Captian Garret Spears (Jake Stormoen), Talon (Jessica Green), and Janzo (Anand Desai-Barochia) From the Outpost. Photo courtesy the CW

With the overwhelming amount of content available right now on the internet, sitting down to figure out what to watch can be a struggle. And making that struggle worse is having to keep up with the streaming prices. Most providers have been raising the rates of their services as demand rises. Streaming services, such as Netflix and DisneyPlus, have been increasing their prices to the point where viewers are paying almost, if not the same, as they would be for cable. Most popular streaming services now cost between six and twenty dollars; however, there are some such as Fubo which cost almost seventy-five dollars for “ad-free” streaming, and that doesn’t always mean that you won’t have commercials. The choice of entertainment versus saving money is becoming more challenging as streaming services look for ways to increase their profits.

However, there are free options that have just as amazing shows as the big name streaming services. These services are sometimes a free partner channel to a paid channel, such as Paramount’s PlutoTV or require a free sign-in account like Amazon’s Freevee.

Here are my top five choices that are streaming now and the free streaming platform they’re on.

“SeaQuest DSV” follows the crew of the world’s most sophisticated submarine, the SeaQuest, in the distant future of 2018, or at least what people thought it would look like in 1993. SeaQuest is commanded by Captain Nathan Bridger (Roy Scheider “Jaws,” “All That Jazz”), who is equal parts military commander and scientist, who is a part of the United Earth Oceans (U.E.O.) global coalition of up-world countries and undersea confederations of the world.

The premise of the show is that after humanity has depleted most of its natural resources, the world must explore the oceans for the survival of the human race. Produced by Steven Spielberg for the first two seasons, “SeaQuest DSV” is a show that takes on real science that was happening at the time, ending episodes in the first and second seasons with commentary oceanographer, Dr. Bob Ballard, and then the cast of “SeaQuest DSV” on the actual science that was the inspiration for each episode.

One portion of the show that was a great example of that was the crew member Darwin, a trained dolphin and Capt. Bridgers closest companion, who communicated with the crew via advanced technology. While the use of military-trained dolphins may seem like pure fiction, the Russian Military is currently dealing with the fact that their pod of military trained dolphins has gone AWOL after a strong storm on November 27, battered the Crimea’s Sevastopol harbor, damaging Russian Military bases and releasing the dolphins. All three seasons of “SeaQuest DSV” are streaming for free now on Roku.

SeaQuest Season 2 Cast Photo from left to right: Tony Piccolo, Miguel Ortiz, Dr. Wendy Smith, James Brody, Captian Nathan Bridger, Lonnie Henderson, Lucas Wolenczak, Dagwood, Timothy O'Neill, Jonathan Ford. Photo courtesy Peacock

“Dimension W” is a science fiction anime that takes place in 2072, where scientists have discovered a fourth dimensional axis commonly referred to as Dimension W. Cross-dimensional power devices, known as Coils, have been developed to pull energy and power from this dimension to power everything from everyday items like cell phones to cars to robots. However, a blackmarket of unregistered dangerous Coils leads the producers of Coils, New Tesla, to have bounty hunters known as “Collectors” to confiscate illegal Coils.

“Dimension W” follows the Collector, Kyouma Mabuchi (Christopher Sabat “One Piece,” “Dragon Ball Z”), a man who feels tied to the past and despise Coils and modern technology, and his unlikely Coil-powered robot companion Mira Yurizaki (Jad Saxton ”My Hero Academia,” “Baccano!”) in their journey of collecting illegal Coils and discovering the shadier portions of the world they live in. While this anime is only one season, it is stunning with a compelling storyline. “Dimension W” is streaming now on Tubi.

Dimenson W follows Collector Kyoma and Mira as they collect illegal Coils and discover the dark parts of their world. Image courtesy Crunchyroll

“The Outpost” is a fantasy-adventure drama which follows the last of a mystic race known as Blackbloods. This sole survivor, Talon (Jessica Green ”Air,” ”Devil Beneath”), travels to an unruly fortress at the edge of the civilized world, only known as the Outpost, in a desperate attempt to track down those who murdered her family. While attempting to do so, she must learn to harness a dangerous power within her and deal with the perils of those who not only murdered her family but also those who reside in and around the fortress. This series has an expansive world that allows for characters to grow and develop while still telling an immersive and intense story. All four seasons of “The Outpost” are streaming on ElectricNow.

Jessica Green as Talon in "The Outpost." Photo courtesy the CW

A spin on the American-style crime drama, “Almost Paradise” follows a former U.S. DEA agent Alex Walker (Chrisitan Kane “The Librarians,” “Leverage”) after he is forced into medically enforced retirement following a botched mission. In his search for a quiet and peaceful life, Walker travels to the Philippine island of Cebu to run a gift shop. Instead of finding peace, he gets dragged into helping with the local police station solve various cases, helping detectives Kai Mendoza (Samantha Richelle “The Cassandra Project”) and Ernesto Alamares (Arthur Acuña “The Bourne Legacy,” “The Patriarch”). “Almost Paradise” gives a fresh take on a crime drama by allowing a natural flow of comedy, but also combining American and Philippine cultures. “Almost Paradise” explores everyday Philippine life while posing intriguing and enrapturing cases. There are two seasons of “Almost Paradise” streaming now on FreeVee.

Almost Paradise follows Former DEA Agent Alex Walker on a Phillipina Island in his attempt to run a gift shop as well as help the local Police Detectives Kai Mendoza and Ernesto Alamares. Photo courtesy Amazon Prime Freevee

Following the star of the original Star Wars trilogy and the voice of the “Batman the Animated Series“ Joker, Mark Hamill travels to visit various collections of memorabilia in “Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest.” The show digs deep into both personal and professional collections, viewing everything from urban legend toys to famous movie props to collections of various bits and bobs from the films that made Hamill famous. Not only does “Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest” showcase unique collectables, but viewers also get to learn how and why people collect them. “Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest” is streaming on YouTube Free Movies and YouTube TV.

Mark Hamill's Pop Culture Quest. Photo courtesy Comic Con HQ

MPAA rating and information on age-appropriate content is available at commonsensemedia.org.