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I can't think of any host's career being ruined by a crappy SNL episode--but then, I can't think of many episodes crappier than this one. Michael Phelps was a better host--but in January's defense, she wasn't quite as awful as Paris Hilton.

I actually wasn't totally sold on the Taylor Swift episode--she was definitely enthusiastic, and that alone made her the best female host of this season so far, easily. I think it's inevitable that they'll bring her back, and I hope that the second time they're willing to do some newer material. Penelope and Scared Straight were pretty by-the-book--she didn't even really do anything in Scared Straight aside from the initial sight gag of seeing the totally non-intimidating Taylor Swift portraying a hardened criminal. It seemed like she was so excited to be in those favorite sketches of hers that she and the writers didn't bother doing anything different with them; they were just meant to duplicate the way those sketches go.

Which brings me to a point about one thing severely wrong with this current era of SNL--they have no idea how to write recurring characters. It's like they use fill-in-the-blank templates. Kristen Wiig did the flustered lesbian reporter twice before--it's the same thing every time. Jon Bovi is at least moving onto other bands, but it doesn't make it any less irritating and repetitive. You know exactly what to expect every time there's a Target lady/Gilly/[insert any Kristen Wiig character here] sketch. It's not necessarily that the setting or even the premise needs to change every time--every MacGruber boils down to preventing an explosion at some irrelevant building. Yet every MacGruber sequence has something to distinguish it from every other installment. It and the two a-holes are about the only recurring sketches from this current cast that give you something different each time, even with the trademark bits that are repeated in each one.

While I'm complaining, why is it that in the last 10 years or so, this show either totally underuses its female cast (the current featured players, Rachel Dratch in non-Debbie Downer roles) or allows them to oversaturate and dominate the show with annoying characters to the point of backlash (Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler)? Every once in a while they manage to strike a good balance (Ana Gasteyer, Michaela Watkins). I didn't include Casey Wilson, who wasn't used often but wasn't funny at all when she was so no big loss; or Tina Fey, who I love on 30 Rock but I still think her SNL stuff aside from Palin is awful and annoying and her stint as head writer really ruined the show in a lot of ways. But her onscreen presence was generally limited to Update so I left her out.

To end on a more positive note--no love for this week's digital short? It was one-note but it cracked me up. For some reason I lost it at the headphones part.