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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. Is this the best television script Gene Roddenberry wrote prior to creating Star Trek? Gene's singular episode of the popular medical drama Dr. Kildare is a powerful story full of rich characters and raw emotions – the bedrock of great television drama. 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 Distant Thunder". 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 Jeff Gauntt and Bonnie Gordon 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.
The 155th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Adrian Paul (Highlander) guest stars.
Cable channel Disney XD airs the 56th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels. Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Lars Mikkelsen (House Of Cards, Sherlock), Genevieve O’Reilly (Rogue One) and Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2) guest star in the two-part third season finale.
Cable channel Disney XD airs the 55th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels. Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Lars Mikkelsen (House Of Cards, Sherlock), Genevieve O’Reilly (Rogue One) and Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2) guest star.
The 63rd episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) guest stars.
Part of the 39th full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-12M. Aleksandr Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev and Steven Swanson take up residence on the ISS for 169 days, becoming part of the Expedition 39 and 40 crews. This crew returns to Earth in September 2014 aboard the same vehicle.
Bridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network airs the 25th mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 19th episode of Stargate Atlantis. Clayton Landey and Robert Davi guest star. This episode brings the first season to a close, continuing the “summer season / winter season” pattern already established by Stargate SG-1.
The 173rd episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Christopher Judge. This is the eighth season finale.
The 139th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters and Alyson Hannigan also star. Juliet Landau guest stars.
NASA scientists announce a startling find on one of Jupiter’s moons: a chemical which must be manufactured on Earth occurs naturally on the surface of Europa. The Galileo orbiter detects naturally-occurring hydrogren peroxide on the surface of the icy moon (a surface which most planetary scientists now believe covers an ocean of water or “slush” just beneath the crust), probably caused by the constant bombardment of radiation-charged particles from Jupiter itself. The hydrogen peroxide on Europa is also found to be very short-lived, quickly breaking down into gaseous oxygen and hydrogen.
The fourth episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Sean Patrick Flanery. Bernard Fresson and Jean Rougerie guest star.
The 20th episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Jon Gries (Martin, The Pretender) guest stars.
ABC airs the fourth episode of the cop show spoof Police Squad, in color, starring Leslie Nielsen and created by the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker team behind the hit movie Airplane! William Shatner (Barbary Coast, T.J. Hooker) and Dr. Joyce Brothers guest star. The series is cancelled after this episode’s broadcast, leaving two episodes to be shown in July.
Atari releases Video Pinball as a cartridge for the Atari 2600. Though sharing the same name as an earlier Atari arcade game, the home edition is a somewhat more elaborate simultaion of pinball.
ABC airs the second episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
ABC airs both parts of a two-part episode of Future Cop as its Friday night movie, starring Ernest Borgnine (McHale’s Navy), Michael J. Shannon, and John Amos (Good Times). Albert Salmi and Gerrit Graham guest star.
Construction begins on Space Shuttle Orbiter Vehicle 102 (OV-102 for short), the shuttle orbiter that NASA intends to launch as early as 1977. But OV-102 encounters the inherent pitfalls of being the first of its kind: years of delays are ahead, with many of the delays linked to the complicated system of protective thermal tiles designed to bear the brunt of the shuttle’s punishing re-entry through the atmosphere. (The test orbiter, later named Enterprise, is never intended for spaceflight, so it only has to conform to the shape and weight of a returning shuttle for landing tests, and therefore it doesn’t face the same hurdles.) OV-102’s first flight won’t take place until 1981, leaving a six-year gap between manned American spaceflights; during this period OV-102 will be named Columbia.
The 316th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Roger Delgado and Clive Morton guest star. This is the first appearance of the Sea Devils, identified here as an offshoot of the Silurian species.
The 29th and final episode of the spy-fi series Adam Adamant Lives! airs on BBC1, starring Gerald Harper and Juliet Harmer. T.P. McKenna guest stars in the series finale, one of the only two second season episodes that now exists in the BBC’s archives.
The 25th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Roddy McDowall (Planet Of The Apes) and Susan Oliver (Star Trek) star in Serling’s adaptation of a Paul Fairman short story.
The 155th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Adrian Paul (Highlander) guest stars.
Cable channel Disney XD airs the 56th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels. Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Lars Mikkelsen (House Of Cards, Sherlock), Genevieve O’Reilly (Rogue One) and Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2) guest star in the two-part third season finale. 
Cable channel Disney XD airs the 55th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels. Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Lars Mikkelsen (House Of Cards, Sherlock), Genevieve O’Reilly (Rogue One) and Clancy Brown (Highlander, Earth 2) guest star. 
Part of the 39th full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-12M. Aleksandr Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev and Steven Swanson take up residence on the ISS for 169 days, becoming part of the Expedition 39 and 40 crews. This crew returns to Earth in September 2014 aboard the same vehicle.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 53rd episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Mark Sheppard guest stars. This episode concludes the third season; the fourth season doesn’t premiere until over a year later. 
Sci-Fi channel airs the 12th episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. 
Bridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network airs the 25th mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 19th episode of Stargate Atlantis. Clayton Landey and Robert Davi guest star. This episode brings the first season to a close, continuing the “summer season / winter season” pattern already established by Stargate SG-1. 
The 173rd episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Christopher Judge. This is the eighth season finale. 
The fourth Afro-Celt Sound System album, Seed, is released, featuring the single “Rise Above It”. 
The 139th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters and Alyson Hannigan also star. Juliet Landau guest stars.
The 50th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. 
NASA scientists announce a startling find on one of Jupiter’s moons: a chemical which must be manufactured on Earth occurs naturally on the surface of Europa. The Galileo orbiter detects naturally-occurring hydrogren peroxide on the surface of the icy moon (a surface which most planetary scientists now believe covers an ocean of water or “slush” just beneath the crust), probably caused by the constant bombardment of radiation-charged particles from Jupiter itself. The hydrogen peroxide on Europa is also found to be very short-lived, quickly breaking down into gaseous oxygen and hydrogen.
Cable channel TNT premieres the 98th episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. Julie Caitlin Brown reprises her first-season role as Narn aide Na’Toth. 
GNP Crescendo records releases the soundtrack compilation album The Best Of Godzilla: 1954-1975, with highlights from the various Toho Studios Godzilla movies’ early era. 
The fourth episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Sean Patrick Flanery. Bernard Fresson and Jean Rougerie guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 91st episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 
The 62nd episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs in syndication. Ben Murphy (Alias Smith And Jones, Gemini Man) stars.
Geffen Records releases Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to the movie Birdy. Many of the album’s tracks are instrumentals inspired by songs from Gabriel’s existing solo albums. 
The 20th episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Jon Gries (Martin, The Pretender) guest stars.
ABC airs the fourth episode of the cop show spoof Police Squad, in color, starring Leslie Nielsen and created by the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker team behind the hit movie Airplane! William Shatner (Barbary Coast, T.J. Hooker) and Dr. Joyce Brothers guest star. The series is cancelled after this episode’s broadcast, leaving two episodes to be shown in July. 
Atari releases Video Pinball as a cartridge for the Atari 2600. Though sharing the same name as an earlier Atari arcade game, the home edition is a somewhat more elaborate simultaion of pinball. 
ABC airs the second episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
The 56th episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on NBC. Carmen Argenziano (Stargate SG-1) guest stars.
ABC airs both parts of a two-part episode of Future Cop as its Friday night movie, starring Ernest Borgnine (McHale’s Navy), Michael J. Shannon, and John Amos (Good Times). Albert Salmi and Gerrit Graham guest star. 
Construction begins on Space Shuttle Orbiter Vehicle 102 (OV-102 for short), the shuttle orbiter that NASA intends to launch as early as 1977. But OV-102 encounters the inherent pitfalls of being the first of its kind: years of delays are ahead, with many of the delays linked to the complicated system of protective thermal tiles designed to bear the brunt of the shuttle’s punishing re-entry through the atmosphere. (The test orbiter, later named Enterprise, is never intended for spaceflight, so it only has to conform to the shape and weight of a returning shuttle for landing tests, and therefore it doesn’t face the same hurdles.) OV-102’s first flight won’t take place until 1981, leaving a six-year gap between manned American spaceflights; during this period OV-102 will be named Columbia.
The 21st episode of The Tomorrow People is broadcast on ITV. 
The 316th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Roger Delgado and Clive Morton guest star. This is the first appearance of the Sea Devils, identified here as an offshoot of the Silurian species.
The 155th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.
The 29th and final episode of the spy-fi series Adam Adamant Lives! airs on BBC1, starring Gerald Harper and Juliet Harmer. T.P. McKenna guest stars in the series finale, one of the only two second season episodes that now exists in the BBC’s archives.
The 25th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Roddy McDowall (Planet Of The Apes) and Susan Oliver (Star Trek) star in Serling’s adaptation of a Paul Fairman short story.