The Best Science Movies and TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

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

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 (16%) are available to watch free online (Adult Swim). 31 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 5 episodes (16%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Adult Swim). 31 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: When Ripley's lifepod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terra-formers are on the very planet they found the alien species. When the company sends a family of colonists out to investigate her story—all contact is lost with the planet and colonists. They enlist Ripley and the colonial marines to return and search for answers.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: The Big Bang Theory is centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California: roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's equally geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. The geekiness and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 22 episodes (8%) are available to stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access). 14 episodes (5%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS). 280 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

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 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 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 (94%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 64 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 4 episodes (6%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

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), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.

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: 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 TV & Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

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

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: 5 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 219 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 208 episodes (95%) 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: Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 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 TV). 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 (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu, Sundance Now & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 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 $0.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 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: 72 episodes (94%) are available to watch free online (Syfy). 73 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 1 episodes (1%) 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: 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 TV), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 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 (Tubi TV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 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). 17 episodes (20%) 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: An astronaut named Gary and his planet-destroying sidekick Mooncake embark on serialized journeys through space in order to unlock the mystery of “Final Space,” the last point in the universe, if it actually does exist.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (15%) are available to watch free online (Adult Swim). 11 episodes (55%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS & Adult Swim). 18 episodes (90%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

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 (PopcornFlix), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access & Kanopy), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Spacerip) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

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 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 TV), stream on a subscription service (Monsters Nightmares) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A suburban couple's ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (17%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 29 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 21 episodes (72%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 28 episodes (97%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 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 TV). 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: 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 TV & Yahoo View), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (Vudu, PlayStation Store & FandangoNOW).

What it's about: Simon Phoenix, a violent criminal cryogenically frozen in 1996, escapes during a parole hearing in 2032 in the utopia of San Angeles. Police are incapable of dealing with his violent ways and turn to his captor, who had also been cryogenically frozen after being wrongfully accused of killing 30 innocent people while apprehending Phoenix.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 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 (Tubi TV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Chris is the top brain who just wants to party, Mitch is the 15-year-old college wiz kid. Supposedly hard at work on a lab project with a mysterious deadline, they still find time to use their genius to discover new ways to have fun.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 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) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: When Juli meets Bryce in the second grade, she knows it's true love. After spending six years trying to convince Bryce the same, she's ready to give up - until he starts to reconsider.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families - the Graystones and the Adamas - as they grow, compete, and thrive in the vibrant world of the peaceful 12 Colonies, living in a society close to our own. Entangled in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe, blending action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.

Where to Watch: 17 episodes (85%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 20 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.

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

What it's about: It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 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 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 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 $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A quartet of mutated humanoid turtles clash with an uprising criminal gang of ninjas

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: 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 TV & 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: One man's journey to discover the bitter truth about sugar. Damon Gameau embarks on a unique experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, consuming only foods that are commonly perceived as 'healthy'. Through this entertaining and informative journey, Damon highlights some of the issues that plague the sugar industry, and where sugar lurks on supermarket shelves.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (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: After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.

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: 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 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 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 TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 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 TV). 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).