Technology has changed a lot over the years. No longer do we have to sit down and watch a certain tv series, on a certain channel, at a certain time, with interruptions for adverts every 10 minutes, or record the series if we wish to watch it at a different time.
Many video streaming services exist which allow us to watch decades worth of past tv series, along with many new series for a small fee each month. But what are these streaming services and what should you watch on them?
UK Streaming Services:
Netflix – I’m sure if you have heard of any streaming services at all it will be Netflix. Originally Netflix was an online DVD rental service in the US, where you’d choose a DVD to rent online and it would be posted out to you. Once you’d watched the DVD you’d post it back and be able to rent another DVD. Netflix then expanded and launched a digital service where you could stream their entire catalogue of DVD’s online, for a small fee each month.
The rest is history, other competitors launched which got Netflix to start producing their own tv series, the idea would be Netflix would have quality content only available on their service, to stop people moving over to a competing service.
Prime Video – If you have ever shopped online with Amazon you have probably heard of Prime Video. This is Amazons video streaming service which is included with your Amazon Prime subscription. Amazon has also started producing their own TV series like Netflix, so Prime Video also has exclusive content you can’t watch anywhere else. The downside to Prime Video is a lot of the content on there isn’t included in your subscription, so you might see a series you wish to watch and have to out right purchase a digital copy of it.
Now TV – This is Sky’s streaming offering which is a bit different to the others. You can subscribe to “passes” which allows you to stream certain types of content online. For example the entertainment pass would allow you to stream box sets of certain tv series, like Netflix and Amazon do. In addition you can also stream various tv channels live depending on which pass you have subscribed to. In some ways Sky are replicating Sky / Cable TV over the internet with their offering, which depending who you are might either be a good or bad thing. It’s one of the only ways to watch Sky Sports without having a subscription to Sky TV however.
Disney+ – This is a new streaming service from Disney which has recently launched in the UK. Essentially you can watch pretty much all Disney’s back catalogue of films and tv series on here. Along with series Disney now owns the rights to such as The Simpsons. It’s also now the home of the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. If you have kids then Disney’s offering is certainly very family friendly.
So what are some good tv series to watch when you are staying at home?
Homeland (Netflix) – Homeland is an American spy thriller television series which is now on its 8th and final series.
Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency operations officer, conducts an unauthorised operation in Iraq and is reassigned to the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center in Langley, Virginia. Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant who had been reported as missing in action since 2003, is rescued from a compound belonging to terrorist Abu Nazir. Brody is heralded as a war hero, but Carrie comes to suspect that he is planning a terrorist attack against the United States.
Manifest – (Prime Video) – Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City experiences a brief period of severe turbulence. When they land, the passengers and crew learn from NSA director Robert Vance that over five and a half years have passed while they were in the air, during which time they were presumed dead. However the flight was just like any other for the people on board. Strange things start to happen to the people who returned from flight 828, such as seeing visions representing events yet to occur.
Person of Interest – (Netflix) – Person of Interest is an American science fiction crime drama. The series centres on a mysterious reclusive billionaire computer programmer named Harold Finch, who develops a computer program for the federal government known as “The Machine” that is capable of collating all sources of information to predict and identify people planning terrorist acts, before this act happens. However the machine can also predict irreverent crimes the government doesn’t car about. Harold’s back door in to the machine allows him to try intervene and stop these crimes perceived irrelevant by the government, before the crime happen.
The Grand Tour – (Prime Video) – Essentially The Grand Tour is the spiritual successor to Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The Grand Tour is essentially more of the same thing, however with a much larger budget. The series is presented from a tent which is moved around the UK / World for various episodes.
If you are looking for something new to keep you entertained in these unprecedented times, hopefully you might enjoy one of the above series. I could list many more series I’ve enjoyed over the years, however I’ve tried to keep the list short and to series which are easily accessible on Netflix and Amazon.
