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. There are a million stories in the Naked City, and Gene Roddenberry told just one of them – but it was an unusual specimen for 1962 prime time, a story that decisively put women, including some with future involvement in Star Trek, at the forefront of a complex, challenging story. 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 "The Rydecker Case". 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. 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 51st episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Tala Ashe. Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who), Matt Ryan (Constantine), Neal McDonough, and John Noble (Fringe) guest star in the third season finale.
Big Finish Productions, under license from B7 Media, releases the fifth full-cast Blake’s 7 audio drama. Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Jan Chappell, Sally Knyvette, and Brian Croucher reprise their roles from the television series’ second season.
The 701st episode of Doctor Who (the third since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Simon Callow guest stars as Charles Dickens; future Torchwood star Eve Myles also guest stars.
The 156th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Stacy Haiduk (Superboy, seaQuest DSV) guest stars in an episode written by Gillian Anderson.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the fourth episode of Farscape. (Early episodes of this series are aired out of the producers’ preferred story order or, for that matter, production order.)
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 67th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, and Charlie O’Connell.
Atlantic Records releases Schoolhouse Rock Rocks!, an all-star cover album updating songs from the classic Schoolhouse Rocks animated shorts that punctuated the ABC Saturday morning TV lineup in the ’70s and ’80s.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on an 11-day mission to carry the Space Radar Laboratory experiment into orbit. The radar systems map sites on Earth and test other applications for orbital radar. Aboard Endeavour for her sixth flight are Commander Sidney Gutierrez, Pilot Kevin Chilton, Payload Commander Linda Godwin, and mission specialists Jay Apt, Michael Clifford and Thomas Jones.
Konami introduces the arcade game Time Pilot ’84 in the United States, dragging the popular Time Pilot style of game play two years into the future. (In many respects, it’s the same game with a new graphics set.)
The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 35 en route to space station Salyut 6 for a long-duration stay. Cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin set a new space endurance record with their 185-day stay, lasting until October 1980. Ryumin had been a member of the last Salyut 6 crew as well, having stayed on the station for six months in 1979, and was not originally scheduled for this mission, rotated into the prime crew due to the illness of the originally assigned crew member. Four other crews visit Salyut 6 during the Soyuz 35 crew’s stay. By the end of this mission, Ryumin holds a personal record for the most time accrued in space by a human being – 352 days, barely two weeks short of a full year of spaceflight experience.
The seventh episode of Harold Jack Bloom’s sci-fi series Project UFO airs on NBC, portraying fictionalized investigations into what the show claims are actual cases from the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigations. William Jordan and Caskey Swaim star. Skip Homeier (The Interns, Star Trek) guest stars.
The 112th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part two of the story now collectively known as The Celestial Toymaker. This episode is missing from the BBC’s archives.
British broadcaster ABC airs the sixth episode of Pathfinders To Venus, a follow-up series to Pathfinders In Mars, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. George Colouris and Gerald Flood (City Beneath The Sea) star; the script is written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all eight episodes will be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century. This is a rare instance of an episode of the Pathfinders saga not directed by Guy Verney; Reginald Collin (The Edward Woodward Hour, Callan) directs.
This is the last episode of the Pathfinders series to be broadcast before humans have actually gone to space.
The 28th episode of the syndicated series Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford, is broadcast in the United States. This story, titled Mental Patient, is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, still on active duty with the Los Angeles Police Department, is also the show’s “technical advisor” on police procedure. Due to Roddenberry’s current police employment, the episode is credited to his pseudonym, Robert Wesley.
The first episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre premieres on stations across the U.S. Unusually for its day, the series is filmed in color (Ziv’s way of future-proofing the show with the widespread adoption of color TV roughly a decade away). The episode stars William Lundigan, the future star of another Ziv-produced science fiction series, Men Into Space.
Using a World War II-era aviation radar system, Illinois State Water Survey electrical engineer Donald Staggs makes the first radar-based detection of a nearby tornado, part of a tornado outbreak striking in and near Champaign, Illinois. The “hook echo” is the distinctive radar signature of a rapidly evolving small-scale cyclone developing from the larger radar signature of its parent thunderstorm. Continued observations confirm that this is the “radar shape” of a forming tornado, an invaluable piece of information for forecasters on the forefront of severe weather prediction.
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 51st episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Tala Ashe. Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who), Matt Ryan (Constantine), Neal McDonough, and John Noble (Fringe) guest star in the third season finale.
Big Finish Productions, under license from B7 Media, releases the fifth full-cast Blake’s 7 audio drama. Gareth Thomas, Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Jan Chappell, Sally Knyvette, and Brian Croucher reprise their roles from the television series’ second season. 
The 701st episode of Doctor Who (the third since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Simon Callow guest stars as Charles Dickens; future Torchwood star Eve Myles also guest stars. 
The 44th episode of the Star Trek prequel spinoff Enterprise premieres on UPN. J.G. Hertzler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and John Vickery (Babylon 5) guest star. 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 34th episode of Lexx. Nigel Bennett (Forever Knight) guest stars as Prince. 
The 156th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Stacy Haiduk (Superboy, seaQuest DSV) guest stars in an episode written by Gillian Anderson.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 22nd episode of Lexx. Unusually, much of the episode is a stage musical (complete with stage). 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the fourth episode of Farscape. (Early episodes of this series are aired out of the producers’ preferred story order or, for that matter, production order.) 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 67th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, and Charlie O’Connell.
UPN airs the 62nd episode of Star Trek: Voyager. 
Atlantic Records releases Schoolhouse Rock Rocks!, an all-star cover album updating songs from the classic Schoolhouse Rocks animated shorts that punctuated the ABC Saturday morning TV lineup in the ’70s and ’80s. 
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on an 11-day mission to carry the Space Radar Laboratory experiment into orbit. The radar systems map sites on Earth and test other applications for orbital radar. Aboard Endeavour for her sixth flight are Commander Sidney Gutierrez, Pilot Kevin Chilton, Payload Commander Linda Godwin, and mission specialists Jay Apt, Michael Clifford and Thomas Jones.
Fox Network airs the 20th episode of Kenneth Johnson’s sci-fi cop series Alien Nation, starring Gary Graham and Eric Pierpoint. Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars. 
Konami introduces the arcade game Time Pilot ’84 in the United States, dragging the popular Time Pilot style of game play two years into the future. (In many respects, it’s the same game with a new graphics set.) 
I.R.S. Records releases R.E.M.‘s second album, Reckoning. 
CBS airs the fifth episode of the fantasy/comedy series Wizards and Warriors, starring Jeff Conaway (Grease, Babylon 5), Walter Olkewicz, Duncan Regehr, and Julia Duffy (Newhart).
ITV airs the 70th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Bryan Marshall guest stars in the sixth season premiere.
NBC airs the 32nd episode of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. William Sylvester (2001: a space odyssey) guest stars. 
The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 35 en route to space station Salyut 6 for a long-duration stay. Cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin set a new space endurance record with their 185-day stay, lasting until October 1980. Ryumin had been a member of the last Salyut 6 crew as well, having stayed on the station for six months in 1979, and was not originally scheduled for this mission, rotated into the prime crew due to the illness of the originally assigned crew member. Four other crews visit Salyut 6 during the Soyuz 35 crew’s stay. By the end of this mission, Ryumin holds a personal record for the most time accrued in space by a human being – 352 days, barely two weeks short of a full year of spaceflight experience.
The seventh episode of Harold Jack Bloom’s sci-fi series Project UFO airs on NBC, portraying fictionalized investigations into what the show claims are actual cases from the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigations. William Jordan and Caskey Swaim star. Skip Homeier (The Interns, Star Trek) guest stars.
The 112th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part two of the story now collectively known as The Celestial Toymaker. This episode is missing from the BBC’s archives.
Decca Records releases the Zombies‘ second album, Begin Here, featuring the single “Tell Her No”. 
British broadcaster ABC airs the sixth episode of Pathfinders To Venus, a follow-up series to Pathfinders In Mars, produced by future Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman. George Colouris and Gerald Flood (City Beneath The Sea) star; the script is written by Malcolm Hulke (Doctor Who) and Eric Paice (Star Maidens). Though the original master tape of this episode was later wiped for reuse, film recordings of all eight episodes will be recovered and released on DVD in the 21st century. This is a rare instance of an episode of the Pathfinders saga not directed by Guy Verney; Reginald Collin (The Edward Woodward Hour, Callan) directs.
The 28th episode of the syndicated series Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford, is broadcast in the United States. This story, titled Mental Patient, is an early TV script written by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, still on active duty with the Los Angeles Police Department, is also the show’s “technical advisor” on police procedure. Due to Roddenberry’s current police employment, the episode is credited to his pseudonym, Robert Wesley. 
The first episode of the syndicated science fiction Science Fiction Theatre premieres on stations across the U.S. Unusually for its day, the series is filmed in color (Ziv’s way of future-proofing the show with the widespread adoption of color TV roughly a decade away). The episode stars William Lundigan, the future star of another Ziv-produced science fiction series, Men Into Space.
Using a World War II-era aviation radar system, Illinois State Water Survey electrical engineer Donald Staggs makes the first radar-based detection of a nearby tornado, part of a tornado outbreak striking in and near Champaign, Illinois. The “hook echo” is the distinctive radar signature of a rapidly evolving small-scale cyclone developing from the larger radar signature of its parent thunderstorm. Continued observations confirm that this is the “radar shape” of a forming tornado, an invaluable piece of information for forecasters on the forefront of severe weather prediction.