October 19th, 2005
Underrated comic-book creator: Paul Chadwick
Why? Chadwick's Dark Horse-published creation Concrete was widely celebrated during the black-and-white comics boom of the early '80s, but as the market splintered into critically lauded, bookstore-friendly art-comics and disreputable-but-cult-supported superhero fare, Concrete fell through the proverbial cracks. (It hasn't helped that Chadwick has spent more time lately working as the architect of The Matrix's online gaming universe than as a comic-book writer-artist.) The recent miniseries Concrete: The Human Dilemma reminded longtime fans of the unique quality of Chadwick's rock-hewn adventurer. Concrete's keenly analytical human brain, awkwardly oversized alien body, and deep social conscience make him a hero who thinks more than he acts, and Chadwick has developed a drawing style that keeps the action moving while unveiling the hundred little details that underlie every decision.
The evidence: Dark Horse is in the process of reprinting all the Concrete collections in fine new editions. Each stands alone as a full, comprehensible story, but the best places to start are the odds-and-sods collections Depths and Heights, and—once the new edition comes out next spring—the emotionally devastating carjacking thriller Killer Smile, which belongs on any list of the all-time greatest graphic novels.
Underrated book/movie/TV franchise: Gidget
Why? Though the character of Gidget often gets unfairly lumped in with the beach-party movie craze of the early '60s, she actually has a more respectable pedigree. Austrian immigrant and Hollywood screenwriter Frederick Kohner was so fascinated by his teenage daughter's surfing obsession that in 1957 he wrote a J.D. Salinger-esque novel in her voice, dissecting Malibu Beach culture and the perils of being an adolescent girl in a world built for boys. The bestselling book became a hit movie, with Sandra Dee in the title role, followed by two other movies with a rotating cast of Gidgets, none as good as Dee. Then in 1965, TV producer William Asher and writer Ruth Brooks Flippen created the Gidget television series, with a perfectly cast Sally Field as the brainy, popular surfer girl who wishes she were beautiful but has to settle for cute.
The evidence: The TV series has yet to make it to DVD, though it pops up on TV Land from time to time, and who knows if we'll ever see video releases of the scattered Gidget TV movies, which follow the character's journey into marriage and suburbia. (TiVo owners should "WishList" 1972's sublimely silly Gidget Gets Married, which occasionally shows on Encore's Love Channel.) The original three-film series is available in a cheap DVD mini-box—pan-and-scan only, regrettably—and though they're flawed, the movies make for a valuable study of evolving teensploitation cinema trends. (Dig the crazy Federico Fellini turns of Gidget Goes To Rome.) But the best place to start is with Kohner's book, still in print after all these years, and still a slangy, salty look at growing up wet on the California coast.
Underrated Food Network chef: Sara Moulton
Why? Emeril is too much of a "personality," Mario Batali seems a bit smug, and Bobby Flay puts mango in everything, but Sara Moulton is the perfect TV chef. On her show, Sara's Secrets, Moulton is never too cheerful or too showy. She simply comes off as a thorough instructor, patiently explaining her way through a recipe repertoire that rivals Julia Child's. At a time when Food Network has a glut of shows that teach semi-cooking (like Rachael Ray's can-opening extravaganza 30 Minute Meals, and the appropriately-titled Semi-Homemade Cooking), Moulton actually makes all of her meals from scratch. She also has frequent guest chefs on hand to help her cook her way through more complicated fare, and to test out more exotic cuisines (like, say, Chinese).
The evidence: Unlike former Burger King spokeswoman Rachael Ray, Moulton has the culinary credentials to back up her cooking show: She attended the Culinary Institute of America, and worked as the executive chef at Gourmet before turning to television.
Underrated auteurs: George Roy Hill and Michael Ritchie
Why? George Roy Hill and Michael Ritchie led strangely parallel existences. They graduated from Ivy League schools (Hill from Yale, Ritchie from Harvard) and directed raunchy, gleefully profane cult sports comedies in the '70s. (Ritchie was behind Semi-Tough and The Bad News Bears; Hill directed Slap Shot.) They then went on to helm, among other films, well-received Chevy Chase vehicles in the '80s, Ritchie with Fletch and Hill with Funny Farm. They each expertly flitted from genre to genre too frequently to become defined by any one style of film—or receive their creative due as filmmakers—but their best work boasts a light touch and an assured sense of style that seldom calls attention to itself or the deceptively masterful man in the director's chair.
The evidence: Ritchie: Semi-Tough, Smile. Hill: The World Of Henry Orient, Slaughterhouse-Five.
Underrated rap duo: Nice & Smooth
Why? Sort of the loveably goofy cousins of the Native Tongues contingent, Nice & Smooth went pop in the best possible sense, crafting irresistible ditties out of Greg Nice's woozy singsong crooning, Smooth Bee's ingratiatingly daffy rhyming, and wonderfully unexpected samples (The Partridge Family, Jefferson Airplane, Tracy Chapman, the Sanford & Son theme song). Nice & Smooth hasn't put out an album since 1997's Blazing Hot IV, but everyone from The Perceptionists to The Roots to De La Soul has paid homage to the duo in their rhymes, and Greg Nice's maddeningly catchy flow was sampled on mega-hits from the likes of Macy Gray ("Do Something") and The Wiseguys ("Start The Commotion.")
The evidence: The 1991 album Ain't A Damn Thing Changed, home to the perfect hit singles "Hip-Hop Junkies" and "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow," and 1994's underrated Jewel Of The Nile, which boasts the maddeningly catchy "Return Of The Hip Hop Freaks."
Underrated entertainment experience: Just watching the movie and ignoring the DVD extras
Why? The increasing focus on DVD supplements encourages publishers to sell popular movies twice—once in a quickie edition, and again in a filler-packed "special collector's edition" that costs twice as much. That manipulative commercial calculation is annoying enough, but worse yet is the quantity-over-quality vibe which that dynamic encourages. More extras mean more money, no matter how empty an experience those extras are. For every disc or set out there with an insightful filmmaker commentary or a revealing alternate ending, there are half a dozen full of self-congratulatory puff-piece documentaries, useless "image galleries," and empty-air twittering about how cool everyone involved with the film was. Every film is a unique experience, but most DVD supplements fit generic patterns, and they don't extend the experience of the film so much as they cheapen it, reduce it to predictable patterns, and then beat it into the ground.
The evidence: Almost any "collector's" DVD or DVD set, but for a recent example, check out the three-disc Titanic Special Collector's Edition due to be released October 25th. Love it or hate it, Titanic tells a love story. And what love story is enhanced by hours and hours of overanalysis and dissection? (Also, what three-hour-plus movie is really improved by 45 minutes of deleted scenes?)
Underrated superhero: Martian Manhunter
Why? Pity poor J'onn J'onzz, sometimes known as the Martian Manhunter. While the general public knows Aquaman as a walking punchline, the image of J'onn's bald green head usually produces nothing but puzzled expressions. But he's been in comics ever since his introduction in the back pages of Detective Comics 50 years ago. A key player in every incarnation of the Justice League, J'onn is a leader with super-strength, telepathic powers, shapeshifting skills, a cool blue cape, and a soulful demeanor that would surely drive the lady Martians wild if he weren't sadly the last member of his race. Sure, there's that whole fear-of-fire problem (not to mention the fact that he seems to have died recently) but if his character hadn't been inconveniently exploring space when the Super Friends series was created, it's easy to imagine him being as common a household name as Batman or, um, Apache Chief.
The evidence: Bruce Timm and company have made excellent use of J'onn on the Super Friends-for-big-kids series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Or drop in on virtually any phase of the comic-book Justice League's existence, and it's clear that J'onn is the glue holding it together. Yes, even during the years when the group operated out of Detroit and featured such superstars as Vibe and Gypsy.
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