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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.
Fox airs the 24th episode of the science fiction drama-comedy The Orville, starring and created by Seth McFarlane. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow), Ted Danson (Cheers), Tony Todd (Candyman, Star Trek: The Next Generation), F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) and Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star.
The Israeli-built Beresheet uncrewed experimental lunar lander, during its attempt to land on the moon, loses engine power during descent and plummets toward the lunar surface. Though the main engine is believed to have restarted during that descent, the vehicle is too low to make a survivable landing and crashes on the moon. The Google Lunar X Prize committee awards $1,000,000 to SpaceIL, the Israeli space exploration organization founded specifically to launch the Beresheet mission, and the mission’s backers vow to use the prize to build a second Beresheet lander to attempt to complete the original vehicle’s mission.
Streaming service CBS All Access releases the 28th episode of Star Trek: Discovery, part one of the second season’s two-part finale. Tig Notaro, Rebecca Romjin (X-Men, The Librarians), Michelle Yeoh, James Frain, and Ethan Peck (10 Things I Hate About You) guest star.
The 24th episode of the science fiction series The Expanse, based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for writers Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), is broadcast on cable channel Syfy, opening the series’ third season.
The 54th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This is the second part of a three-part story commissioned by UK comedy channel Dave, and proves to be popular enough to merit an order for a full season of six episodes. The story receives sharp criticism for completely breaking down the “fourth wall”.
The European Space Agency’s Venus Express space probe – the first unmanned spacecraft to closely examine the second planet from the sun since the late 1970s – arrives at the planet to undertake a detailed study of the atmosphere, the unusually symmetrical cloud patterns of the planet’s north and south hemispheres, as well as observing the massive, hurricane-like vortices which remain over the poles. Venus Express also looks for the source of traces of sulphur dioxide in the Venusian atmosphere, which could be a sign that of active volcanoes on the surface.
UPN premieres the first episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five).
The ninth and final episode of the science fiction comedy series The Strangerers is broadcast on Sky One, created and written by Rob Grant (Red Dwarf), starring Mark Williams and Jack Docherty. Paul Darrow (Blake’s 7) guest stars.
The 134th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. John Diehl (Miami Vice) guest stars.
Fox airs the 43rd episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and Kari Wuhrer. Neil Dickson (She-Wolf Of London) guest stars.
Christopher Franke’s soundtrack from the first two seasons of Babylon 5 is released on Sonic Images Records; this is the first in a lengthy series of compilation and individual soundtracks from the popular science fiction series.
Silva Screen releases the compilation album The Worlds Of Doctor Who, featuring soundtrack selections from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a new rendition of the show’s main theme with Sylvester McCoy himself playing spoons (!).
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 20th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the second of three occasions in the series in which the Enterprise’s saucer section is separated from the rest of the ship.
CBS airs the 24th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow) and Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run) star in an episode comprised of two short stories, A Day In Beaumont (written by David Gerrold) and The Last Defender Of Camelot, adapted by George R.R. Martin from Roger Zelazny’s short story. This episode closes the first season.
The 54th episode of the live-action series based on Marvel’s comic The Incredible Hulk airs on CBS, starring Bill Bixby, Jack Colvin, and Lou Ferrigno. This episode concludes the third season.
Two years after the shutdown of its orbiter leaves it sending observations of the Martian environment back to Earth at a low bit rate, the Viking 2 lander’s batteries are depleted and the second spacecraft to land on Mars shuts down permanently. Its three-and-a-half-year operational lifespan has been a bonus round for a robotic vehicle expected to function for a few months in Mars’ harsh weather.
The Apple I computer is available for sale, for the price of $666.66, a price set as a practical joke by Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak, who is also the designer of the system’s architecture. The computer is sold as a circuit board, requiring end users to construct their own enclosure to protect it (the elaborate wood casing shown here was neither typical nor standard-issue). Wozniak’s ambitions for an expandable system are built into the Apple I, including add-on memory cards that can expand its native 4K of memory to as much as 48K, with an interface for an optional cassette data storage system. Nearly 200 units are built and sold, but Apple will recall them, offering users an opportunity to upgrade to the Apple II upon that system’s introduction the following year.
NBC airs the 23rd episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Doug McClure and Burgess Meredith. Michael Pataki guest stars in the final episode of the series.
The third planned lunar landing mission, Apollo 13, lifts off. Astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise are scheduled to walk in the Fra Mauro region of the moon. Command module pilot Ken Mattingly falls victim to a medical condition, leaving NASA to make a rare substitution, rotating the backup crew’s command module pilot, Jack Swigert, to the prime crew prior to launch.
The 14th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, premieres on ABC. Robert Walker Jr. (Star Trek) guest stars.
On the 45th anniversary of a similar severe weather event, a major outbreak of violent tornadoes strikes the northern midwest, causing 271 deaths and over a thousand injuries in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan; 137 of the deaths occur in Indiana alone. With weather radar still in its infant state, a radio station in Cedar Rapids spots the first storm on its own radar, while nearby National Weather Service offices do not have radar yet. The U.S. Weather Bureau’s confusing system of “tornado forecasts” and “tornado alerts” is changed to more clearly delineated “watches” and “warnings” after this event.
NBC airs the 28th episode of the military drama The Lieutenant, created and produced by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and starring Gary Lockwood (2001: a space odyssey) and Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE). Vic Tayback and Denver Pyle (The Dukes Of Hazzard) guest star.
The 21st episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part one of the story now collectively known as The Keys Of Marinus. Geroge Colouris guest stars.
ABC airs the 88th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Donald Pleasance and Adrienne Corri guest star.
The 28th episode of ABC’s science fiction anthology series, Tales Of Tomorrow, airs on ABC, with each episode’s opening titles proclaiming that the series is produced “in cooperation with the Science-Fiction League of America”, a collective of sci-fi writers including Isaac Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon among its members. This episode is no longer in the archives and may be lost.
The CW airs the 35th episode of Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Bishop, and Alex Garfin. 
Disney Music digitally releases an album of selections from Dan le Sac‘s soundtrack to the computer game Tron: Identity. 
The CW airs the 30th episode of Batwoman starring Javicia Leslie, Rachel Skarsten, and Meagan Tandy.
Fox airs the 24th episode of the science fiction drama-comedy The Orville, starring and created by Seth McFarlane. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow), Ted Danson (Cheers), Tony Todd (Candyman, Star Trek: The Next Generation), F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) and Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star. 
The Israeli-built Beresheet uncrewed experimental lunar lander, during its attempt to land on the moon, loses engine power during descent and plummets toward the lunar surface. Though the main engine is believed to have restarted during that descent, the vehicle is too low to make a survivable landing and crashes on the moon. The Google Lunar X Prize committee awards $1,000,000 to SpaceIL, the Israeli space exploration organization founded specifically to launch the Beresheet mission, and the mission’s backers vow to use the prize to build a second Beresheet lander to attempt to complete the original vehicle’s mission.
Streaming service CBS All Access releases the 28th episode of Star Trek: Discovery, part one of the second season’s two-part finale. Tig Notaro, Rebecca Romjin (X-Men, The Librarians), Michelle Yeoh, James Frain, and Ethan Peck (10 Things I Hate About You) guest star. 
The third episode of Jordan Peele’s revival of Rod Serling’s science fiction anthology series The Twilight Zone streams on CBS All Access. Sanaa Lathan stars. 
The 24th episode of the science fiction series The Expanse, based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for writers Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), is broadcast on cable channel Syfy, opening the series’ third season.
UK cable channel Disney XD airs the sixth episode of K-9. The Australian-made series features no Doctor Who-related characters other than K-9. 
The 54th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. This is the second part of a three-part story commissioned by UK comedy channel Dave, and proves to be popular enough to merit an order for a full season of six episodes. The story receives sharp criticism for completely breaking down the “fourth wall”. 
The 755th episode of Doctor Who (the 57th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Michelle Ryan (The Bionic Woman) and Lee Evans guest star. 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 55th episode of Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Rick Worthy and Dean Stockwell guest star. 
The European Space Agency’s Venus Express space probe – the first unmanned spacecraft to closely examine the second planet from the sun since the late 1970s – arrives at the planet to undertake a detailed study of the atmosphere, the unusually symmetrical cloud patterns of the planet’s north and south hemispheres, as well as observing the massive, hurricane-like vortices which remain over the poles. Venus Express also looks for the source of traces of sulphur dioxide in the Venusian atmosphere, which could be a sign that of active volcanoes on the surface.
UPN airs the 164th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. John de Lancie guest stars. 
UPN premieres the first episode of the supernatural crime comedy series Special Unit 2, starring Michael Landes (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman) and Alexondra Lee (Party Of Five). 
The ninth and final episode of the science fiction comedy series The Strangerers is broadcast on Sky One, created and written by Rob Grant (Red Dwarf), starring Mark Williams and Jack Docherty. Paul Darrow (Blake’s 7) guest stars.
The 134th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. John Diehl (Miami Vice) guest stars.
Fox airs the 43rd episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and Kari Wuhrer. Neil Dickson (She-Wolf Of London) guest stars.
Christopher Franke’s soundtrack from the first two seasons of Babylon 5 is released on Sonic Images Records; this is the first in a lengthy series of compilation and individual soundtracks from the popular science fiction series. 
The fifth episode of RoboCop: The Series airs in syndication, starring Richard Eden, Yvette Nipar, Blu Mankuma, and Andrea Roth.
Silva Screen releases the compilation album The Worlds Of Doctor Who, featuring soundtrack selections from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a new rendition of the show’s main theme with Sylvester McCoy himself playing spoons (!). 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 20th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the second of three occasions in the series in which the Enterprise’s saucer section is separated from the rest of the ship. 
CBS airs the 24th episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Victor Garber (Alias, Legends Of Tomorrow) and Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run) star in an episode comprised of two short stories, A Day In Beaumont (written by David Gerrold) and The Last Defender Of Camelot, adapted by George R.R. Martin from Roger Zelazny’s short story. This episode closes the first season.
The 54th episode of the live-action series based on Marvel’s comic The Incredible Hulk airs on CBS, starring Bill Bixby, Jack Colvin, and Lou Ferrigno. This episode concludes the third season.
Two years after the shutdown of its orbiter leaves it sending observations of the Martian environment back to Earth at a low bit rate, the Viking 2 lander’s batteries are depleted and the second spacecraft to land on Mars shuts down permanently. Its three-and-a-half-year operational lifespan has been a bonus round for a robotic vehicle expected to function for a few months in Mars’ harsh weather.
The Apple I computer is available for sale, for the price of $666.66, a price set as a practical joke by Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak, who is also the designer of the system’s architecture. The computer is sold as a circuit board, requiring end users to construct their own enclosure to protect it (the elaborate wood casing shown here was neither typical nor standard-issue). Wozniak’s ambitions for an expandable system are built into the Apple I, including add-on memory cards that can expand its native 4K of memory to as much as 48K, with an interface for an optional cassette data storage system. Nearly 200 units are built and sold, but Apple will recall them, offering users an opportunity to upgrade to the Apple II upon that system’s introduction the following year.
NBC airs the 23rd episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search, starring Doug McClure and Burgess Meredith. Michael Pataki guest stars in the final episode of the series.
The third planned lunar landing mission, Apollo 13, lifts off. Astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise are scheduled to walk in the Fra Mauro region of the moon. Command module pilot Ken Mattingly falls victim to a medical condition, leaving NASA to make a rare substitution, rotating the backup crew’s command module pilot, Jack Swigert, to the prime crew prior to launch.
The 268th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. John Abineri and Ronald Allen guest star.
The 14th episode of Larry Cohen’s science fiction series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes and produced by Quinn Martin’s QM Productions, premieres on ABC. Robert Walker Jr. (Star Trek) guest stars.
On the 45th anniversary of a similar severe weather event, a major outbreak of violent tornadoes strikes the northern midwest, causing 271 deaths and over a thousand injuries in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan; 137 of the deaths occur in Indiana alone. With weather radar still in its infant state, a radio station in Cedar Rapids spots the first storm on its own radar, while nearby National Weather Service offices do not have radar yet. The U.S. Weather Bureau’s confusing system of “tornado forecasts” and “tornado alerts” is changed to more clearly delineated “watches” and “warnings” after this event.
NBC airs the 28th episode of the military drama The Lieutenant, created and produced by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and starring Gary Lockwood (2001: a space odyssey) and Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE). Vic Tayback and Denver Pyle (The Dukes Of Hazzard) guest star. 
The 21st episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part one of the story now collectively known as The Keys Of Marinus. Geroge Colouris guest stars. 
The 116th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Albert Salmi and John Anderson star.
ABC airs the 88th episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Donald Pleasance and Adrienne Corri guest star.
The 28th episode of ABC’s science fiction anthology series, Tales Of Tomorrow, airs on ABC, with each episode’s opening titles proclaiming that the series is produced “in cooperation with the Science-Fiction League of America”, a collective of sci-fi writers including Isaac Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon among its members. This episode is no longer in the archives and may be lost.