This week, Netflix announced that they finally added the feature where users can download content for offline viewing. With holiday travel coming up, and winter break and winter vacations for some, this is Christmas comes early. Netflix isn’t allowing all of its titles to be downloaded for offline viewing, yet but here are some of my favorite sci-fi shows and movies that I watched in 2016 and I’d love to download and watch offline.
Dark Matter
I’m a diehard fan of ramshackle spaceships and fascinating crews who have a love-hate relationship, and this is one of the sci-fi shows on Netflix that does not disappoint. The six crew members all wake up from stasis to discover that their memories have been wiped clean. They can’t even be sure they can trust each other, but they are quickly thrust into one harrowing situation after another and have no choice but to work together to ward off the threats to their existence. They quickly discover that they all have skills in different areas from technology to supernatural strength, and martial arts. One of the best characters has to be the android who everyone on board comes to love and respect as they search for answers to their true identities.
Firefly
I’m still in withdrawal after watching this fun show centred around a transport vessel called Serenity which is captained by the renegade, Malcolm Reynolds, who fought against the new unified government called the “Alliance.” The Serenity flies around obscure planets off the beaten path, some of which look like sets from Westerns, trying to survive by transporting cargo and passengers, and landing in the middle of some very shady deals. The crew members and characters all have their own backstories and agendas and contribute to making this a highly addictive show as sci-fi shows go!
Person of Interest
A reclusive billionaire software genius teams up with an ex-CIA agent–who is presumed dead–in a heroic vigilante attempt to prevent crimes before they take place. Finch, the software genius, has designed an Artificial Intelligence machine which identifies potential victims of crimes and spits out their social security numbers. The problem is that Finch can never be sure if the number belongs to the victim or the perpetrator of the impending crime. It’s clever, intriguing, and has enough of a sci-fi twist to hold my interest. A great show to binge-watch when you need a lazy weekend!
Sherlock
Not techncially sci-fi, but well worth watching! Like many fans of Sherlock, I probably have all nine episodes (and one special!) memorized. I mean, Sherlock die-hards have had to suffer for love in a show that releases three episodes every couple of year. Fortunately, January brings the much-anticipated fourth season of Sherlock, and it seems that it might be the show’s last. Even more reason to download Sherlock and keep the adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories close at hand. I may have most of the series memorized, but I know I could go with seeing Sherlock say “I’m not the commonwealth” ad nauseum.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
This seven-episode BBC miniseries is based on Susanna Clarke’s 2004 epic historical fantasy novel. This adaptation brings 19th century Britain around the time of the Napoleonic Wars to life with stunning period details and breathtaking landscapes. If you loved the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes film series, you’ll enjoy this slightly steampunk story about the return of magic to England after years of absence. I loved escaping into the amazing worldbuilding of this novel, and since it’s over 700 pages, having the miniseries close should satisfy any craving I have to revisit a scene.
Penny Dreadful
I recently became addicted to the historical drama series, Penny Dreadful. Incorporating characters from the Victorian era and from Victorian literature, Penny Dreadful is an alluring mashup of my favorite nineteenth-century novels. Dorian Grey and Dr. Frankenstein together? Why not! But at its heart, Penny Dreadful is a gripping psychological thriller about crime, magic, and love in the gaslight era. I’d love to have this bookish-inspired show available at the ready for a binge watch at any time.