Dollhouse

Joss Whedon, you animal! You created Buffy, you gave us Firefly, and then you hit us with Echo, the lead character of Dollhouse. She's a reprogrammable Active, an all-purpose freelancer who might be called on by wealthy clients to play any role from hit woman to dominatrix. The idea is the corporation brings on women for five year stints, download their memories onto a hard drive, and then implants new identities, then wipes their minds after each mission to provide a blank slate. After their contract ends, they're given a ton of money and complete criminal immunity. Only, Echo holds some of the memories from each wipe, which makes her unique. That idea brings with it so many ideas, like what role corporations play in crimes committed in their name, what sort of culpability you hold when you don't know you've done terrible things, and perhaps the darkest idea of all, how do we keep ourselves whole when pieces are being eaten away. Eliza Dushku, Faith from Buffy, is phenomenal in the series, and gives the best performances of her career. Why it's on the list: A smart set of scripts, a power performance, and a highly watchable series!