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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. Gene steps up to the pilot plate once again with a script closer to home than any of his westerns: a script about World War II with a former pilot who served in World War II. Despite writing what he knew, "A.P.O. 923" somehow fell short. You can watch the A.P.O. 923 pilot, recovered and preserved by Jeff "Sabucat" Joseph at his YouTube channel. Hosted by Earl Green & Ashley Thomas 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 A breakdown of key moments and themes in A.P.O. 923. Exploring Gene Roddenberry's evolving style and storytelling. How this episode ties into the broader TV landscape of the time and reflects the early seeds of Roddenberry's visionary work. Guest stars and unique production elements that bring this episode to life. Special Segment: Dramatic Recreation Since this script is not available to the public, we've brought it to life with a dramatic recreation! Special guests Mike Richards and Alan Simonis perform a key section of the script. Listen in as they bring the story to life in this exclusive performance. 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.
Streaming service CBS All Access releases the 20th episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Michelle Yeoh, Alan Van Sprang (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, The Tudors) and Bahia Watson (The Handmaid’s Tale) guest star.
Though it has yet to actually go to space, the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser spacecraft is floated as a possible savior for the Hubble Space Telescope, with a very preliminary mission proposal for a repair mission to the telescope which has now been operational in orbit for over a quarter of a century. The possible mission is brought forth as an example of increasing high-profile cooperation between NASA and private space companies. The Dream Chaser’s earliest orbit test flights are not expected to take place prior to 2019; if the mission takes place in 2020 at the earliest, Hubble will by then be 30 years old.
The 59th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 104th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Kevin Smith and Musetta Vander guest star.
After orbiting the sun behind asteroid 433 Eros for a year since a failed thruster burn almost ended its mission, unmanned space probe NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) fires its engines successfully, slowing itself to fall into orbit around Eros. During the weeks leading up to the orbital insertion maneuver, NEAR observed the space around Eros to ensure that no satellites existed with which it might collide. NEAR’s close study of Eros officially begins, and further maneuvers bring it into an ever-closer orbit around the asteroid.
The 129th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Veronica Cartwright (Alien) guest stars.
Showtime airs the 49th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Don Franklin (seaQuest DSV, Seven Days) guest stars.
The 66th episode of the supernatural crime series Forever Knight airs in syndication, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and Lisa Ryder. Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode II, Star Wars Episode III) guest stars.
At the request of astronomer Carl Sagan, NASA and JPL reawaken Voyager 1‘s camera for a last look back at Earth and its solar system, from a mind-boggling distance of 4,000,000,000 miles. The “last look” is actually composed of 60 separate photos, capturing most of the planets (with the exception of Mars and Mercury), including Earth – which takes up less than a single pixel in the image. Sagan points to the image as evidence of the fragility and uniqueness of Earth, and names his next book after the photo, “Pale Blue Dot”, also centered on that theme.
CBS airs the 18th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Martin Balsam and Larry Poindexter star in an episode comprised of three short stories, including a Harlan Ellison adaptation of an early Stephen King short story.
Sega releases the arcade game Congo Bongo in American arcades. Using the same graphical approach as Zaxxon, Congo Bongo is a 3-D take on the oddly familiar theme of a man climbing a structure to capture an ape.
The 548th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the beginning of a trilogy of stories themed around the Doctor’s regeneration and the reintroduction of the Master. Sarah Sutton makes her debut as Nyssa. Anthony Ainley guest stars.
NASA launches the unmanned Solar Maximum Mission satellite atop a Delta 3910 rocket, to study cyclical solar flare activity from Earth orbit. Built by Fairchild and relying on a magnetic reaction wheel system to maintain precise aim at the sun, “Solar Max” suffers malfunctions in orbit, and will be able to carry out only limited observations by November 1980. In 1984, Solar Max will become the first satellite to be repaired in-orbit by a visiting space shuttle crew. After repairs, the satellite will be released, with its life span in orbit having effectively doubled. It will remain in orbit, and functional, through 1989.
The second episode of Supertrain airs on NBC, starring Edward Andrews and Patrick Collins. Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and Larry Linville (M*A*S*H) guest star.
ABC airs the 17th episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on Jeff Rice’s novel and the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. Erik Estrada (CHiPS) guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches unmanned space probe Luna 20 toward the moon, another robotic lunar lander with the capability of gathering a lunar soil sample and returning it to Earth. Over 50 grams of lunar material, including rocky material from the mountainous region near Luna 20’s landing site, are returned to Earth in a shielded re-entry capsule. The lander continues to operate for three days after the sample container is launched back to Earth.
The 260th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Fulton MacKay, Paul Darrow (Blake’s 7) and Peter Miles guest star. This is the first story to feature the Silurians.
The 74th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. This episode sees Spock use a version of a Vulcan mind-meld on Kirk, urging him to “forget”; the later movies will reveal that this memory manipulation technique has an opposite number: “remember”…
The 80th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Leonard Stone guest stars.
The sixth episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, premieres on ABC. Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O) guest stars.
The CW airs the 24th episode of Batwoman starring Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, and Meagan Tandy.
Fox airs the 19th episode of the science fiction comedy-drama The Orville, starring and created by Seth McFarlane. Norm MacDonald and Bruce Willis (Die Hard, The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense) guest star. 
Streaming service CBS All Access releases the 20th episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Michelle Yeoh, Alan Van Sprang (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, The Tudors) and Bahia Watson (The Handmaid’s Tale) guest star. 
MGM’s Stargate-franchise-centric streaming service, Stargate Command, debuts the second installment of its only original production, Stargate Origins, starring Ellie Gall and Connor Trinneer (Star Trek: Enterprise). 
MGM’s Stargate-franchise-centric streaming service, Stargate Command, debuts the first installment of its only original production, Stargate Origins, starring Ellie Gall and Connor Trinneer (Star Trek: Enterprise). 
Though it has yet to actually go to space, the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser spacecraft is floated as a possible savior for the Hubble Space Telescope, with a very preliminary mission proposal for a repair mission to the telescope which has now been operational in orbit for over a quarter of a century. The possible mission is brought forth as an example of increasing high-profile cooperation between NASA and private space companies. The Dream Chaser’s earliest orbit test flights are not expected to take place prior to 2019; if the mission takes place in 2020 at the earliest, Hubble will by then be 30 years old.
La-La Land Records releases an expended 3-CD edition of Danny Elfman‘s score from the 2001 Tim Burton reboot of Planet Of The Apes. 
ABC airs the 55th episode of the J.J. Abrams-produced series Lost. Alan Dale (Angel, Torchwood) and Fionnula Flanagan guest star. 
The sixth episode of the science fiction sitcom Hyperdrive premieres on BBC2, starring Nick Frost, Miranda Hart and Kevin Eldon. This brings the first season to an end; a second season will follow in 2007. 
The 126th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Corin Nemec. Ronny Cox guest stars. 
The 59th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 104th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Kevin Smith and Musetta Vander guest star. 
After orbiting the sun behind asteroid 433 Eros for a year since a failed thruster burn almost ended its mission, unmanned space probe NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) fires its engines successfully, slowing itself to fall into orbit around Eros. During the weeks leading up to the orbital insertion maneuver, NEAR observed the space around Eros to ensure that no satellites existed with which it might collide. NEAR’s close study of Eros officially begins, and further maneuvers bring it into an ever-closer orbit around the asteroid.
The 129th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Veronica Cartwright (Alien) guest stars.
The 41st episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. Chris Barrie appears as Rimmer (sort of). 
Showtime airs the 49th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Don Franklin (seaQuest DSV, Seven Days) guest stars.
The 66th episode of the supernatural crime series Forever Knight airs in syndication, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and Lisa Ryder. Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode II, Star Wars Episode III) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 35th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 167th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 
The 19th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This is the first episode of Red Dwarf’s fourth season. 
The 13th episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, airs on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays.
NBC airs the 24th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.
At the request of astronomer Carl Sagan, NASA and JPL reawaken Voyager 1‘s camera for a last look back at Earth and its solar system, from a mind-boggling distance of 4,000,000,000 miles. The “last look” is actually composed of 60 separate photos, capturing most of the planets (with the exception of Mars and Mercury), including Earth – which takes up less than a single pixel in the image. Sagan points to the image as evidence of the fragility and uniqueness of Earth, and names his next book after the photo, “Pale Blue Dot”, also centered on that theme. 
CBS airs the 18th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Martin Balsam and Larry Poindexter star in an episode comprised of three short stories, including a Harlan Ellison adaptation of an early Stephen King short story.
Sega releases the arcade game Congo Bongo in American arcades. Using the same graphical approach as Zaxxon, Congo Bongo is a 3-D take on the oddly familiar theme of a man climbing a structure to capture an ape. 
The 548th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the beginning of a trilogy of stories themed around the Doctor’s regeneration and the reintroduction of the Master. Sarah Sutton makes her debut as Nyssa. Anthony Ainley guest stars.
NBC airs the 18th episode of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. Mary Woronov and Anne Lockhart guest star. 
NASA launches the unmanned Solar Maximum Mission satellite atop a Delta 3910 rocket, to study cyclical solar flare activity from Earth orbit. Built by Fairchild and relying on a magnetic reaction wheel system to maintain precise aim at the sun, “Solar Max” suffers malfunctions in orbit, and will be able to carry out only limited observations by November 1980. In 1984, Solar Max will become the first satellite to be repaired in-orbit by a visiting space shuttle crew. After repairs, the satellite will be released, with its life span in orbit having effectively doubled. It will remain in orbit, and functional, through 1989.
The second episode of Supertrain airs on NBC, starring Edward Andrews and Patrick Collins. Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and Larry Linville (M*A*S*H) guest star. 
UK regional broadcaster HTV premieres the sixth episode of children’s paranormal series Children Of The Stones, starring Gareth Thomas (Blake’s 7). The series is filmed on location near the real stone circle at Avebury. 
The 424th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Tony Beckley and John Challis guest star.
ABC airs the 17th episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on Jeff Rice’s novel and the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. Erik Estrada (CHiPS) guest stars. 
NBC airs the 17th episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Tony Franciosa and Burgess Meredith. Craig Stevens guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches unmanned space probe Luna 20 toward the moon, another robotic lunar lander with the capability of gathering a lunar soil sample and returning it to Earth. Over 50 grams of lunar material, including rocky material from the mountainous region near Luna 20’s landing site, are returned to Earth in a shielded re-entry capsule. The lander continues to operate for three days after the sample container is launched back to Earth.
The 260th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Fulton MacKay, Paul Darrow (Blake’s 7) and Peter Miles guest star. This is the first story to feature the Silurians.
The 74th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. This episode sees Spock use a version of a Vulcan mind-meld on Kirk, urging him to “forget”; the later movies will reveal that this memory manipulation technique has an opposite number: “remember”… 
The 80th episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Leonard Stone guest stars.
The sixth episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, premieres on ABC. Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O) guest stars.
The 140th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Wally Cox stars.