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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. In many ways presaging the likes of Matlock, Gene Roddenberry's unsold pilot script "Defiance County" not only pits a small-town prosecutor against his entire home town, but it also set up a showdown between Gene and one of his writing mentors. 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 Defiance County. 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 Alexander Mitchell, Duncan K. Fraser and Holly Amos 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 releases the fifth episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars; Cirroc Lofton (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Chiwitel Ejiofor (The Martian, The Life of Chuck) guest star.
Streaming service Disney Plus releases the fifth episode of WandaVision, created for TV by Jac Schaeffer and starring Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Kathryn Hahn.
The CW airs the 104th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis) guest stars.
The 36th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Caity Lotz (Mad Men, Legends Of Tomorrow), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), and Nicholas Lea (The X-Files) guest star.
The third episode of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff series Caprica, a non-space-based tale of the creation of the Cylons over half a century before the events seen in Galactica, premieres on cable channel Syfy. Peter Wingfield (Highlander: The Series) and comedian Patton Oswalt guest star.
The 14th episode of Tim Kring’s sci-fi/superhero series Heroes airs on NBC, starring Adrian Pasdar, Jack Coleman, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, and Milo Ventimiglia. Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) guest star.
The 113th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, and Alyson Hannigan also star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 125th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Kevin Smith and Adrienne Wilkinson guest star.
The 80th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, and Von Flores. Richard Chevolleau guest stars.
Pocket Books releases the Star Trek non-fiction book “Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series”, written by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, detailing the extent of the pre-production efforts that Paramount and Gene Roddenberry put into a 1970s revival of the original Star Trek that ultimately went unmade.
Programmer Nicola Salmoria releases the earliest version of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, or MAME, a freeware PC program which allows users to obtain dumps of the original 1970s and 1980s arcade game ROM chips which MAME interprets, emulating the original hardware architecture to allow play of those games with remarkable fidelity to the original graphics and sounds. This kick-starts a golden age of computer emulation of classic video games and game systems, with the average desktop computer now sporting enough memory to allow for accurate emulation. The release of MAME also ignites an ongoing controversy about the legality of downloading games whose original manufacturers are no longer exploting their intellectual property (or, in some cases, no longer exist as corporate entities).
The 64th episode of the supernatural crime series Forever Knight airs in syndication, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and Lisa Ryder. Geraint Wyn-Davies directs.
Reprise Records releases the extended Depeche Mode CD single Enjoy The Silence, containing the song as heard on the album Violator and numerous remixes and B-sides.
CBS airs the 15th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Isabella Hofmann guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches Soyuz TM-2, the first manned launch of a newly uprated version of the Soyuz capsule. Cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin travel to the Mir space station, where Laveykin remains for 174 days before departing in July, but Romanenko sets a new space endurance record, remaining in orbit for 326 days. Romanenko’s return to Earth just before the end of 1987 marks the end of Expedition 2’s occupancy of Mir.
ITV airs the 24th episode of P.J. Hammond’s science fiction series Sapphire & Steel, starring David McCallum and Joanna Lumley. Again owing to scheduling conflicts with the two increasingly in-demand stars, the series will not resume until later in the year.
The third episode of the series Salvage 1 airs on ABC, starring Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins (Silver Spoons), and Trish Stewart. Richard Jaeckel (Spenser For Hire) and Mako (Conan The Barbarian) guest star.
The unmanned Mariner 10 space probe swings past the planet Venus at a distance of less than 4,000 miles, its cameras capturing a completely opaque sphere whose clouds reveal no surface. But when viewed through ultraviolet filters, Venus suddenly reveals an immense amount of atmospheric detail. Mariner 10’s UV views of Venus are the best images available until the dual Pioneer Venus mission of the late 1970s; meanwhile, Mariner 10 speeds past the planet en route to Mercury.
After nearly a year of examining the problems that nearly doomed the crew of Apollo 13, the third lunar landing is achieved by the crew of Apollo 14, commanded by Alan Shepard, the only one of the seven original Mercury astronauts to walk on the moon; lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell joins him on the surface while Stu Roosa orbits in the command module Kitty Hawk. The Apollo 14 lunar module, Antares, makes the most accurate landing of the Apollo program in the Fra Mauro highlands (the landing site originally assigned to Apollo 13), where soil samples are collected, instruments are deployed, and Shepard becomes the first human being to hit a golf ball on the moon.
The 78th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Terry Becker guest stars.
The 21st episode of the time travel sitcom It’s About Time, created by Sherwood Schwarz (I Dream Of Jeannie) and starring Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney, and Imogene Coca, is broadcast on CBS. Alan DeWitt and Karen Valentine guest star.
The third of five Lunar Orbiter satellites is launched to the moon by NASA, and once in orbit, Lunar Orbiter 3 achieves an unmanned spaceflight first: it’s the first unmanned space probe to image another unmanned space probe (in this case, Surveyor 1, which has been on the moon since 1966). A mechanical fault prevents Lunar Orbiter 3 from returning roughly a quarter of its images to Earth.
The 103rd episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the first part of the story now collectively known as The Massacre. This episode is missing from the BBC’s archives.
Streaming service Paramount Plus releases the fifth episode of the Star Trek spinoff Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, created by Gaia Violo and set in the post-Discovery 31st century time frame. Holly Hunter stars; Cirroc Lofton (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Chiwitel Ejiofor (The Martian, The Life of Chuck) guest star. 
Streaming service Disney Plus releases the fifth episode of WandaVision, created for TV by Jac Schaeffer and starring Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Kathryn Hahn.
The CW airs the 104th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis) guest stars.
The 36th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Caity Lotz (Mad Men, Legends Of Tomorrow), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), and Nicholas Lea (The X-Files) guest star.
The third episode of the Battlestar Galactica spinoff series Caprica, a non-space-based tale of the creation of the Cylons over half a century before the events seen in Galactica, premieres on cable channel Syfy. Peter Wingfield (Highlander: The Series) and comedian Patton Oswalt guest star. 
The 14th episode of Tim Kring’s sci-fi/superhero series Heroes airs on NBC, starring Adrian Pasdar, Jack Coleman, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, and Milo Ventimiglia. Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) guest star. 
The 39th episode of the Star Trek prequel spinoff Enterprise premieres on UPN. 
Wendy Carlos‘ much-requested soundtrack from the 1982 movie Tron is released on CD, featuring music not previously issued on the long-out-of-print LP version. 
The 113th episode of Joss Whedon’s supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs on UPN. James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, and Alyson Hannigan also star.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 125th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Kevin Smith and Adrienne Wilkinson guest star. 
The 80th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Jayne Heitmeyer, and Von Flores. Richard Chevolleau guest stars.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 13th episode of Lexx. Louise Wischermann guest stars as Lyekka. 
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 38th episode of Stargate SG-1. 
Showtime airs the 90th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Roddy Piper (They Live) guest stars.
UPN airs the 57th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. This episode marks the introduction of the Borg as the new recurring enemy on Voyager. 
Pocket Books releases the Star Trek non-fiction book “Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series”, written by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, detailing the extent of the pre-production efforts that Paramount and Gene Roddenberry put into a 1970s revival of the original Star Trek that ultimately went unmade. 
Programmer Nicola Salmoria releases the earliest version of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, or MAME, a freeware PC program which allows users to obtain dumps of the original 1970s and 1980s arcade game ROM chips which MAME interprets, emulating the original hardware architecture to allow play of those games with remarkable fidelity to the original graphics and sounds. This kick-starts a golden age of computer emulation of classic video games and game systems, with the average desktop computer now sporting enough memory to allow for accurate emulation. The release of MAME also ignites an ongoing controversy about the legality of downloading games whose original manufacturers are no longer exploting their intellectual property (or, in some cases, no longer exist as corporate entities).
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 84th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Casey Biggs makes his first appearance in the recurring role of Damar. 
The 15th episode of Lawrence Hertzog’s paranoid spy-fi thriller Nowhere Man, starring Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), airs on UPN. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 15th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. 
UPN airs the 31st episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Brad Dourif guest stars. 
The 64th episode of the supernatural crime series Forever Knight airs in syndication, starring Geraint Wyn-Davies, Catherine Disher, Nigel Bennett, and Lisa Ryder. Geraint Wyn-Davies directs.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 50th episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. Walter Koenig (Star Trek) guest stars. 
Fox Network airs the 15th episode of Kenneth Johnson’s sci-fi cop series Alien Nation, starring Gary Graham and Eric Pierpoint. Angela Bassett (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, What’s Love Got to Do With It) guest stars. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 60th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. John de Lancie, Whoopi Goldberg and Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) guest star. 
Reprise Records releases the extended Depeche Mode CD single Enjoy The Silence, containing the song as heard on the album Violator and numerous remixes and B-sides. 
The 12th episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs on KTMA, an independent TV station in Minneapolis, starring Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, and Josh Weinstein. 
The Black Adder special sketch Blackadder: The Cavalier Years airs on BBC1, starring Rowan Atkinson, as part of the annual Comic Relief telethon. 
CBS airs the 15th episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. Isabella Hofmann guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches Soyuz TM-2, the first manned launch of a newly uprated version of the Soyuz capsule. Cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin travel to the Mir space station, where Laveykin remains for 174 days before departing in July, but Romanenko sets a new space endurance record, remaining in orbit for 326 days. Romanenko’s return to Earth just before the end of 1987 marks the end of Expedition 2’s occupancy of Mir.
The Alan Parsons Project releases its eighth album, Vulture Culture, including the single “Let’s Talk About Me”. 
NBC airs the 26th episode of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. 
ITV airs the 24th episode of P.J. Hammond’s science fiction series Sapphire & Steel, starring David McCallum and Joanna Lumley. Again owing to scheduling conflicts with the two increasingly in-demand stars, the series will not resume until later in the year.
Berkley Books publishes the novelization Battlestar Galactica 2: The Cylon Death Machine by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston, a print adaptation of the television story The Gun On Ice Planet Zero. 
The third episode of the series Salvage 1 airs on ABC, starring Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins (Silver Spoons), and Trish Stewart. Richard Jaeckel (Spenser For Hire) and Mako (Conan The Barbarian) guest star.
The 445th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Russell Hunter, David Bailie and Pamela Salem guest star.
The unmanned Mariner 10 space probe swings past the planet Venus at a distance of less than 4,000 miles, its cameras capturing a completely opaque sphere whose clouds reveal no surface. But when viewed through ultraviolet filters, Venus suddenly reveals an immense amount of atmospheric detail. Mariner 10’s UV views of Venus are the best images available until the dual Pioneer Venus mission of the late 1970s; meanwhile, Mariner 10 speeds past the planet en route to Mercury.
The fourth episode of The Sixth Sense airs on ABC, starring Gary Collins. Carol Lynley and Larry Linville (M*A*S*H) guest star.
The 309th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. David Troughton guest stars. This marks the first appearance of the Ice Warriors in color.
After nearly a year of examining the problems that nearly doomed the crew of Apollo 13, the third lunar landing is achieved by the crew of Apollo 14, commanded by Alan Shepard, the only one of the seven original Mercury astronauts to walk on the moon; lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell joins him on the surface while Stu Roosa orbits in the command module Kitty Hawk. The Apollo 14 lunar module, Antares, makes the most accurate landing of the Apollo program in the Fra Mauro highlands (the landing site originally assigned to Apollo 13), where soil samples are collected, instruments are deployed, and Shepard becomes the first human being to hit a golf ball on the moon.
The 78th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Terry Becker guest stars.
The 21st episode of the time travel sitcom It’s About Time, created by Sherwood Schwarz (I Dream Of Jeannie) and starring Frank Aletter, Jack Mullaney, and Imogene Coca, is broadcast on CBS. Alan DeWitt and Karen Valentine guest star.
The third of five Lunar Orbiter satellites is launched to the moon by NASA, and once in orbit, Lunar Orbiter 3 achieves an unmanned spaceflight first: it’s the first unmanned space probe to image another unmanned space probe (in this case, Surveyor 1, which has been on the moon since 1966). A mechanical fault prevents Lunar Orbiter 3 from returning roughly a quarter of its images to Earth.
The 103rd episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the first part of the story now collectively known as The Massacre. This episode is missing from the BBC’s archives. 
CBS airs the 18th episode of Rod Serling’s anthology series The Twilight Zone. Kenneth Haigh stars in an episode written by Richard Matheson.