The Ultimate Box Set Guide

Previously, it was all about cinema. Yet the twenty-first century has increasingly seen fans and critics alike switching their preference to long-form TV, where the stories, characters and talent are now centred. As the pioneering HBO shows proved, you can go much deeper in (for example) a rich, rewarding 16-hour series than you can in a 90-minute blockbuster. The experience of watching an addictive, smartly-written, well-acted, top-level series is like immersing yourself in a great novel rather than dipping into a short story. The trend has been embraced by the big media companies: Virgin, Sky and Netflix offer thousands of hours of viewing, and Amazon recently launched its own streaming service - this is the preferred method of viewing for a generation.