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.
The ongoing remodel of the site, the ongoing video series, and more are powered by your support! Join our Patreon, get access to our Discord, and help the site grow!
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 CBS All Access debuts the ninth episode of Star Trek: Picard, starring Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Alison Pill, and Evan Evagora. Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) and Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star.
The CW airs the 48th episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Tala Ashe. Matt Ryan (Constantine) and John Noble (Fringe) guest star.
The 39th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Ben Browder (Farscape) and Caity Lotz (Mad Men, Legends Of Tomorrow) guest star.
Science fiction writer, science essayist and all-around futuristic thinker Sir Arthur C. Clarke dies at the age of 90. In addition to writing such seminal SF novels as “2001: a space odyssey” (and simultaneously writing its screenplay) and “Rendezvous With Rama” (and their various sequels and spinoffs), he also posited – in a 1945 paper – a network of communications in fixed orbits above the Earth, exchanging signals between the ground and one another, some 20 years before the first steps were taken in that direction. (As a result, geosynchronous orbit is also referred to as “Clarke orbit.”) Even before that, he played a part in early work on radar as a member of the RAF during World War II. In the 1950s, he moved to Sri Lanka, but kept up a prodigious schedule of writing both fiction and non-fiction, as well as appearances ranging from brief movie roles (both as himself and otherwise) to being a television commentator on the Apollo moon missions.
The 153rd episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Christopher Judge. Jessica Steen guest stars in the season seven finale, which also builds up to the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis.
The 154th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. William B. Davis guest stars in an episode he also wrote.
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 64th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, and Charlie O’Connell. Roy Dotrice (Beauty And The Beast) guest stars.
The 38th episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Curtis Armstrong (Revenge Of The Nerds) guest stars.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 64th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode begins the epic Klingon story arc that runs through several more episodes of TNG and even into spinoff series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Tony Todd guest stars.
NASA’s unmanned Pioneer Venus Orbiter completes its radar mapping survey of the planet Venus, having used radar to create the first-ever topographical map of that world, which is usually hidden behind a thick, toxic cloud deck. Launched in 1978, Pioneer Venus Orbiter is the only surviving component of the two-vehicle Pioneer Venus mission, but with its solar arrays still gathering adequate power and all of its instruments still functioning well, the orbiter is not deactivated or deorbited at this time; future tasks will be found for it in the years ahead.
The third episode of Beyond Westworld airs on CBS, starring Jim McMullan, Connie Sellecca, and James Wainwright. Rene Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Ronnie Sue Blakley (A Nightmare On Elm Street) guest star. Due to low ratings, CBS cancels Beyond Westworld after this episode airs, leaving two completed shows unaired.
The eighth episode of the series Salvage 1 airs on ABC, starring Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins, and Trish Stewart. Richard Jaeckel (Spenser For Hire), Barry Nelson (My Favorite Husband, The Shining), and Angus Scrimm (Phantasm) guest star.
The fourth 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 (Beyond Westworld) and Caskey Swaim star. Leif Erickson (The High Chaparral) and Malachi Throne (Star Trek, Batman) guest star.
Bally introduces the Bally Professional Arcade home video game system, based on some of the same technology that Bally and its Midway division have been using in arcade games. This means the Bally Professional Arcade is perfectly suited to home versions of such Midway coin-ops as Space Zap and Wizard Of Wor – possibly the earliest instance of real arcade fidelity in a home game system. Its tiny keypad also allows Bally to claim that the Professional Arcade is a home computer waiting to happen.
The 84th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Arthur Space guest stars in the third season finale.
British broadcaster ABC airs the third 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.
Streaming service CBS All Access debuts the ninth episode of Star Trek: Picard, starring Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Alison Pill, and Evan Evagora. Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) and Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star. 
The CW airs the 108th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. 
The CW airs the 48th episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Tala Ashe. Matt Ryan (Constantine) and John Noble (Fringe) guest star.
The 39th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Ben Browder (Farscape) and Caity Lotz (Mad Men, Legends Of Tomorrow) guest star.
The eighth 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. 
BBC2 airs the 24th episode of Russell T. Davies’ science fiction series Torchwood, a more adult-themed spinoff of Doctor Who. Tom Price guest stars. 
Science fiction writer, science essayist and all-around futuristic thinker Sir Arthur C. Clarke dies at the age of 90. In addition to writing such seminal SF novels as “2001: a space odyssey” (and simultaneously writing its screenplay) and “Rendezvous With Rama” (and their various sequels and spinoffs), he also posited – in a 1945 paper – a network of communications in fixed orbits above the Earth, exchanging signals between the ground and one another, some 20 years before the first steps were taken in that direction. (As a result, geosynchronous orbit is also referred to as “Clarke orbit.”) Even before that, he played a part in early work on radar as a member of the RAF during World War II. In the 1950s, he moved to Sri Lanka, but kept up a prodigious schedule of writing both fiction and non-fiction, as well as appearances ranging from brief movie roles (both as himself and otherwise) to being a television commentator on the Apollo moon missions.
Phantom Records releases Roger Joseph Manning Jr.’s solo album Catnip Dynamite. 
The 153rd episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Christopher Judge. Jessica Steen guest stars in the season seven finale, which also builds up to the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis.
GNP Crescendo Records releases Matthew McCauley’s soundtrack from the TV series Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, featuring guitar work by Rush’s Alex Lifeson. 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 46th episode of Farscape. 
Big Finish Productions releases the 18th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Paul McGann and India Fisher. Michael Sheard (The Empire Strikes Back) and Mark Gatiss guest star. 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the 31st episode of Lexx. Nigel Bennett (Forever Knight) guest stars as Prince. 
The 154th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. William B. Davis guest stars in an episode he also wrote.
Sci-Fi Channel premieres 
Sci-Fi Channel premieres the first episode of Farscape. Kent McCord guest stars. 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 64th episode of the science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, and Charlie O’Connell. Roy Dotrice (Beauty And The Beast) guest stars.
UPN airs the 61st episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Kirstanna Loken (Terminator 3) guest stars. 
The 38th episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. Curtis Armstrong (Revenge Of The Nerds) guest stars.
The 29th episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 64th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode begins the epic Klingon story arc that runs through several more episodes of TNG and even into spinoff series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Tony Todd guest stars. 
Reprise Records releases Depeche Mode‘s seventh album, Violator, featuring the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy The Silence”. 
The 16th episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs on KTMA, an independent TV station in Minneapolis, starring Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, and Josh Weinstein. 
CBS airs the fourth episode of the fantasy/comedy series Wizards and Warriors, starring Jeff Conaway (Grease, Babylon 5), Walter Olkewicz, Duncan Regehr, and Julia Duffy (Newhart).
NBC airs the 30th episode of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. 
NASA’s unmanned Pioneer Venus Orbiter completes its radar mapping survey of the planet Venus, having used radar to create the first-ever topographical map of that world, which is usually hidden behind a thick, toxic cloud deck. Launched in 1978, Pioneer Venus Orbiter is the only surviving component of the two-vehicle Pioneer Venus mission, but with its solar arrays still gathering adequate power and all of its instruments still functioning well, the orbiter is not deactivated or deorbited at this time; future tasks will be found for it in the years ahead.
The third episode of Beyond Westworld airs on CBS, starring Jim McMullan, Connie Sellecca, and James Wainwright. Rene Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Ronnie Sue Blakley (A Nightmare On Elm Street) guest star. Due to low ratings, CBS cancels Beyond Westworld after this episode airs, leaving two completed shows unaired. 
The eighth episode of the series Salvage 1 airs on ABC, starring Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins, and Trish Stewart. Richard Jaeckel (Spenser For Hire), Barry Nelson (My Favorite Husband, The Shining), and Angus Scrimm (Phantasm) guest star.
The fourth 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 (Beyond Westworld) and Caskey Swaim star. Leif Erickson (The High Chaparral) and Malachi Throne (Star Trek, Batman) guest star.
The 451st episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. John Bennett, Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin guest star.
Bally introduces the Bally Professional Arcade home video game system, based on some of the same technology that Bally and its Midway division have been using in arcade games. This means the Bally Professional Arcade is perfectly suited to home versions of such Midway coin-ops as Space Zap and Wizard Of Wor – possibly the earliest instance of real arcade fidelity in a home game system. Its tiny keypad also allows Bally to claim that the Professional Arcade is a home computer waiting to happen. 
The 84th episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Arthur Space guest stars in the third season finale.
The 109th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part three of the story now collectively known as The Ark.
British broadcaster ABC airs the third 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.