Widescreen tidbits: Carlin's best on HBO Max, PlayStation's new game library, a bold new 'Trek'
PlayStation 5 library
Sony this week announced "a selection of content" that will be available for download by PlayStation Plus subscribers who upgrade to one of the new tiers of service on June 13. The initial offerings include acclaimed, popular titles that ardent PlayStation fans are likely to already own, but many users will be able to fill some glaring holes in their libraries or upgrade to PS5 versions of games they already own on PS4.
The PlayStation 5 titles that will be available to PS Plus Extra ($14.99 monthly) and Premium ($17.99 monthly) subscribers include "The Artful Escape," "Assassin's Creed Valhalla," "Control: Ultimate Edition," "Death Stranding Director's Cut," "Demon's Souls," "Destruction All-Stars," "Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut," "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy," "Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales," "Mortal Kombat 11," "NBA 2K22" and "Returnal."
To see the full lineup of games and learn more about PlayStation Plus's revamped service, visit blog.playstation.com.
Six classic Carlin specials
Premiering Friday on HBO, the new documentary "George Carlin's American Dream" will probably make you want to revisit the legendary standup's specials, and HBO Max currently features six of them:
• "George Carlin at USC" (1977), containing his rundown of life's rules, like "don't run with scissors"
• "George Carlin Again!" (1978), with his list of the seven dirty words you can't say on television
• "Carlin at Carnegie" (1983), in which he bemoans the pressure of "having a nice day"
• "Jammin' in New York" (1992) begins with his extended rant about the abortion debate, a clip that has gone viral in recent weeks
• "You Are All Diseased" (1999), with an extended rant on airport security
• "It's Bad For Ya" (2008), Carlin's final special that infamously begins with his opinions on Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.
Beam up this episode
Are you a "Star Trek" fan like me who has been less than energized by "Discovery" and "Picard"? The newest entry in the Starfleet canon, "Strange New Worlds," might win you back to Paramount+'s stable of "Star Trek" shows.
With Mount Prospect native Anson Mount's Christopher Pike in the captain's chair of the Enterprise, "Strange New Worlds" captures the spirit (and episodic format) of the original 1966 series and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," putting Pike, Spock (Ethan Peck) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) in a new self-contained adventure every week.
Last week's episode, "Children of the Comet," had everything you could ever want in a "Star Trek" story: first contact with a new species, a moral conundrum, an enticing puzzle for the crew to solve, gorgeous visuals, thrilling space action, and dramatic moments that deepen characters we know and love.
• Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who wishes he had seen Carlin perform live.