The Best Science Movies and TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: Rick is a mentally-unbalanced but scientifically-gifted old man who has recently reconnected with his family. He spends most of his time involving his young grandson Morty in dangerous, outlandish adventures throughout space and alternate universes. Compounded with Morty's already unstable family life, these events cause Morty much distress at home and school.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (14%) are available to watch free online (Adult Swim). 31 episodes (86%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 5 episodes (14%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Adult Swim). 36 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his family's love, something always seems to come between them. Perhaps it's his violent bouts of paranoia and jealousy. This kind of rage helped make him a champ, but in real life, he winds up in the ring alone.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Tribeca Short List), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: Edward and Alphonse Elric's reckless disregard for alchemy's fun­damental laws ripped half of Ed's limbs from his body and left Al's soul clinging to a cold suit of armor. To restore what was lost, the brothers scour a war-torn land for the Philosopher's Sto­ne, a fabled relic which grants the ability to perform alchemy in impossible ways.The Elrics are not alone in their search; the corrupt State Military is also eager to harness the artifact's power. So too are the strange Homunculi and their shadowy creator. The mythical gem lures exotic alchemists from distant kingdoms, scarring some deeply enough to inspire murder. As the Elrics find their course altered by these enemies and allies, their purpose remains unchanged – and their bond unbreakable.

Where to Watch: 64 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 64 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu).

What it's about: FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

Where to Watch: 100 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 100 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (Vudu, PlayStation Store & FandangoNOW).

What it's about: The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 218 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 206 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (BBC America & FOX). 219 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In a future society in the era of indefinite eugenics, humans are set on a life course depending on their DNA. Young Vincent Freeman is born with a condition that would prevent him from space travel, yet is determined to infiltrate the GATTACA space program.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle, PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: UK Comedy series about two I.T. nerds and their clueless female manager, who work in the basement of a very successful company. When they are called on for help, they are never treated with any respect at all.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (4%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 25 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 25 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: On the night of an astronomical anomaly, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu, Sundance Now & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker, who has seized control of Gotham's underworld.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition. Their adventure soon goes horribly wrong when a collapse traps them deep underground and they find themselves pursued by bloodthirsty creatures. As their friendships deteriorate, they find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive the creatures and each other.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Cinemax) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

Where to Watch: 71 episodes (92%) are available to watch free online (Syfy). 31 episodes (40%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 2 episodes (3%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Syfy). 75 episodes (97%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David. Without final acceptance by humans or machines, David embarks on a journey to discover where he truly belongs, uncovering a world in which the line between robot and machine is both vast and profoundly thin.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Fugitives of the Federation for their daring rescue of Spock from the doomed Genesis Planet, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew begin their journey home to face justice for their actions. But as they near Earth, they find it at the mercy of a mysterious alien presence whose signals are slowly destroying the planet. In a desperate attempt to answer the call of the probe, Kirk and his crew race back to the late twentieth century. However they soon find the world they once knew to be more alien than anything they've encountered in the far reaches of the galaxy!

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle, PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Inventor Flint Lockwood creates a machine that makes clouds rain food, enabling the down-and-out citizens of Chewandswallow to feed themselves. But when the falling food reaches gargantuan proportions, Flint must scramble to avert disaster. Can he regain control of the machine and put an end to the wild weather before the town is destroyed?

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The series picks up four years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor trying to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.

Where to Watch: 31 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 31 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & PopcornFlix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A cameraman wanders around Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev and Odessa with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: A teen gang in a grim South London housing estate must team up with the other residents to protect their neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Hank and Dean Venture, with their father Doctor Venture and faithful bodyguard Brock Samson, go on wild adventures facing megalomaniacs, zombies, and suspicious ninjas, all for the glory of adventure. Or something like that.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (10%) are available to watch free online (Adult Swim). 81 episodes (96%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 10 episodes (12%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Adult Swim). 84 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A stranded spaceship pilot captured by mad scientists survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals.

Where to Watch: 81 episodes (41%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 71 episodes (36%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 14 episodes (7%) are available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Vudu).

What it's about: Aurora and her daughter, Emma march to the beat of different drums. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A delightful dramatic comedy, a buddy picture, and, for good measure, a heist film. Curmudgeonly old Frank lives by himself. His routine involves daily visits to his local library, where he has a twinkle in his eye for the librarian. His grown children are concerned about their father’s well-being and buy him a caretaker robot. Initially resistant to the idea, Frank soon appreciates the benefits of robotic support – like nutritious meals and a clean house – and eventually begins to treat his robot like a true companion. With his robot’s assistance, Frank’s passion for his old, unlawful profession is reignited, for better or worse.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu's emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The year is 2048. By mandate, every cop must partner with a robot. Detective John Kennex returns to work after waking up from a 17-month coma. As he adjusts to working with his new partner, Dorian, a discontinued android with unexpected emotional responses, John also must learn to get along with his new colleagues.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Drawing from never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives, director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (NatGeo), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Disney+) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When Jay and Silent Bob learn that their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, have been sold to Hollywood as part of a big-screen movie that leaves them out of any royalties, the pair travels to Tinseltown to sabotage the production.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from native American shamans, he explores these altered states of consciousness and finds that memory, time, and perhaps reality itself are states of mind.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a subscription service (fuboTV), stream on a TV everywhere service (TCM) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In a beauty salon in Beirut the lives of five women cross paths. The beauty salon is a colorful and sensual microcosm where they share and entrust their hopes, fears and expectations.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After a lightning bolt zaps a robot named Number 5, the lovable machine starts to think he's human and escapes the lab. Hot on his trail is his designer, Newton, who hopes to get to Number 5 before the military does. In the meantime, a spunky animal lover mistakes the robot for an alien and takes him in, teaching her new guest about life on Earth.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $4.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he never ages and has walked the earth for 14,000 years.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A scientific expedition searching for fossils along the Amazon River discover a prehistoric Gill-Man in the legendary Black Lagoon. The explorers capture the mysterious creature, but it breaks free. The Gill-Man returns to kidnap the lovely Kay, fiancée of one of the expedition, with whom it has fallen in love.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & fuboTV) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings—some good, some bad—and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from any one else: he is a robot.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (fuboTV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Werner Herzog's exploration of the Internet and the connected world.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The Transformers is the first animated television series in the Transformers franchise. The series depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects.

Where to Watch: 84 episodes (84%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 66 episodes (66%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz). 75 episodes (75%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz). 16 episodes (16%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: Wife and mother Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) has a double life as a CIA operative, hiding her vocation from family and friends. Her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), writes a controversial article in The New York Times, refuting stories about the sale of enriched uranium to Iraq, Then Valerie's secret work and identity is leaked to the press. With her cover blown and other people endangered, Valerie's career and personal life begin to unravel.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).