THE SUMMER OF FREE!
Free Resources For Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans
This month’s Sensor Scan is going to be a little different than others. Instead of introducing the career of an author or artist or exploring a little science fiction and fantasy history this month I am sharing a bunch of free resources for genre fans looking for content. When I say free resources, by the way, I mean free and legal. I have no desire to share sites posting content they don’t have the rights to share. I know most of y’all are in the US although some of the newsletter signups are from Europe, South America and even Australia. This will be a United States centered list (because it is where most of you are and where I am, too) but some of these services reach other countries. I am also leaving off all streaming services connected to a specific TV network (BBC iPlayer, CW, Peacock, etc) even if they are free.
Let’s start with places to stream video content. Let me note a few things about streaming channels. First, free means ad supported… deal with it! In many cases a named channel, such as Shout Factory’s TokuSHOUTsu or Hi-Yah, will be showing the same schedule on various carriers (for example Tubi or Pluto) but others, such as Classic Doctor Who, may vary content from provider to provider.
TUBI
tubitv.com and apps for iOS, Android, Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, XBox and PlayStation
Available in US, Canada and Australia
Tubi is an on-demand streaming service which also repeats several streaming channels. It does not allow downloads for off-line viewing. It is a division of Fox with content from Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount and more.
Content highlights include: all of the Classic Doctor Who episodes for Doctors 1-7, Andromeda, Dresden Files, Space 1999, many classic Ultraman and Super Sentai series, Sanctuary, Babylon 5, Robin of Sherwood, Merlin, Farscape, Kamen Rider and a selection of anime.
Tubi is, by far, my favorite streaming service at the moment if only for the classic Doctor Who offerings. Truth be told, though, whether I am in the mood for British comedy, kaiju mayhem, kung fu movies or UFO documentaries I tend to find it on Tubi. Thanks to my free account I can easily move between my iPad, iPhone and Roku enabled TVs and pick up where I last left off.
Although I have no firm data to back this up it seems to me Tubi is less likely to show you ads when using mobile apps than it is when using a smart TV app.
The search feature could be better and it is often easier to find something you want and then pay attention to the suggestions it generates rather than try to search for specific actors or subgenre. Tubi is rather limited when it comes to live channels, they do include the Classic Doctor Who stream, but not nearly as many fantasy, horror or science fiction choices as other live stream TV services. At this point there is no way to mark favorites or arrange channels either.
PLUTO
pluto.tv with apps for iOS, Android, Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, XBox, Playstation
Available in North and South America, most of Europe and Australia
When it comes to live streaming channels, Pluto is my current favorite. To be honest, I have been watching Pluto since its beta days. If you are a Star Trek fan then Pluto is your best friend when it comes free streaming because it is a division of Paramount. They offer multiple Star Trek streams, Classic Doctor Who, TokuSHOUTsu, Godzilla, Stargate, Pluto Monsters, Pluto Sci-Fi, Crunchyroll, Anime All Day, dedicated Sailor Moon, One Piece, Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh channels as well as news, sports, music, drama, game shows and more. With a free account you are able to mark favorites and organize channels and there are some on-demand options as well.
PLEX
plex.tv with apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android. Available worldwide, but I am not sure of its functionality outside the US.
Plex is an interesting service because it actually started as a media server platform so you can insert your own content (pictures, music, etc). It now offers on demand, rental and streaming content. While it does not have the wide range of content some of the other services offer genre channels include Classic Doctor Who, Midnight Pulp, Lionsgate’s OuterSphere, a BBC Sci Fi channel, several anime channels and Dungeons and Dragons Adventures (which is not offered on many other services, if any at all). It boasts a robust search, which is not surprising given its origins and feature as well as Chinese and Spanish content and music.
XUMO
play.xumo.com and apps
Available in the US, Mexico, Brazil, some European countries.
Channels include OuterSphere, Classic Doctor Who, XUMO Sci Fi and Fantasy, Crunchyroll, Shout TV, MST3K and international content.
I have to admit I have barely used XUMO. By and large it seems to offer much of what other streamers are offering so when space got tight on my phone it was the first to go. That being said, if you are in South America or Europe and can’t access other streamers I have mentioned xUMO might be the choice for you.
The next set of general video content providers are all, as far as I can tell, only available in the United States. If you are outside of the continental US you may just want to skip ahead to YouTube pages.
FREEVEE (formerly IMdBTV)
This service is available though Amazon’s website or with apps for iOS, Android, Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, XBox and PlayStation.
Mainly on demand but also offers live TV, including a Stargate channel, Universal Monsters, MGM Sci Fi, BBC Sci-Fi, Farscape, Outer Limits, Monsters (kaiju stuff), MST3K, Classic Doctor Who and much more. They appear to have partnerships with the BBC and WB as they offer streaming channels branded by these networks which do not appear on many other platforms. Although I sometimes watch on demand content through FreeVee I have found their live TV to be extremely unreliable through my Roku Amazon Prime Video app.
Sling Freestream
Http://www.Sling.com or iOS, Android, Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, XBox and PlayStation apps
A free streaming TV service from pay stream TV provider Sling, I probably use this more than I realize since I am a Sling customer and the Freestream channels are integrated with my not-free streaming channels. That also limits my ability to say what is offered to non-paying customers but as far as I can tell content includes the Walking Dead channel, MST3K, ShoutTv, Farscape, Scream TV, Sci Fi, Filmrise Sci-Fi, Retro Crush, Anime Hy Dive, Yu Gi Oh, TokuSHOUTsu, Filmrise Anime, Midnight Pulp and Stash Sci Fi.
FILMRISE
Apps on iOS, Android, Roku, XBox, genre/theme specific channels on other streaming platforms.
Filmrise is a little different than the other streamers I have discussed. First of all, its content is mainly indie produced with some foreign offerings. Second, although it has on demand apps of its own Filmrise often appears on other providers as a genre specific streaming channel (ie Filmrise Anime or Filmrise Science Fiction). I do occasionally watch content offered by Filmrise buy, honestly, always on other providers.
STASH
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuE6xnCgaG0LvEGAbvn8MEg
Stash is much like Filmrise in that it collects content from various foreign and indie producers and you may find it as a streaming channel on other platforms. In addition to streaming channels it has a strong YouTube presence with specific Fantasy (Youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs3GEC-XMO...) and Science Fiction (Youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs3GEC-XMO...) playlists.
CRACKLE
Http://www.Crackle.com, apps for all major operating systems as well as appearing on other streaming platforms.
This venerable US only streaming service is actually now owned by Sony. Although Crackle was once a showcase for original web content it now offers several familiar series including Robin of Sherwood, Dark Knight, Farscape, Space Rangers, Star Hunter Redux, Space 1999 and original Salvage Marines.
ROKU CHANNEL
This platform, as you may expect, is only available to Roku users. It is a hub of both on demand and streaming content for the streaming device. Although I have never found anything on Roku Channel unavailable in other places (at least anything I cared to watch), it is tied into my Roku search feature and I often end up using its version of the Classic Doctor Who TV stream or on demand offering of some show I was searching out since it is the preferred content provider on the Roku search.
YOUTUBE
A few highlights of free, legal content on YouTube. Most of this, be warned, is Asian. Also, when exploring YouTube don’t forget Stash (see above).
TSUBURAYA PRODUCTION’S ULTRAMAN OFFICIAL
https://www.youtube.com/@ULTRAMAN_OFFICIAL
The official Ultraman channel from Tsuburaya Productions, the makers of the venerable science fiction series. For the last few years they have been posting new episodes of the current Ultraman series a day or two after they air in Japan with multi-language subtitles and an English audio option. They have also posted a couple older series, special events and some original web series. The newest series, Ultraman Arc, is premiering on July 6 so it is a great time to pick up a weekly tokusatsu habit.
TENCENT VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/@TencentVideo and the WeTV app available for Android and iOS.
You might not know the company TenCent. They are a Chinese software and entertainment company who have held major stakes in Riot Games (League of Legends), Epic Games (Fortnite) and Supercell (Clash of Clans) and others. They are also involved in streaming content, mainly in Asia, where they were the first official streamer of the NBA in China. Of particiular interest to science fiction fans will be Three Body Problem and fantasy fans really should check out their new series Legend of Heroes, which was produced to celebrate the 100th anniversary of author Jin Yong’s (aka Louis Cha) birth. Jin Yong has been called the “Tolkien of China” and “the godfather of wuxia,” the genre which sees martial artists wielding magical powers in their quests.
YOUKU
https://www.youtube.com/@youkuenglish
Another Chinese streaming service, YouKu has several original series on Netflix, including the martial arts fantasies Word of Honor and Judge Dee’s Mysteries, which they also offer on their YouTube page. In fact, they have multiple YouTube pages offering English subtitles with dedicated pages for their movies and animation. Given the recent popularity of “monster hunter” and “tomb raider” style stories in China there are several movies for fantasy fans looking for something new… plus some good old fashioned zombie movies.
YouKu movies: https://www.youtube.com/@youkumovie/featured
YouKu Animation: https://www.youtube.com/@youkuanimation
iQIYI
https://www.youtube.com/@iQIYIofficial
Another Chinese streaming service, something like Netflix. They offer all kinds of martial arts fantasy stories and monster films, most with English subtitles. I suggest The Mutations and Our Parallel Universes for fantasy fans.
TOKUSHOUTSU
https://www.youtube.com/@TokuSHOUTsu
Although Shout Factory’s TokuSHOUTsu channel (which features Japanese “special effects” series such as Ultraman, Kamen Rider, various shows which were turned into the US Power Rangers shows and some kaiju films, too) is available on several free streaming platforms it is also offered on their official YouTube page.
ORIGINAL CREATURE FEATURES
https://www.youtube.com/@Creature_Features
Creature Features was used by a few local horror movie programs showing the package of Universal horror films and associated drive in fare being offered TV stations. The 1971 Oakland series spawned a couple of spiritual successors who still use the name (including this one and the next entry). As far as I know this version is a TV show too so everything shown should be legal. Although the hosted portions are sometimes a little dry for my taste this host manages to get films (and sometimes television episodes) which other online horror hosts do not and many presentations include cartoons in a nod to the old drive ins.
CREATURE FEATURES
https://www.youtube.com/@CreatureFeatures3
This version of Creature Features is hosted by aging rockstar turned haunted house owner Vincent Van Dahl, his butler Mr Livingston and adorably murderous ward Tangella. Their YouTube page features recent episodes and some special features. They also air on a few select stations scattered around the country (and South Africa) and have a subscription service for Roku, AppleTV and Android TV, which you can learn more about at their main website http://www.creaturefeatures.tv
DUST and ALTER
Production company Gunpowder & Sky owns both of these short form video and podcast services with DUST focusing on science fiction and ALTER being geared towards horror content. Both have YouTube feeds and I known they were available as channels on some streamers, although they seem to have both recently been removed from Sling’s FreeView.
SCI FI CENTRAL
https://www.youtube.com/@Sci-FiCentral
This YouTube page of “modest budget” science fiction films and UFO documentaries states that all its contents have been licensed, so I am including it!
TOHO GODZILLA OFFICIAL
https://www.youtube.com/@GodzillaToho/playlists
Toho, the Japanese film company behind Godzilla, has a few interesting things on their YouTube page for hardcore Godzilla fans, including the American Saturday morning cartoon series, the whimsical webtoon Chibi Godzilla and the very odd late 90s series Godzilla Island, the MST3K meets Robot Chicken comedy series of three minute episodes with all the kaiju action created using Bandai Godzilla action figures.
DOCTOR WHO OFFICIAL
https://www.youtube.com/@DoctorWho
While there are no full episodes, the official Doctor Who YouTube page collects behind the scenes features, podcasts, some interesting ads and the CGI Daleks webseries.
FIRST ACTION BUREAU
Youtube.com/watch?v=vlHRDodiyeI&list=PL0NXq1NHbJMLn_TnfcHA38S29lavzJs_H
Audio podcast on YouTube from the Gerry Anderson estate and current voice of the Daleks Nick Briggs (who also produces Doctor Who audio adventures for Big Finish) about a special against (read: assassin) in the world of 2068.
YOUTUBE MOVIES AND TV
Finally, you probably already know YouTube offers not a pay TV service but the ability to buy/rent licensed content. What you might not know is the official YouTube Movies and TV section has “free with ads” content which you can access through this link:
https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront?bp=ogUCKAY=
GAMES
Sometimes you want to do something a little more interactive than watching TV. Sometimes you want to play a game, maybe with your friends or maybe on your own. One of my favorite solo games is Kaiju War which lets you take on the task of destroying Japan… It is a “print and play,” a tabletop game designed so you can print almost everything you need (although you might need to provide pencils, some kind of counters and/or dice depending on the game but truth be told there are free dice apps for every phone). You can find links to the original Kaiju War and its later expansions (including a Pacific Rim themed version) at https://thesoloboardgamer.com/k-day-kaiju-war-pnp/.
There are all kinds of print and play games out there although most are not free. PNPArcade is probably my favorite source (and publisher of two of my favorite solo, but not free, print and play games: Dangerous Space and Dungeon Pages). You can find simulators, war games, word games and even full on role playing games but keeping with our “Summer of Free” theme you can find their collection of free games at this link: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/free-games. My second favorite source for print and play games is itch.io which also offers downloadable video games from indie game producers. They have a pretty good search feature which will let you easily add “Free” to whatever else you are searching.
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Now you have plenty to watch, maybe some games to play while you are binging your new or old favorite shows… what else could you want? How about something to read? I am an author after all… and this seems like a good time to do a little shameless self promoting. The entire month of July all of my ebooks are free on Smashwords.com. They are having their annual summer sale (I assume they are doing it to celebrate my birthday at the end of the month) so their entire catalog is loaded with deals. Plenty of books are free, you just have to start searching (after you grab copies of all my books). After July is over, though, you might need some more reading so I have a few more resources for you.
CLARKESWORLD ONLINE
http://www.clarkesworldmagazine.com
This is the online version of Clarkesworld Magazine with free content updated with every new issue (which I believe is every other month). They may just be your new short story fix.
LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE ONLINE
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com
Lightspeed has become a real player over the last couple of years offering modern, enlightened science fiction. They have free stories online, a podcast with audio versions of many of the stories they have published and sister publications (Fantasy and Nightmare) serve up new fantasy and horror stories (I will let you figure out which magazine is which).
REACTOR MAGAZINE ONLINE
The house organ of Tor Publishing includes free stories, novelettes, news and more. It is best, in my experience, to go ahead and sign up for their newsletters, too.
BAEN FREE LIBRARY
The Baen Free Library is exactly what its name promises: a selection of free ebooks from Baen. For the last dozen years of so they have been adding collections of short stories, reading guides and some years even collections of non-fiction pieces. They also offer dozens of full novels from well known authors such as David Drake, David Weber and others not named David.
https://www.baen.com/allbooks/category/index/id/2012
PROJECT GUTENBERG
This Internet library (for lack of a better word) collects digitized versions of public domain works of all types and does a pretty good job keeping only legitimately public domain titles on the site. This means a huge amount of the collection is over 100 years old and has nothing to do with fantasy or science fiction BUT a huge amount of the science fiction and fantasy adventures published during the glory days of the pulp magazines is now in the public domain and available from Gutenberg in a variety of file types.
LIBRIVOX
I don’t think Librivox is actually connected to Project Gutenberg, but they are at least spiritual cousins. Like Gutenberg, Librivox specializes in offering public domain works but in audiobook format. The main complaint I hear about Librivox is their works are all volunteer productions and often not quite the same quality as a purchased audiobook… but they are free and most of them are well recorded even if they are lacking bits of theme music and other extras.
TAPAS
Despite having a name like a trendy downtown Mexican bar/restaurant this web comics and novels plateform is owned by TenCent (remember them?) It should not be a surprise, then, that a great deal of its contents comes from China. Most of their stuff is not free, but here is a link to free section: https://tapas.io/menu/1/subtab/40
AMAZON FREE KINDLE eBOOKS
Amazon always has free ebooks available. Some are public domain (and almost all of these can also be found on Gutenberg but it might be easier to get them on your Kindle app or device from Amazon). Simply search for “Kindle free books” but be warned! Some books are free and some books will say “free with Kindle Unlimited” which means they are “free” if you are paying for the Kindle Unlimited service.
BARNES AND NOBLE FREE NOOK eBOOKS
Barnes and Noble also offers free books for their Nook readers. And don’t worry if you don’t have a Nook because you can get the free Nook reading app on any tablet, phone or PC. You can find their current free fantasy and science fiction books here:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/free-ebooks/ebooks-nook/science-fiction-fantasy/_/N- ry0Z8qaZ180l
SMASHWORDS FREE eBOOKS
Smashwords also has free books (and as you may recall all of my ebooks are free on this service throughout July; just search for Michael Lauck). Once you get to their site you can click on the “Free” tab in the top of the page search parameters and from there you can search by genre using the search term list down the left side of the page. They even have free comics. I will be honest: I am not sure if the “Free” search tab only pulls up permanently free offerings or everything which is currently free.
AND DON’T FORGET…
Finally, don’t forget your local library. They have free books, magazines, comics and probably movies and music. These days most libraries seem to have an app to let you instantly check out digital content, too. The most common in the US are Overdrive (aka Libby) and Hoopla. Both are good but they work a little differently behind the scenes. Hoopla is actually a subscription service for libraries which means the library pays a fee to have access to everything offered on Hoopla (so my books are available to any Hoopla user) while libraries purchase digital copies of works from Overdrive (so my books are available on Overdrive but you can only check them out if your local library bought a digital copy from me). I personally use both; Hoopla has more options but honestly Libby seems a little more stable, especially for audiobooks through my car.
That is my look at free content providers for fantasy and science fiction fans. It is not an exhaustive list, I know, but it is enough to get you started. If you have a favorite source for free, legal science fiction and fantasy content I missed please let me know… Now go out and enjoy the next couple of months!
