UNDERRATED

Maria Bartiromo: Sometimes in a crisis, all you need is a friendly face. Bartiromo’s “Closing Bell” on CNBC is a levelheaded antidote to the financial hysteria, though that “Money Honey” nickname is too gauche. If she’s good enough for Joey Ramone to write a song about, she’s good enough for us.

John Oliver of ‘The Daily Show’: Though the election is long over, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out the work Jon Stewart’s “senior British correspondent” delivered during the “Indecision” season and beyond, most memorably with an absurdist investigation of CNN’s John King’s “magic wall.” OVERRATED

Vince Vaughn as holiday star: We realize that “Four Christmases” has become a jingle-belled 800-pound gorilla at the box office, but it breaks our heart just a little to see the fast-talking star of “Swingers” and “Made” having to navigate through this bit of PG-13 slapstick with Reese Witherspoon.

Auto-Tune as instrument: Yes, we’re kind of digging Kanye’s new record, but now that the electronic pitch-perfecter has reached its logical extreme, can everyone go back to singing or rapping? If we really wanted to hear a heartbroken robot, we’d cue up a “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” DVD.