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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.
Part of the 21st full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-16. Maksim Surayev and Jeffrey Williams take up residence on the ISS for 168 days, becoming part of the Expedition 21 crew. Joining them for the flight to the ISS is Canadian space tourist and Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberté, who visits the station for ten days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-14 with members of the Expedition 19/20 crew. As with other space tourists before him, he pays for his own Soyuz seat and space training, but the impending retirement of the space shuttle fleet puts an end to Soyuz space tourism for several years after this flight.
Big Finish Productions releases the first I, Davros audio drama, a Doctor Who audio spinoff starring Terry Molloy, reprising his TV role as creator of the Daleks.
A long-standing mystery of one of the moons of Jupiter is solved, opening many more questions. Data gathered by the Galileo unmanned orbiter reveals that a previously unidentifiable substance on Europa’s surface is sulfuric acid, a compound used as battery acid on Earth. Scientists quickly split into two camps on the origins of the acid: it may be welling up from inside Europa, or it may be volcanic material ejected from Io and then deposited on Europa as the moons’ orbits occasionally bring them into conjunction. Though the presence of sulfuric acid initially dashes hopes of finding life on Europa, the possibility is not completely ruled out by this finding.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 97th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the beginning of the series’ fifth season. Robert O’Reilly guest stars; J.G. Hertzler makes his first appearance as General Martok.
The fourth episode of the science fiction series The Cape premieres in syndication in North America, starring Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) and Adam Baldwin, and focusing on a fictionalized version of NASA’s shuttle program.
Launched in 1978 as a joint venture between NASA and ESA, the unmanned International Ultraviolet Explorer is commanded to exhaust its remaining fuel and cease all contact with Earth. Though its detectors and other instruments are still functioning well after 18 years in orbit, its stabilization gyros have failed one by one until the satellite is unable to be aimed at deep space targets with any accuracy. IUE remains powered down, adrift in a geosynchronous orbit.
The 27th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi. William Sanderson (Blade Runner) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the shuttle program’s 65th mission. The eleven-day flight is a second round of space radar experiments, using a cargo-bay-mounted radar system that flew earlier in 1994 aboard Endeavour. The crew for this flight consists of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Payload Commander Thomas Jones, and mission specialists Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch and Peter Wisoff.
The first episode of Glen A. Larson’s superhero series Manimal premieres on NBC, starring Simon MacCorkindale (Quatermass, Falcon Crest), Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon), and Michael D. Roberts (Baretta, The First Family). Terry Kiser (Weekend At Bernie’s) guest stars in the series premiere, concerning a man who has the ability to shapeshift into any animal.
Desperately trying to keep its coin-op games fresh, Sega releases the arcade game conversion kit Super Zaxxon. The kit updates Zaxxon machines with new graphics and levels, giving arcade operators the chance to put a “new” machine in circulation without purchasing an entire new cabinet.
Atari releases the arcade game Battlezone in the United States, bringing back Tank’s double joysticks but putting the player in the tank in a first-person perspective (complete with “shattered glass” as enemy artillery takes the player’s tank out of commission).
Magnavox releases the video game cartridge War Of Nerves for the Odyssey² video game system, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. With an emphasis on giving orders to a robot army not directly under the player’s micro-managed control, this may be the earliest example of a real-time strategy video game.
The 484th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1, continuing the Key To Time storyline. This is the first Doctor Who script written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy). Bruce Purchase guest stars.
NBC airs the second episode of Gemini Man, starring Ben Murphy, Katherine Crawford, and William Sylvester (2001: a space odyssey). Ross Martin (The Wild Wild West) guest stars.
On or around this date in 1976, the very first teaser trailers for an upcoming 20th Century Fox movie called Star Wars is shown in theaters for the first time, with the ominous voice of Malachi Throne (who had, coincidentally, appeared or done voice-overs numerous times in classic Star Trek) declaring that “somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now.” With no hint of the genre-defining soundtrack music, unfinished visual effects, stand-in stock sound effects, and a logo rendered in Helvetica, the effect is perhaps a bit underwhelming.
Astronomers catch fleeting glimpses of a new natural satellite of Jupiter, Themisto, though the initial estimates of its orbit are “off” enough that Themisto becomes “lost” and isn’t observed again until 2000. With a diameter of roughly five miles, Themisto marks the dividing line between the larger inner moons of Jupiter and the widely-scattered menagerie of asteroid-like outer moons orbiting the planet. Astronomers Elizabeth Roemer and Charles Kowal (who discovered another new Jovian moon in 1974) share credit for discovering the moon. Themisto is the last Jovian satellite to be discovered by ground-based telescope in the 20th century.
The third episode of the horror anthology series The Evil Touch airs on Australia’s Nine Network, hosted by Anthony Quayle (Strange Report). (The series will later appear in the U.S. and elsewhere in first-run syndication.) Kim Hunter (Planet Of The Apes) guest stars.
The third episode of Gerry Anderson’s live-action UFO series airs on ITV, starring Edward Bishop and Michael Billington. Wanda Ventham, Lois Maxwell, and Alexis Kanner (The Prisoner) guest star.
ITV airs the tenth episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives.
The pilot movie The Immortal premieres as ABC’s Movie of the Week, starring Christopher George, Jessica Walter, and Barry Sullivan. Based on the James Gunn science fiction novel The Immortals, published five years earlier, the movie leads to a weekly series a year later.
The 174th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the first of two Troughton-era stories featuring the robotic Yeti. Jack Watling (the father of series regular Deborah Watling) guest stars. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.
British broadcaster ABC airs the 121st episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Peter Cushing (Star Wars, Dr. Who And The Daleks) guest stars.
ABC broadcasts the fourth episode of the Filmation animated series Journey To The Center Of The Earth, very loosely based on the 1959 movie of the same name. Ted Knight, Pat Harrington Jr., and Jane Webb lead the voice cast.
Columbia Records releases the soundtrack from the 2015 science fiction movie The Martian by Harry Gregson-Williams. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 152nd Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 139th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 138th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, and Mark Strickson. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 28th episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann. 
Part of the 21st full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-16. Maksim Surayev and Jeffrey Williams take up residence on the ISS for 168 days, becoming part of the Expedition 21 crew. Joining them for the flight to the ISS is Canadian space tourist and Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberté, who visits the station for ten days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-14 with members of the Expedition 19/20 crew. As with other space tourists before him, he pays for his own Soyuz seat and space training, but the impending retirement of the space shuttle fleet puts an end to Soyuz space tourism for several years after this flight.
Big Finish Productions releases the 125th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and India Fisher. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 23rd episode of the new Eighth Doctor Who audio dramas, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 113th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 100th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Maggie Stables. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 87th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison and Janet Fielding. 
Big Finish Productions releases the first I, Davros audio drama, a Doctor Who audio spinoff starring Terry Molloy, reprising his TV role as creator of the Daleks. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 86th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Claudia Christian (Babylon 5) guest stars. 
Serenity, the feature film follow-up to Joss Whedon’s science fiction series Firefly, makes its theatrical premiere. Whedon writes and directs; the full cast of the series returns, and Chiwetel Ejiofor also stars. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 74th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 73rd Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, and Maggie Stables. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 13th Dalek Empire audio drama, a Doctor Who audio spinoff starring David Tennant and William Gaunt. 
Epic Records releases the Ben Folds’ EP Sunny 16, the second of a trio of EPs. 
Big Finish Productions releases the third Sarah Jane Smith audio drama, a Doctor Who audio spinoff starring Elisabeth Sladen, reprising her TV role. 
Basta Records releases Manhattan Research, Inc., an album of experimental early electronic music and classic radio advertising jingles written and performed by Raymond Scott (1908-1994); vocals (both sung and spoken) include performances by his wife, Dorothy Collins, and pre-Muppets Jim Henson. The music on the album is played by instruments and early sequencers that Scott invented himself. 
A long-standing mystery of one of the moons of Jupiter is solved, opening many more questions. Data gathered by the Galileo unmanned orbiter reveals that a previously unidentifiable substance on Europa’s surface is sulfuric acid, a compound used as battery acid on Earth. Scientists quickly split into two camps on the origins of the acid: it may be welling up from inside Europa, or it may be volcanic material ejected from Io and then deposited on Europa as the moons’ orbits occasionally bring them into conjunction. Though the presence of sulfuric acid initially dashes hopes of finding life on Europa, the possibility is not completely ruled out by this finding.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 97th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the beginning of the series’ fifth season. Robert O’Reilly guest stars; J.G. Hertzler makes his first appearance as General Martok. 
The fourth episode of the science fiction series The Cape premieres in syndication in North America, starring Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) and Adam Baldwin, and focusing on a fictionalized version of NASA’s shuttle program. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 25th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, opening the show’s second season. 
Launched in 1978 as a joint venture between NASA and ESA, the unmanned International Ultraviolet Explorer is commanded to exhaust its remaining fuel and cease all contact with Earth. Though its detectors and other instruments are still functioning well after 18 years in orbit, its stabilization gyros have failed one by one until the satellite is unable to be aimed at deep space targets with any accuracy. IUE remains powered down, adrift in a geosynchronous orbit.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 62nd episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. Erica Gimpel (Fame, ER) guest stars. 
The 27th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi. William Sanderson (Blade Runner) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the shuttle program’s 65th mission. The eleven-day flight is a second round of space radar experiments, using a cargo-bay-mounted radar system that flew earlier in 1994 aboard Endeavour. The crew for this flight consists of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Payload Commander Thomas Jones, and mission specialists Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch and Peter Wisoff.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 101st episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paul Winfield (Star Trek II) and Ashley Judd guest star. 
The first episode of Glen A. Larson’s superhero series Manimal premieres on NBC, starring Simon MacCorkindale (Quatermass, Falcon Crest), Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon), and Michael D. Roberts (Baretta, The First Family). Terry Kiser (Weekend At Bernie’s) guest stars in the series premiere, concerning a man who has the ability to shapeshift into any animal.
Desperately trying to keep its coin-op games fresh, Sega releases the arcade game conversion kit Super Zaxxon. The kit updates Zaxxon machines with new graphics and levels, giving arcade operators the chance to put a “new” machine in circulation without purchasing an entire new cabinet. 
The 38th episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, airs in syndication across the U.S. 
Atari releases the arcade game Battlezone in the United States, bringing back Tank’s double joysticks but putting the player in the tank in a first-person perspective (complete with “shattered glass” as enemy artillery takes the player’s tank out of commission). 
Magnavox releases the video game cartridge War Of Nerves for the Odyssey² video game system, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. With an emphasis on giving orders to a robot army not directly under the player’s micro-managed control, this may be the earliest example of a real-time strategy video game. 
The 484th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1, continuing the Key To Time storyline. This is the first Doctor Who script written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy). Bruce Purchase guest stars. 
CBS airs the fourth episode of the Space Academy spinoff series Jason Of Star Command, starring Craig Littler, Sid Haig, and James Doohan (Star Trek). 
CBS airs the third episode of the TV adaptation of Logan’s Run. Mary Woronov guest stars. 
The 16th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Yuki Shimoda and Lew Ayres guest star. 
NBC airs the second episode of Gemini Man, starring Ben Murphy, Katherine Crawford, and William Sylvester (2001: a space odyssey). Ross Martin (The Wild Wild West) guest stars. 
On or around this date in 1976, the very first teaser trailers for an upcoming 20th Century Fox movie called Star Wars is shown in theaters for the first time, with the ominous voice of Malachi Throne (who had, coincidentally, appeared or done voice-overs numerous times in classic Star Trek) declaring that “somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now.” With no hint of the genre-defining soundtrack music, unfinished visual effects, stand-in stock sound effects, and a logo rendered in Helvetica, the effect is perhaps a bit underwhelming.
Astronomers catch fleeting glimpses of a new natural satellite of Jupiter, Themisto, though the initial estimates of its orbit are “off” enough that Themisto becomes “lost” and isn’t observed again until 2000. With a diameter of roughly five miles, Themisto marks the dividing line between the larger inner moons of Jupiter and the widely-scattered menagerie of asteroid-like outer moons orbiting the planet. Astronomers Elizabeth Roemer and Charles Kowal (who discovered another new Jovian moon in 1974) share credit for discovering the moon. Themisto is the last Jovian satellite to be discovered by ground-based telescope in the 20th century.
The fourth episode of the BBC’s short-lived science fiction series Moonbase 3 premieres. Garrick Hagon (Star Wars) guest stars. 
The third episode of the horror anthology series The Evil Touch airs on Australia’s Nine Network, hosted by Anthony Quayle (Strange Report). (The series will later appear in the U.S. and elsewhere in first-run syndication.) Kim Hunter (Planet Of The Apes) guest stars.
The 15th episode of The Sixth Sense airs on ABC, starring Gary Collins. Joan Crawford guest stars in what would prove to be her final on-screen role.
The third episode of Gerry Anderson’s live-action UFO series airs on ITV, starring Edward Bishop and Michael Billington. Wanda Ventham, Lois Maxwell, and Alexis Kanner (The Prisoner) guest star.
ITV airs the tenth episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives.
The pilot movie The Immortal premieres as ABC’s Movie of the Week, starring Christopher George, Jessica Walter, and Barry Sullivan. Based on the James Gunn science fiction novel The Immortals, published five years earlier, the movie leads to a weekly series a year later.
The 174th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the first of two Troughton-era stories featuring the robotic Yeti. Jack Watling (the father of series regular Deborah Watling) guest stars. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives. 
British broadcaster ABC airs the 121st episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Peter Cushing (Star Wars, Dr. Who And The Daleks) guest stars.
ABC broadcasts the fourth episode of the Filmation animated series Journey To The Center Of The Earth, very loosely based on the 1959 movie of the same name. Ted Knight, Pat Harrington Jr., and Jane Webb lead the voice cast.