It was announced on Tuesday that veteran emcee Steve Martin will join rookie Alec Baldwin to co-host the 82^nd annual Academy Awards.

Anyone else feeling a little underwhelmed?

Don’t get me wrong. There is no doubt that both these guys are stellar hosts. Martin hosted the Oscars in 2001 and 2003, earning an Emmy nod for the ’01 telecast. And both have graced the SNL main stage, what, like a gazillion times? (Actually, it is 15 for Martin and 14 for Baldwin). And I think they are great comedians. 30 Rock? Great. Three Amigos? All time fave. In fact, I am even looking forward to the duo sharing the big screen this holiday season in It’s Complicated, along with Meryl Streep. (Speaking of, what if It’s Complicated flops? How awkward will that be? We do not need a repeat of Megan Fox hosting SNL after Jennifer’s Body bombed at the box office.)

Producers Bill Mechanic and Alan Shankman (yes, the So You Think You Can Dance judge) think that “Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars… Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.” No offense Shankman, but you directed Martin in Bringing Down the House and Cheaper By the Dozen 2, so I don’t exactly trust your opinion on what is (or is not) entertaining.

Personally, I think having co-hosts in general is kind of a dumb idea. First of all, the host is on TV for like 15 minutes the whole show. Is that really such a burden you need to split it? Plus, while the Academy hasn’t used multiple hosts since the ’80s, we all remember what happened when the Emmy 2008 telecast was hosted by various reality TV personalities. Even my beloved Tom Bergeron couldn’t salvage that disaster of a show!

I think my biggest problem with this pair is how downright traditional it is. It is no secret that award’s shows ratings have been plummeting in recent years, but we have had this string of really great telecasts recently – last year, with Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars; most recently, Neil Patrick Harris puttin on one heck of a show at the Emmys; and soon we will have Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes.

You would think that the Academy would be looking for something new, something different, to top these recent successes. And ‘new’ and ‘different’ aren’t exactly words that describe 64 year old Steve Martin.

Perhaps they were worried they had enough on their plate with the TEN Best Picture nominees…. We will save that rant for another day.

Danielle is the Television and movies Editor  for Girls Guide. You can check out her personal blog, Addicted to Television, where she talks about her television obsession. If you want to give her free movie passes she wouldn’t be shy in taking them, so you can email them to her at danielle [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and you can follow her on Twitter – @daniellesmyname.