theLogBook.com is a chronicle of how we used to imagine the future – an ever-expanding logbook of what our entertainment, our culture, and even our brightest minds thought would happen. It’s nostalgia – and some real history – that gives factual context to the fiction, cultural context to the factual, and always looks to the future.
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Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. To fans, they were the Great Bird of the Galaxy and the First Lady of Star Trek. To their friends and co-workers, Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry were, perhaps, slightly less mythic figures with their own very human quirks, but still beloved and admired. In this panel from the TrekTalks 5 telethon in support of the Hollywood Food Coalition, Gene and Majel are remembered by those who knew them. Podcast hosted by Earl Green & Ashley Thomas TrekTalks panel hosted by John Champion Panel guests: Fred Bronson, Denise Crosby, Ernie Over, Rod Roddenberry About Gene-ology Gene-ology explores Gene Roddenberry's early television scripts, including his lesser-known works before Star Trek using the Mission Log format popularized by Roddenberry Podcasts. We analyze the themes, writing style, and cultural impact of his scripts, and we even unearth stories from the Roddenberry archives that were never produced. Join us as we trace the roots of Gene's creative genius. In This Episode Memories of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry from those who knew and worked with them Join the Conversation What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments in the comments or reach out to us on social media or email us at missionlog@roddenberry.com Did you know Roddenberry Podcasts is on YouTube? Find the video versions of your favorite shows like Mission Log: Prodigy, Mission Log: The Orville, as well as exclusive content only available on YouTube. Subscribe now! https://www.youtube.com/@RoddenberryEntertainment?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us on Social Media: INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/roddenberrypodcasts BLUESKY https://bsky.app/profile/roddenberrypod.bsky.social THREADS https://www.threads.net/@roddenberrypodcasts FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/MissionLogPod Our shows are part of the Roddenberry Entertainment family. For more great shows and to learn how we live the legacy of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, follow us here: RODDENBERRY PODCASTS https://www.instagram.com/RoddenberryPodcasts RODDENBERRY ENTERTAINMENT https://www.instagram.com/RoddenberryOfficial RODDENBERRY FOUNDATION https://www.instagram.com/TheRoddenberryFoundation Support the Show For as little as $1 a month, you can gain access to our Mission Log Discord Community! There, we continue the discussion with dedicated channels and a weekly video chat with the hosts. Become a member of our Patreon today! https://www.Patreon.com/MissionLog Subscribe and Stay Tuned Be sure to subscribe to Gene-ology for more deep dives into Gene Roddenberry's early works. New episodes are released regularly as we uncover more of Gene's television legacy. – Gene-ology is produced by Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producer Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry. Visit https://Podcasts.Roddenberry.com for more great content. Edited by Earl Green.
The CW airs the 117th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) guest stars.
The 163rd episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Lexa Doig (Andromeda) guest stars.
The CW airs the 53rd episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Brandon Routh, and Tala Ashe. Gerard Plunkett (Da Vinci’s Inquest) guest stars.
The 50th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Katrina Law (Spartacus) guest stars.
Sparking the biggest outcry since Tom Baker’s departure, actor David Tennant announces that the four special Doctor Who episodes in production for 2009 will be his last in the role, after which he’ll hand off the reins to a new actor. Likewise, Russell T. Davies has already announced that he will give up his position as Doctor Who showrunner to concentrate on non-genre projects, and will be succeeded by multiple-Hugo-winning writer Steven Moffat (who has penned such fan favorites as Blink and The Girl In The Fireplace). Naturally, speculation about the actor who will play the Doctor’s eleventh incarnation runs rampant.
The 93rd episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, Melinda Deines, Guylaine St. Onge, and Alan Van Sprang. Kevin Kilner guest stars as William Boone, the series’ first season lead.
The first American to orbit Earth returns to orbit aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. During a ten-day mission with the SPACEHAB laboratory module installed in the cargo bay, the crew conducts medical experiments with Mercury astronaut John Glenn, comparing his results against the results of identical experiments performed with one of his crewmates, to determine the effect of weightlessness on older space travelers. At the age of 77, Glenn is the world’s oldest space traveler (and is still a sitting member of the U.S. Senate at the time of his flight). Discovery’s crew on her 25th flight is Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Steven Lindsey, mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson and Pedro Duque, and payload specialists Chiaki Mukai and John Glenn.
The seventh episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, and guest starring Jerry Hardin and Rob LaBelle.
Fox airs the tenth episode of the sci-fi western, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., starring Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, and Christian Clemenson.
NASA/JPL’s Galileo space probe, looping repeatedly through the inner solar system to gain a speed boost from a series of gravity assists from Earth and Venus, passes the asteroid 951 Gaspra, the first human-made spacecraft to visit such a body. Where humanity’s previous knowledge of asteroids was limited at best, Galileo’s findings are startling, with photos showing a small rocky body pummeled by ancient impacts, almost to the point of shattering it. Also discovered is a magnetic field generated by the core of the asteroid itself, something planetary scientists did not expect to find at all. Galileo will loop back toward Earth, picking up a critical speed boost to Jupiter from one last flyby of its home planet.
The fourth episode of the syndicated Alexander and Ilya Salkind-produced Superboy series, starring John Haymes Newton and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian) guest stars.
CBS airs the seventh episode of the animated series Superman, starring the voices of Beau Weaver and Ginny McSwain, and comprised of two stories: The Hunter and Little Runaway. Rene Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Peter Cullen (Transformers) guest star.
Mute Records releases the Depeche Mode album Some Great Reward, featuring the single “People Are People”, which becomes the group’s signature song for years to come.
The sixth episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Michelle Phillips (Knots Landing) and W. Morgan Sheppard (Max Headroom) guest star.
NBC airs the 23rd episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan, Kathy Garver, and Frank Welker.
The sixth episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. John Crawford (The Waltons) and Robert Davi (The Goonies, Die Hard) guest star.
Telesys releases the video game cartridge Fast Food for the Atari 2600 home video game system, just in time for the Christmas buying season. A glut of new releases for the 2600 by the end of the year, many from third-party companies like Telesys, causes some consumer confusion which has unexpected consequences for the entire industry.
ABC airs the 31st episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Jeremy Kemp guest stars in the third season opener.
Reese Communications publishes the first issue – and, if it doesn’t sell well, likely the only issue – of Electronic Games Magazine, the first periodical devoted to video games and other electronic forms of entertainment. Video Magazine columnists Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz (operating under the pseudonym Frank Laney Jr. in order to protect his more “serious” writing work) propose the magazine after a string of successful video-game-focused issues of Video, and, with Katz’ wife Joyce Worley joining in the writing and editing duties, become the first video game journalists, inventing such now-common terms as “playfield”, “screenshot”, and “Easter egg”. Though the first issue could have been a one-off experiment, the magazine goes monthly by the end of spring 1982.
Having just opened up its American branch, Japanese video game manufacturer Nintendo introduces its first arcade game, the virtually-unknown space shooter Radar Scope. The game fails to make a splash, and many of the Radar Scope cabinets in Nintendo’s warehouse are later converted into their next (and far more profitable) game, which involves a plumber saving a woman from a gorilla.
The eighth episode of Filmation’s Saturday morning science fiction series Space Academy airs on CBS. Just in time for Halloween, the Academy is haunted by a spirit from a doomed planet.
The 42nd episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on NBC. Dan O’Herlihy (Colditz, Whiz Kids) and Marc Alaimo (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.
NBC airs the 33rd episode of Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Rod Serling. Sandra Dee guest stars.
ABC airs the sixth episode of the modern-day science fiction series The Immortal, starring Christopher George. Lynda Day George (Mission: Impossible) guest stars.
Island Records releases the debut album by White Noise, an ad hoc early electronic music group including David Vorhaus and members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Absolutely no generative AI was used in the creation of the content on this website. It’s mostly just some guy named Earl.
The CW airs the 117th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) guest stars.
theLogBook.com releases the 12th episode of the Retrogram podcast, hosted by Earl Green, covering the following shows from the week of October 26th, 1986:
The 163rd episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Lexa Doig (Andromeda) guest stars.
The CW airs the 53rd episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Brandon Routh, and Tala Ashe. Gerard Plunkett (Da Vinci’s Inquest) guest stars.
Streaming service CBS All Access releases Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad, the seventh episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Katherine Barrell (Wynonna Earp) guest star. 
BBC3 premieres the third episode of Class, a Doctor Who spinoff created by acclaimed young adult author Patrick Ness, and starring Katherine Kelly. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 179th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. 
The first episode of Russell T. Davies’ children’s science fiction series Wizards vs. Aliens airs on CBBC. Davies’ replacement for The Sarah Jane Adventures utilizes much of the earlier series’ behind-the-scenes crew, but this show is not a Doctor Who spin-off. 
The 28th episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures airs on CBBC, starring Elisabeth Sladen (Doctor Who). David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Nigel Havers guest star. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 127th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton. 
Sparking the biggest outcry since Tom Baker’s departure, actor David Tennant announces that the four special Doctor Who episodes in production for 2009 will be his last in the role, after which he’ll hand off the reins to a new actor. Likewise, Russell T. Davies has already announced that he will give up his position as Doctor Who showrunner to concentrate on non-genre projects, and will be succeeded by multiple-Hugo-winning writer Steven Moffat (who has penned such fan favorites as Blink and The Girl In The Fireplace). Naturally, speculation about the actor who will play the Doctor’s eleventh incarnation runs rampant.
The eighth episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures premieres on BBC iPlayer, the first half of a two-part storyline. Juliet Cowan and Jane Asher guest star. 
BBC3 airs the third episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood, a more adult-themed spinoff of Doctor Who. Gareth Thomas (Blake’s 7) guest stars. 
The 79th episode of the prequel spinoff Star Trek: Enterprise airs on UPN. Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard) guest stars. 
The 58th episode of the prequel spinoff Star Trek: Enterprise airs on UPN. 
The Tori Amos CD Scarlet’s Walk is released, featuring the single “A Sorta Fairytale”. This is her first album on the Epic label. 
Squint releases Sixpence None The Richer‘s fourth album, Divine Discontent, featuring the singles “Breathe Your Name” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. 
The 93rd episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, Melinda Deines, Guylaine St. Onge, and Alan Van Sprang. Kevin Kilner guest stars as William Boone, the series’ first season lead.
Big Finish Productions releases the third Dalek Empire audio drama, a Doctor Who audio spinoff starring Gareth Thomas (Blake’s 7) and Sarah Mowat. 
EMI Records releases Neil Finn’s soundtrack from the movie Rain. 
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 56th episode of Stargate SG-1. 
The first American to orbit Earth returns to orbit aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. During a ten-day mission with the SPACEHAB laboratory module installed in the cargo bay, the crew conducts medical experiments with Mercury astronaut John Glenn, comparing his results against the results of identical experiments performed with one of his crewmates, to determine the effect of weightlessness on older space travelers. At the age of 77, Glenn is the world’s oldest space traveler (and is still a sitting member of the U.S. Senate at the time of his flight). Discovery’s crew on her 25th flight is Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Steven Lindsey, mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson and Pedro Duque, and payload specialists Chiaki Mukai and John Glenn.
UPN airs the 74th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. 
The seventh episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, and guest starring Jerry Hardin and Rob LaBelle.
Fox airs the tenth episode of the sci-fi western, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., starring Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, and Christian Clemenson. 
NASA/JPL’s Galileo space probe, looping repeatedly through the inner solar system to gain a speed boost from a series of gravity assists from Earth and Venus, passes the asteroid 951 Gaspra, the first human-made spacecraft to visit such a body. Where humanity’s previous knowledge of asteroids was limited at best, Galileo’s findings are startling, with photos showing a small rocky body pummeled by ancient impacts, almost to the point of shattering it. Also discovered is a magnetic field generated by the core of the asteroid itself, something planetary scientists did not expect to find at all. Galileo will loop back toward Earth, picking up a critical speed boost to Jupiter from one last flyby of its home planet.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 79th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 
The fourth episode of the syndicated Alexander and Ilya Salkind-produced Superboy series, starring John Haymes Newton and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian) guest stars.
CBS airs the seventh episode of the animated series Superman, starring the voices of Beau Weaver and Ginny McSwain, and comprised of two stories: The Hunter and Little Runaway. Rene Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Peter Cullen (Transformers) guest star.
The 41st episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs in syndication. Barbara Stock (Spenser: For Hire) stars.
Mute Records releases the Depeche Mode album Some Great Reward, featuring the single “People Are People”, which becomes the group’s signature song for years to come. 
The sixth episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense airs on ITV; the series will be shown later in the U.S. under the title Fox Mystery Theatre. Michelle Phillips (Knots Landing) and W. Morgan Sheppard (Max Headroom) guest star.
Midway releases the arcade video game Pac-Land, a game placing Pac-Man in a side-scrolling 2-D world similar to that of Super Mario Bros. 
NBC airs the 23rd episode of the Marvel animated series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, starring the voices of Dan Gilvezan, Kathy Garver, and Frank Welker.
The sixth episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. John Crawford (The Waltons) and Robert Davi (The Goonies, Die Hard) guest star.
Telesys releases the video game cartridge Fast Food for the Atari 2600 home video game system, just in time for the Christmas buying season. A glut of new releases for the 2600 by the end of the year, many from third-party companies like Telesys, causes some consumer confusion which has unexpected consequences for the entire industry. 
ABC airs the 31st episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp. Jeremy Kemp guest stars in the third season opener.
Reese Communications publishes the first issue – and, if it doesn’t sell well, likely the only issue – of Electronic Games Magazine, the first periodical devoted to video games and other electronic forms of entertainment. Video Magazine columnists Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz (operating under the pseudonym Frank Laney Jr. in order to protect his more “serious” writing work) propose the magazine after a string of successful video-game-focused issues of Video, and, with Katz’ wife Joyce Worley joining in the writing and editing duties, become the first video game journalists, inventing such now-common terms as “playfield”, “screenshot”, and “Easter egg”. Though the first issue could have been a one-off experiment, the magazine goes monthly by the end of spring 1982.
Having just opened up its American branch, Japanese video game manufacturer Nintendo introduces its first arcade game, the virtually-unknown space shooter Radar Scope. The game fails to make a splash, and many of the Radar Scope cabinets in Nintendo’s warehouse are later converted into their next (and far more profitable) game, which involves a plumber saving a woman from a gorilla. 
The seventh episode of Glen A. Larson’s science fiction series Battlestar Galactica airs on ABC. This episode is part two of a two-part story; Roy Thinnes (The Invaders) guest stars. 
The 462nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Wanda Ventham, Denis Lill and Scott Fredericks guest star. 
The 47th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Catherine Schell. 
The eighth episode of Filmation’s Saturday morning science fiction series Space Academy airs on CBS. Just in time for Halloween, the Academy is haunted by a spirit from a doomed planet. 
The 42nd episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on NBC. Dan O’Herlihy (Colditz, Whiz Kids) and Marc Alaimo (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.
NBC airs the 33rd episode of Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Rod Serling. Sandra Dee guest stars.
The fifth episode of the animated science fiction series Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman airs on Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV. This series will later be heavily edited – primarily for violence – and dubbed into English as Battle Of The Planets. 
ABC airs the sixth episode of the modern-day science fiction series The Immortal, starring Christopher George. Lynda Day George (Mission: Impossible) guest stars.
Island Records releases the debut album by White Noise, an ad hoc early electronic music group including David Vorhaus and members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. 