“696 – Miley Cyrus/The Strokes”

The guest host may be the face of any given SNL episode, and he or she may make a big difference in terms of how successful the episode is, but ultimately it is up to the cast and the writers to determine if any particular episode is going to be a classic or not.  Hosts on the level of Jon Hamm and Zach Galifianakis can wring a few laughs out of mediocre premises, but it helps if the material is good in the first place.  Miley Cyrus was not among the very best hosts of the season, but she was perhaps the luckiest, arriving as she did on a week in which the cast and writers were clearly invigorated.  There were essentially no duds in the sketch lineup, and several strong performances were delivered from across the cast: Kenan as apl.de.ap and Raven Symoné, Andy as Taboo, Fred as Richie Inez, Jr., Bobby as Anthony Crispino, Bill as Charlie Sheen, Vanessa as Miley Cyrus, and Taran as Francois.

Next up: American Dad!