The world has been taken aback by the novel virus known as COVID-19. Schools around the world are closing their doors, gatherings of people are discouraged or banned, restos and bars have closed, major sporting events have suspended their seasons and thousands of individuals are finding themselves in self-quarantine for fourteen days at the very least. We hope for speedy and safe recoveries to anyone affected by the virus and urge you to self-isolate if you do feel the symptoms or if you’ve just come back from a trip. If you are in self-isolation and are in search of something to do, we at ScreenHub put together a little list to help pass the time.

Television

The Clone Wars. 

This animated series is found on Disney+ and a revived season seven is currently playing on the streaming service. Don’t let the fact that the show is animated deter you. Yes, it starts off with a younger audience in mind, but the show is in fact very well written (most of the time) and has some of the best Star Wars around. It certainly makes the prequels characters better and matures as the show goes on, to the point where I would not recommend the show to young children from seasons three onwards.

The Expanse

Perhaps one of the best shows available to watch right now, The Expanse is a sci-fi show full of layered characters, where the stakes are high, the morals are questionable and alliances are ever-shifting. In a way, it’s very reminiscent of early Game of Thrones.

Supernatural

With the fifteenth and final season in progress and each episode coming in at around 22 episodes, there’s a whole bunch of Supernatural to watch. What’s more, is that the show gets very different the more you watch it. Some of it is more horror-inspired, some of it is zany weird meta shenanigans. So there’s something, hopefully, for you in this long stretch of show.

Film

Star Wars Marathon

With nine episodes out now and two spin-off films, there’s a whole bunch of Star Wars out there to consume. What’s great is that you have options in how you watch it. Do you watch them in chronological order or release order or even the popular machete order version? Do you add the shows into the mix? The world is your oyster with this and it will take some time no matter how you chose to watch them.

Harry Potter Marathon

Likewise, with eight movies to go through, there’s great incentive to relieve the Harry Potter movies. Then, you can read the books right after and see just how much was cut when they adapted them to the big screen. From there, you can add Fantastic Beasts if you’re so inclined.

The Lord of the Rings (Extended Cuts)

Clocking in at around eleven hours collectively, watching The Lord of the Rings Extended Cuts will be a surefire way to pass the time. The timeless tale of good versus evil, friendship and adventure is the perfect escape from the world right now. This stands as one of the best book to film adaptations around.

Books

Malazan Book of the Fallen

If you have time (and patience) on your hands, then why not take a crack at Malazan Book of the Fallen? The core series, written by Steven Erikson,  is made up of ten books, with a complimentary six written by Ian C. Esslemont written in tandem with him. Esslemont would also go on to write a companion prequel trilogy. So yeah, there’s a lot of books to read and they’re not exactly easy. But if you want Dragon Ball level battles between mages and the tone of Dark Souls in the first entry, this is the place for you.

The Name of the Wind

Perhaps the best book I’ve ever read and one you should invest the time in to read. Going in blind really helps and as such, I’ll refrain from speaking about the book. Heck, the synopsis on the back of it doesn’t even tell you any details. But the words have a musical rhythm to it that makes it hard to put down.

The Stormlight Archive

Three books are published so far in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson out of a reported ten. But that’s ok, as these books are massive. Three of these books equate probably six or seven regular books. Full of great characters, great plot and epic scope, this is a great read.

The Halo Franchise

So usually, video game tie in books suck. There’s no doubt about it and I’d not recommend any by default. But the Halo series has surprised me. There are a few misfires but in general, this is some compelling and well-written sci-fi and you don’t need to be a fan of the games to get the material as most of the books are independent stories told with new characters.

Games

Call of Duty: Warzone

The reason why I put this on this list, despite not being a fan of CoD anymore, is that this add on to the game is completely free-to-play. You don’t need to own Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to play it! So if you have a platform and just want to have mindless fun, this is a great way to get that in while dumping little to no money into it.

Magic The Gathering: Arena

Another free to play game, this one actually got me into playing Magic. Arena teaches newcomers how to play the game, which I’m sure is great for those looking for something new to do. From there, you can play in online matches and any cards you buy in the real world from Wizards of the Coast will transfer over to your online account.

Doom: Eternal

Angry at the world? Want to reign sweet holy destruction on the legions of hell in hyperviolent fashion? Well, Doom Eternal is coming out on March 20th and it’s getting rave reviews. Raze hell, indeed.

I’m sure most people don’t do this anymore either, but pick an album, ideally something less generic, and sit down and listen to it from cover to cover without being distracted by anything else. I’d recommend Tool’s Fear Inoculum. But regardless, give this a try. Unwind.

Also if you’re more into spending this time learning, why not try out Coursera or another online platform to learn from Universities across the world, including some of the Ivy schools-all for free! I’ve used Coursera personally after Assassins’s Creed Origins came out to learn about Ancient Egypt from the University of Pennsylvania.