Dollhouse

The problem with the existence of so many TV networks and so many good TV shows is that something worth watching is almost always airing somewhere. That means a lot of good shows didn’t make our list of the best television series, including plenty of the more niche programs not all of our writers were able to watch. Here, in chronological order, is a tribute to the best installments of the very good, tiny, inconsistent, and/or downright weird shows that either just missed our main list, or weren’t in the running, but merited special recognition.

Dollhouse, “Getting Closer” (Fox, Jan. 8) The second season of Dollhouse was an unexpected gift from Fox to Whedon Nation. So Joss Whedon and his writers had a choice: Try to reboot, keep things simple, and see if they could bring new viewers on board. Or go deeper into the show’s expansive mythology, knowing the show was unlikely to get another season. Episodes like “Getting Closer,” the mind-blowing lead-up to a two-part finale, make it abundantly clear which choice they made. Even longtime viewers of the series had trouble keeping up. Written and directed by the reliably excellent Tim Minear, “Getting Closer” effortlessly volleys between flashbacks to Eliza Dushku’s mysterious past and the goings-on at Rossum Corporation, which has nefarious designs for the Dollhouse. It includes the death of a major character, a big reveal about another, and an insurgents-as-heroes political subtext that’s pretty radical for network TV.