The 10 Best Box Sets to Stream on All 4
By: James Hanton
Tags: UK, Lists, Television, TV Series, TV Shows

Netflix still rules the roost when it comes to on-demand entertainment, even if Disney+ is soaring in popularity. But especially in the midst of an economy torn to shreds by COVID-19, feeling locked into a monthly subscription cost might not feel appealing if you’re wanting to watch the pennies. So on a happier note, Channel 4’s on-demand service, All 4, has experienced a boom in content, and all of their box sets are available to watch for free. Both All 4 and BBC iPlayer are known to be a good source of free films, but what TV shows should you watch? Here are 10 of the best All 4 box sets to sink your teeth into for a welcome slice of free entertainment.

Image: Oxfordmale // Wikimedia Commons

The West Wing (7 seasons)

Aaron Sorkin’s timeless political drama helped to shape television forever. The mixture of realist detail and idealist representation made for utterly fascinating TV, but the secret of The West Wing’s success was an impeccably written story, complete with the right doses of humour, and some extraordinary political depth. Sorkin cut his teeth for politics with this acclaimed series, a skill he has most recently tried to showcase again with The Trial of the Chicago 7. Remarkably, The West Wing more or less maintained its quality after he departed. With mesmerising performances and extraordinary levels of detail and accuracy, Sorkin’s series proved to be binge-worthy television before binge-watching was even possible.

Friday Night Dinner (6 seasons)

This increasingly popular sitcom, starring Simon Bird and Tasmin Greig among others, feels like a more refined, and less slapstick, successor to The Inbetweeners. Friday Night Dinner is less grotesque and more situational, but, if anything, even funnier. The glorious dynamic of the Goodman family - obviously close, but constantly getting on one another’s nerves - is complemented with down-to-earth dialogue that manages to capture elements of what every family must go through. All of the family are memorable without even really having to try, but the consistent highlight proves to be Mark Heap’s character Jim, a man terrified of his own dog and who has a very un-subtle crush on Jackie. It’s about as great as a British sitcom can be.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7 seasons)

It’s rare that anyone devises something that proves to be such a cultural goldmine like Buffy the Vampire Slayer turned out to be. Joss Whedon’s phenomenon left a lasting influence on film and television for years afterwards, but it’s not just about the legacy. Buffy is the definition of great entertainment, a kitsch style matched with great originality and characters who only become more nuanced as the episodes click by. It made stars of the whole cast, most of all Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and continues to deliver something new with every viewing. And if all seven seasons aren’t enough, the spin-off Angel is also available if you need more moody angst in your life.

Misfits (5 seasons)

Misfits represents arguably the best show E4 has ever laid claim to. There’s something a bit Fantastic Four about the group being granted their powers courtesy of a storm, but this is something far darker, grittier and supernatural than any of your standard superhero stories. Misfits has plenty to say about class identity and power, presented through a style of storytelling that brilliantly matched the fantastical with the down-to-earth, alongside efforts to overturn engrained stereotypes of young people. Howard Overman’s ingenuity was rewarded with a series that proved sharp and spellbinding, taken to another level by the committed performances of the entire cast. Heroes have never looked the same again.

Malcolm in the Middle (7 seasons)

Malcolm in the Middle remains a bona fide lesson in how to make a sitcom work. The likes of Happy Days and Cheers focused more so on large groups of friends as opposed to family, but there is a noticeable transition marked by the likes of Linwood Boomer’s acclaimed comedy series. This transition sees a shift more towards dysfunctional relatives and family tensions, but not without a fair share of affection. It’s a trend that exists in sitcoms to this day, and Malcolm in the Middle pulls it off better than almost any other. Frankie Muniz is the star as Malcolm, but Bryan Cranston proves one of the shows most entertaining elements as the dim-witted but loving father (who can really rock a pair of roller skates). A seriously funny show that never falls to bring a smile to your face.

Taskmaster (9 seasons)

With season 10 now on the air, all previous episodes of the ridiculous but endlessly watchable Taskmaster are available to watch. Channel 4 only acquired rights to the show in 2019, but are already aiming to make it a staple of box set viewing. Taskmaster Greg Davies, assisted by the show’s creator Alex Horne, make for an exceptional leading pair as they guide gormless celebrities through an increasingly ridiculous number of tasks. If it sounds stupid, that’s because it is - it’s also some of the funniest television you could ever hope to watch. The absurdities of British comedy are combined with inventiveness and improv to make Taskmaster the silliest - and by far the funniest - game show on television.

Scrubs (9 seasons)

Not all comedies are able to balance absurd humour with a genuine heart and moral compass. Scrubs, for most of its run at least, proved to be one of those shows. The strange vignettes and asides, as well as a cast who bounce off one another so brilliantly, make for great entertainment. And apart from all the laughs, Scrubs has plenty to say about medical ethics, wellbeing, and relationships - enough that the show consistently feels more consequential than its sillier elements alone would allow. The show kind of petered out towards the end, but its slow demise should not be what it’s remembered for. Rather, Scrubs should be remembered as a unique, heartfelt and funny comedy-drama that has lent its traits to other projects down the years -Brooklyn Nine-Nine being just one show that clearly borrows from its book of tricks.

Derry Girls (2 seasons)

With a third season on the way, there has never been a better time to get engrossed in Derry Girls. Set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, there’s a reason why it has become Channel 4’s most successful comedy series since Father Ted. Unbelievably funny, but emotional and resonate all the same, Derry Girls is a much rawer form of comedy and drama than we are often used to watching. But this is the secret of the show’s success. Teenage life is captured in all of its tumultuous, at times isolating, reality, against a pertinent political and religious backdrop. It manages to tackle serious social issues while never forgetting to remain firmly rooted as a sharply written comedy.

Seinfeld (9 seasons)

Often described as a “show about nothing,” Seinfeld remains one of the most critically acclaimed and widely popular sitcoms ever created. It’s volatile, unpredictable sense of humour defied the far more ordinary set up of most of the episodes, managing to be one of the most artistic, irreverent US sitcoms, and on these levels, it still hasn’t really been matched. It’s intelligent comedy made a watch that was as much for the mind as anything else, really setting the tone for the increasingly large wave of intellectual comedies in the last couple of decades (think Rick and Morty in particular). It managed to pull off an edgy satirical slant on the modern world while, above all else, continuing to provide laughs upon laughs, courtesy of its colourful slate of characters.

Justified (6 seasons)

A no-nonsense modern day tale of the Wild West, Justified manages to rein in the bloody violence just enough to allow a complex, layered drama to eventually take form. The startling authenticity of the locations make the show feel grounded, while the snappy dialogue and characters ooze a Tarantino brand of cool that emanates throughout every season. Its location alone fails to do justice to the blending of genres and themes that Justified manages to pull off. You could talk endlessly about how well-paced the show is too, especially from the second season onwards, but it’s the devilish performances that seal the deal, in particular from a wicked Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins. This is a violent drama to savour.