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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.
Streaming service Paramount Plus debuts the 22nd episode of Star Trek: Picard, starring Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, and Jeri Ryan. Amanda Plummer, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes and Gates McFadden guest star.
The first episode of Superman & Lois premieres on the CW, starring Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Jordan Elsass, and Alex Garfin. The latest in a long line of television iterations of DC Comics’ most famous character, this series shares continuity with Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman, and Legends Of Tomorrow.
The 862nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 163rd episode since the series’ revival), starring Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, and Tosin Cole. Sacha Dhawan guest stars in part one of the season 12 finale.
The 16th and 17th episodes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Agent Carter, starring Hayley Attwell as Agent Peggy Carter, is broadcast on ABC. Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop, That ’70s Show) and Wynn Everett (The Newsroom) guest star.
Cable channel Disney XD premieres the 13th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels, a CGI animated storyline falling between the original and prequel trilogies of the Star Wars saga.
Forever known as the Brigadier (and thus the only ranking UNIT officer who counts), actor Nicholas Courtney dies at the age of 81, the only actor to have appeared alongside every Doctor in Doctor Who. After appearing as a one-off guest character in the Hartnell era, Courtney is drafted into the role of Colonel Lethbridge Stewart for a 1968 Doctor Who story, proving popular enough to return the following season with a promotion to Brigadier. In this role, Courtney guest starred with every television Doctor (including, thanks to a cameo in a 1993 charity skit, Colin Baker); he would also appear alonside Paul McGann in a Big Finish audio play, a medium that also saw him appearing with David Tennant, years before being cast as the tenth Doctor. Courtney would play the role for Big Finish several times, and even reprised the Brigadier in a 1995 fan-made video production, before bringing the character back in a two-part episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Pay cable channel Showtime airs the 87th episode of Stargate SG-1. Carmen Argenziano, Peter Williams, and Peter Wingfield (Highlander) guest star in the fourth season finale.
The 50th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, and Alyson Hannigan also star. Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Alexis Denisof (Angel) guest star.
Canadian broadcaster CHCH-TV airs the seventh episode of Art Monterastelli’s sci-fi series Total Recall 2070, starring Michael Easton and Cynthia Preston, very loosely based on the 1990 film Total Recall. The series will air on the American pay cable channel Showtime later in the year. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian) guest stars. (The episode title, also used by the earlier UPN series Nowhere Man, is an anagram of “information superhighway”.)
The 18th episode of the sequel series Team Knight Rider airs in syndication, starring Brixton Karnes, Christine Steel, Duane Davis, and Nick Wechsler. Sadie Stratton and Michelle Joyner guest star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 61st episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Ted Raimi (seaQuest DSV) guest stars.
Fire breaks out aboard the Russian space station Mir, forcing the crew to break out face masks and goggles which they must keep on even after the fire is put out. The culprit is determined to be an oxygen generator, which is damaged beyond repair; fortunately, American crewmember Jerry Linenger is a medical doctor and determines that he and his crewmates are none the worse for wear. A new oxygen generator will arrive on the next Space Shuttle mission to Mir later in the year.
The 89th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Scott Hylands guest stars.
The 66th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Robert Wisden (Jeremiah) and Steve Bacic (Andromeda) guest star.
Premium cable channel Showtime airs the 29th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Ryan Phillippe and Peter Donat (Time Trax) guest star.
Nichibutsu releases the retro revival game Hyper Crazy Climber for the Sony Playstation, featuring both the original arcade version of Crazy Climber and a newer update with adventure game elements and power-ups. This game is limited only to the Japanese market.
NBC airs the 90th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Renee Coleman (A League Of Their Own) and Carolyn Seymour (Survivors) guest star.
NBC airs the 89th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Renee Coleman (A League Of Their Own), Carolyn Seymour (Survivors), and Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser M.D.) guest star.
CBS airs the 21st episode of Barney Cohen and James Parriott’s supernatural crime series Forever Knight, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and John Kapelos. Cali Timmins guest stars.
The 18th episode of the science fiction crime drama Super Force is broadcast in syndication in North America, starring Ken Olandt, Larry B. Scott, and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers). Xander Berkeley and Ginger Lynn guest star.
The 18th episode of Dracula: The Series airs in syndication, starring Bernard Behrens, Geordie Johnson, and Mia Kirshner. Andrew Gillies (12 Monkeys, Orphan Black) and Kate Trotter (Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Earth: Final Conflict) guest star.
The 636th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines return as the second Doctor and Jamie, and the Sontarans appear for the first time since the Tom Baker era. Jacqueline Pearce (Blake’s 7) guest stars.
The 617th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Anthony Ainley appears as the Master, as Nicola Bryant is introduced as new TARDIS traveler Peri, the first regular American character (though the actress herself is British). Otherworldly location filming has been done at Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for this story. Peter Wyngarde guest stars.
The 595th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Valentine Dyall appears as the Black Guardian; Liza Goddard (The Brothers) guest stars. This is the last story for Nyssa, played by series regular Sarah Sutton.
Konami introduces the arcade game Loco Motion in the United States, one of its earliest self-released coin-ops (most titles had previously been licensed through Stern).
Science fiction writer Leigh Brackett, who is battling cancer, turns in her first and only draft of a screenplay simply titled “Star Wars Sequel” (later to be known as The Empire Strikes Back); this early draft includes the notation “Episode II”. Brackett, a golden-age SF writer hired by Lucas to help him generate ideas for the second film, loses her battle with cancer soon afterward, and the screenplay is revamped significantly before shooting, though the finished movie will retain her writing credit.
NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe, en route to its first destination, develops a potentially mission-jeopardizing problem: the scan platform, which contains and aims many of Voyager’s scientific instruments, jams and becomes stuck in place. As Voyager 1 has yet to even reach Jupiter, this threatens to make it an expensive failure. Transmitting commands from Earth to give the scan platform a gentle three-axis workout, engineers at NASA manage to free the stuck instruments, salvaging Voyager 1’s mission to the outer planets and their moons. (A similar fault develops in Voyager 2 during its 1981 encounter with Saturn.)
NBC airs the fourth episode of Quinn Martin’s horror/sci-fi anthology Tales Of The Unexpected. (This series is not to be confused with the longer-lived British series of the same name, created by acclaimed author Roald Dahl.) David Birney (Serpico) and William Campbell (Star Trek) guest star.
The 30th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Robert DoQui and Jack Colvin (The Incredible Hulk) guest star.
NBC airs the 21st episode of the supernatural anthology series Circle Of Fear (previously known as Ghost Story). Susan Oliver (Star Trek) and Meg Foster star.
NBC airs the 27th episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Serling himself. Geraldine Page, Michael Dunn, and Chloris Leachman guest star.
Streaming service Paramount Plus debuts the 22nd episode of Star Trek: Picard, starring Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, and Jeri Ryan. Amanda Plummer, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes and Gates McFadden guest star. 
The CW airs the 109th episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Jes Macallan, Tala Ashe, and Olivia Swann.
The CW airs the 50th episode of Batwoman starring Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, and Meagan Tandy.
The first episode of Superman & Lois premieres on the CW, starring Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Jordan Elsass, and Alex Garfin. The latest in a long line of television iterations of DC Comics’ most famous character, this series shares continuity with Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman, and Legends Of Tomorrow.
The sixth episode of Armando Iannucci’s sci-fi comedy Avenue 5 premieres on HBO, starring Hugh Laurie (House), Josh Gad, Lenora Crichlow (Being Human), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Jupiter Ascending), and Zach Woods (The Office, Silicon Valley). Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday) guest star. 
The 862nd episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 163rd episode since the series’ revival), starring Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, and Tosin Cole. Sacha Dhawan guest stars in part one of the season 12 finale.
The 16th and 17th episodes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Agent Carter, starring Hayley Attwell as Agent Peggy Carter, is broadcast on ABC. Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop, That ’70s Show) and Wynn Everett (The Newsroom) guest star.
The 38th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin, airs on the CW.
Cable channel Disney XD premieres the 13th episode of the series Star Wars: Rebels, a CGI animated storyline falling between the original and prequel trilogies of the Star Wars saga. 
Test Card Recordings release the album The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting, a largely instrumental collection of songs themed around the early space race. 
Forever known as the Brigadier (and thus the only ranking UNIT officer who counts), actor Nicholas Courtney dies at the age of 81, the only actor to have appeared alongside every Doctor in Doctor Who. After appearing as a one-off guest character in the Hartnell era, Courtney is drafted into the role of Colonel Lethbridge Stewart for a 1968 Doctor Who story, proving popular enough to return the following season with a promotion to Brigadier. In this role, Courtney guest starred with every television Doctor (including, thanks to a cameo in a 1993 charity skit, Colin Baker); he would also appear alonside Paul McGann in a Big Finish audio play, a medium that also saw him appearing with David Tennant, years before being cast as the tenth Doctor. Courtney would play the role for Big Finish several times, and even reprised the Brigadier in a 1995 fan-made video production, before bringing the character back in a two-part episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
La-La Land Records releases Bear McCreary’s soundtrack from the Battlestar Galactica TV movies Razor and The Plan. 
The fan-made internet series Starship Farragut releases its first episode, following the crew of a sister ship of the Kirk-era Enterprise. 
Pay cable channel Showtime airs the 87th episode of Stargate SG-1. Carmen Argenziano, Peter Williams, and Peter Wingfield (Highlander) guest star in the fourth season finale.
UPN airs the 136th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Ian Abercrombie guest stars. 
The 50th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on the WB network. Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, and Alyson Hannigan also star. Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Alexis Denisof (Angel) guest star.
Canadian broadcaster CHCH-TV airs the seventh episode of Art Monterastelli’s sci-fi series Total Recall 2070, starring Michael Easton and Cynthia Preston, very loosely based on the 1990 film Total Recall. The series will air on the American pay cable channel Showtime later in the year. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian) guest stars. (The episode title, also used by the earlier UPN series Nowhere Man, is an anagram of “information superhighway”.)
Former Jellyfish guitarist Jason Falkner releases his second solo album, Can You Still Feel?. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 137th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Nick Tate (Space: 1999) guest stars. 
The 18th episode of the sequel series Team Knight Rider airs in syndication, starring Brixton Karnes, Christine Steel, Duane Davis, and Nick Wechsler. Sadie Stratton and Michelle Joyner guest star.
The national syndication window opens for the 16th episode of the posthumous Gene Roddenberry science fiction series Earth: Final Conflict. This is one of the earliest TV scripts written by future Sanctuary creator Damian Kindler. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 61st episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Ted Raimi (seaQuest DSV) guest stars. 
Fire breaks out aboard the Russian space station Mir, forcing the crew to break out face masks and goggles which they must keep on even after the fire is put out. The culprit is determined to be an oxygen generator, which is damaged beyond repair; fortunately, American crewmember Jerry Linenger is a medical doctor and determines that he and his crewmates are none the worse for wear. A new oxygen generator will arrive on the next Space Shuttle mission to Mir later in the year.
The 89th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Scott Hylands guest stars.
Premium cable channel Showtime airs the 29th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of Leslie Stevens’ 1960s science fiction anthology series. Ryan Phillippe and Peter Donat (Time Trax) guest star.
Nichibutsu releases the retro revival game Hyper Crazy Climber for the Sony Playstation, featuring both the original arcade version of Crazy Climber and a newer update with adventure game elements and power-ups. This game is limited only to the Japanese market. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the fifth episode of Babylon 5. In purple, it’s stunning. 
NBC airs the 90th episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Renee Coleman (A League Of Their Own) and Carolyn Seymour (Survivors) guest star.
CBS airs the 21st episode of Barney Cohen and James Parriott’s supernatural crime series Forever Knight, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and John Kapelos. Cali Timmins guest stars.
The 94th episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs.
The 18th episode of the science fiction crime drama Super Force is broadcast in syndication in North America, starring Ken Olandt, Larry B. Scott, and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers). Xander Berkeley and Ginger Lynn guest star.
The 18th episode of Dracula: The Series airs in syndication, starring Bernard Behrens, Geordie Johnson, and Mia Kirshner. Andrew Gillies (12 Monkeys, Orphan Black) and Kate Trotter (Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Earth: Final Conflict) guest star.
A&M Records releases the Supertramp compilation album Classics, Volume 9 – Supertramp as part of the label’s 25th anniversary Classics series. 
The 636th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines return as the second Doctor and Jamie, and the Sontarans appear for the first time since the Tom Baker era. Jacqueline Pearce (Blake’s 7) guest stars.
The 617th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Anthony Ainley appears as the Master, as Nicola Bryant is introduced as new TARDIS traveler Peri, the first regular American character (though the actress herself is British). Otherworldly location filming has been done at Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for this story. Peter Wyngarde guest stars. 
The 595th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Valentine Dyall appears as the Black Guardian; Liza Goddard (The Brothers) guest stars. This is the last story for Nyssa, played by series regular Sarah Sutton.
The 569th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Michael Robbins guest stars as Richard Mace.
Konami introduces the arcade game Loco Motion in the United States, one of its earliest self-released coin-ops (most titles had previously been licensed through Stern). 
Science fiction writer Leigh Brackett, who is battling cancer, turns in her first and only draft of a screenplay simply titled “Star Wars Sequel” (later to be known as The Empire Strikes Back); this early draft includes the notation “Episode II”. Brackett, a golden-age SF writer hired by Lucas to help him generate ideas for the second film, loses her battle with cancer soon afterward, and the screenplay is revamped significantly before shooting, though the finished movie will retain her writing credit.
NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe, en route to its first destination, develops a potentially mission-jeopardizing problem: the scan platform, which contains and aims many of Voyager’s scientific instruments, jams and becomes stuck in place. As Voyager 1 has yet to even reach Jupiter, this threatens to make it an expensive failure. Transmitting commands from Earth to give the scan platform a gentle three-axis workout, engineers at NASA manage to free the stuck instruments, salvaging Voyager 1’s mission to the outer planets and their moons. (A similar fault develops in Voyager 2 during its 1981 encounter with Saturn.)
NBC airs the fourth episode of Quinn Martin’s horror/sci-fi anthology Tales Of The Unexpected. (This series is not to be confused with the longer-lived British series of the same name, created by acclaimed author Roald Dahl.) David Birney (Serpico) and William Campbell (Star Trek) guest star.
The 31st episode of The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, airs on ABC. Robert Loggia (T.H.E. Cat, Mancuso FBI) guest stars.
The 30th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Robert DoQui and Jack Colvin (The Incredible Hulk) guest star.
The 366th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. John Abineri guest stars. This story is the third Doctor’s third and final clash with the Daleks. 
NBC airs the 21st episode of the supernatural anthology series Circle Of Fear (previously known as Ghost Story). Susan Oliver (Star Trek) and Meg Foster star.
NBC airs the 27th episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, an anthology series of original short plays and short story adaptations hosted by Serling himself. Geraldine Page, Michael Dunn, and Chloris Leachman guest star.