. Sadly, the duo failed to provide any.

Their co-hosting gig won't be remembered as a David Letterman-style disaster, but don't expect them to be asked back. They just didn't gel as a comedy duo - their opening routine was a slap-dash affair, a machine-gun delivery of a few celeb-related quips that wouldn't feel out of place on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, along with some jokey insults the two lobbed at each other. There were also a few lame puns, including Martin pretending to mistake the phrase "clothes horse" for "clothes whores." Ba-boom.

One of the few highlights was when Baldwin claimed that Martin loved Invictus because it combined two of his favourite things: rugby and tension between blacks and whites. After their underwhelming kick-off shtick, the co-hosts practically disappeared from the broadcast, save for a mildly amusing parody of the bedroom scenes in the horror hit Paranormal Activity. Given Baldwin's amazing gifts for mimicry, we could have used more pre-recorded pieces poking fun at the nominated films.

Yep, hosting the Oscars is a tough gig. But you can't really have a comedy duo with two funny men. Someone has to play it straight and set up the punch lines -- otherwise the rhythm is all wrong. Where have you gone, Billy Crystal?