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.
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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.
theLogBook.com releases the 31st episode of the Retrogram podcast, hosted by Earl Green, covering the following shows retelling their own versions of Cyril Kornbluth’s sci-fi short story of the same name:
Comedian and actor Chuck McCann, a familiar TV face from his start in children’s television in New York in the 1950s to his near-ubiquity in both television shows and commercials in the 1970s and 1980s, dies of congestive heart failure at the age of 83. He continued to be a fixture on children’s television nationally, including a stint on the Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning kids’ sci-fi comedy Far Out Space Nuts in 1975, of which he was also co-creator. McCann’s voice could also be heard in numerous animated TV series, including Pac-Man and Animaniacs; he was the voice of The Thing in the animated Fantastic Four series.
SpaceX launches the unmanned Dragon CRS-8 (Commercial Resupply Mission 8) to the International Space Station, carrying supplies and experiments, as well as delivering via its cargo trunk the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), the first new addition to the ISS since 2011. The flight is a success, and for the first time, the Falcon 9 first stage returns intact to an unmanned drone barge in the Atlantic Ocean, where it can be refurbished and reused. Though SpaceX has previously brought an intact booster down on dry land, this is the first success in several attempts to recover the spent first stage at sea.
The seventeenth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-12. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko take up residence on the ISS for 199 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a ten-day stay is South Korean astronaut Yi So-Yeon, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew.
NASA announces that the Spirit rover has exceeded its mission goals of 90 continuous Martian days of operation since landing, with over 600 meters of the Martian surface covered. NASA applies for, and receives approval on, a plan to keep Spirit and Opportunity roving through September, almost tripling the rovers’ planned life span. The extended mission, made possible by a budget boost of $15 million, will give engineers the chance to try handing control over to the Rovers’ built-in systems, and it’ll afford a greater opportunity to examine the unusual rocks and evidence of past bodies of water on the Martian surface.
Bridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the 20th mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. The Clone Wars shorts return – in a slightly less short format – in the spring of 2005, running up to the theatrical release of Episode III; on DVD, this is also the end of Volume One. This installment marks the first appearance of General Grievous.
EMI Records releases a UK-only remastered, expanded edition of the second Electric Light Orchestra album, Electric Light Orchestra II, featuring a bonus CD bearing the 1972 album’s unused work-in-progress title, The Lost Planet. The bonus disc includes numerous previously unissued songs, including demos from a session to test out prospective new lead singers before Jeff Lynne took that mantle as well, following the departure of co-founder Roy Wood. Though a remastered Electric Light Orchestra II is later issued in North America, it does not include the second disc or its contents.
The 105th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, Melinda Deines, Guylaine St. Onge, and Alan Van Sprang.
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the 109th shuttle flight, an 11-day mission to add the integrated truss “backbone” to the International Space Station. In addition to assembling and attaching this major part of the station, a mobile transport is added for the station’s remote manipulator arm, allowing the arm to roll from one end of the station to the other for whatever functions may be required. Aboard Atlantis for her 25th flight are Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick, and mission specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin and Rex Walheim.
The 177th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick. David Duchovny appears as Agent Mulder; Judson Scott (Star Trek II, The Phoenix) guest stars.
Fox airs the 23rd episode of the sci-fi western, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., starring Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, and Christian Clemenson. Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off with the ATLAS-2 scientific payload for a nine-day mission. A free-floating platform to measure solar wind activity is also deployed and then retrieved before returning to Earth. Aboard Discovery for her 16th flight are Commander Kenneth Cameron, Pilot Stephen Oswald, and mission specialists Michael Foale, Kenneth Cockrell and Ellen Ochoa.
NBC airs the 71st episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Kathnleen Wilhoite (Pepper Ann, Gilmore Girls) guest stars.
The sixth episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Sean Patrick Flanery. Bryan Pringle (Brazil) and Friedrich von Thun (Schindler’s List) guest stars in the finale of the abbreviated first season. Already a hit with critics, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles won’t be seen again until September, at which point it will be a heavily-promoted part of ABC’s fall season.
The 63rd episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs in syndication. David Naughton stars in an episode written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Jeremiah, Sense8).
CBS airs the 22nd episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. This is the first season finale.
Atlantic Records releases an album of Andrew Powell‘s soundtrack from the movie Ladyhawke. The album is produced by Alan Parsons, and features a rock-based score performed by the same musicians who record for the Alan Parsons Project.
The 21st episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Kevin Hooks (The White Shadow, He’s The Mayor) guest stars.
ABC airs the fourth episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
NASA launches the Nimbus 4 satellite, designed to observe weather patterns from orbit and test new weather and climate detection technologies. Nimbus 4 is among the first satellites to test what will become known as global positioning system technology, capable of pinpointing ground-based targets with special equipment. The satellite begins to experience intermittent attitude control problems in 1971, but remains in at least partial service through 1980.
British broadcaster ABC airs the 116th episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon) and Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz) guest star.
NASA launches its first space-based telescope, the unmanned Orbiting Astronomical Observatory satellite, into Earth orbit. Weighing nearly two tons and sporting visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray astronomy capabilities, OAO is in trouble mere minutes after it goes into service: a serious electrical failure leaves the spacecraft in a blind tumble, and it will be declared a loss three days after launch. NASA will attempt another OAO launch in 1968.
theLogBook.com releases the 31st episode of the Retrogram podcast, hosted by Earl Green, covering the following shows retelling their own versions of Cyril Kornbluth’s sci-fi short story of the same name:
The CW airs the 61st episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, starring Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Brandon Routh, and Tala Ashe. 
Comedian and actor Chuck McCann, a familiar TV face from his start in children’s television in New York in the 1950s to his near-ubiquity in both television shows and commercials in the 1970s and 1980s, dies of congestive heart failure at the age of 83. He continued to be a fixture on children’s television nationally, including a stint on the Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning kids’ sci-fi comedy Far Out Space Nuts in 1975, of which he was also co-creator. McCann’s voice could also be heard in numerous animated TV series, including Pac-Man and Animaniacs; he was the voice of The Thing in the animated Fantastic Four series.
SpaceX launches the unmanned Dragon CRS-8 (Commercial Resupply Mission 8) to the International Space Station, carrying supplies and experiments, as well as delivering via its cargo trunk the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), the first new addition to the ISS since 2011. The flight is a success, and for the first time, the Falcon 9 first stage returns intact to an unmanned drone barge in the Atlantic Ocean, where it can be refurbished and reused. Though SpaceX has previously brought an intact booster down on dry land, this is the first success in several attempts to recover the spent first stage at sea.
The seventeenth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-12. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko take up residence on the ISS for 199 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a ten-day stay is South Korean astronaut Yi So-Yeon, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew.
NASA announces that the Spirit rover has exceeded its mission goals of 90 continuous Martian days of operation since landing, with over 600 meters of the Martian surface covered. NASA applies for, and receives approval on, a plan to keep Spirit and Opportunity roving through September, almost tripling the rovers’ planned life span. The extended mission, made possible by a budget boost of $15 million, will give engineers the chance to try handing control over to the Rovers’ built-in systems, and it’ll afford a greater opportunity to examine the unusual rocks and evidence of past bodies of water on the Martian surface.
Bridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the 20th mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. The Clone Wars shorts return – in a slightly less short format – in the spring of 2005, running up to the theatrical release of Episode III; on DVD, this is also the end of Volume One. This installment marks the first appearance of General Grievous. 
EMI Records releases a UK-only remastered, expanded edition of the second Electric Light Orchestra album, Electric Light Orchestra II, featuring a bonus CD bearing the 1972 album’s unused work-in-progress title, The Lost Planet. The bonus disc includes numerous previously unissued songs, including demos from a session to test out prospective new lead singers before Jeff Lynne took that mantle as well, following the departure of co-founder Roy Wood. Though a remastered Electric Light Orchestra II is later issued in North America, it does not include the second disc or its contents. 
The 105th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Jayne Heitmeyer, Von Flores, Melinda Deines, Guylaine St. Onge, and Alan Van Sprang.
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the 109th shuttle flight, an 11-day mission to add the integrated truss “backbone” to the International Space Station. In addition to assembling and attaching this major part of the station, a mobile transport is added for the station’s remote manipulator arm, allowing the arm to roll from one end of the station to the other for whatever functions may be required. Aboard Atlantis for her 25th flight are Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick, and mission specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin and Rex Walheim.
The 177th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick. David Duchovny appears as Agent Mulder; Judson Scott (Star Trek II, The Phoenix) guest stars.
Cable channel TNT premieres the 100th episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. 
UPN airs the 87th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 114th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 88th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
The 20th episode of Lawrence Hertzog’s paranoid spy-fi thriller Nowhere Man, starring Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), airs on UPN.
UPN airs the 37th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 55th episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. Award-winning SF writer (and series creative consultant) Harlan Ellison provides an irascible computer voice in this episode. 
Fox airs the 23rd episode of the sci-fi western, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., starring Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, and Christian Clemenson. Kelly Rutherford (Melrose Place) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off with the ATLAS-2 scientific payload for a nine-day mission. A free-floating platform to measure solar wind activity is also deployed and then retrieved before returning to Earth. Aboard Discovery for her 16th flight are Commander Kenneth Cameron, Pilot Stephen Oswald, and mission specialists Michael Foale, Kenneth Cockrell and Ellen Ochoa.
NBC airs the 71st episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Kathnleen Wilhoite (Pepper Ann, Gilmore Girls) guest stars.
The sixth episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Sean Patrick Flanery. Bryan Pringle (Brazil) and Friedrich von Thun (Schindler’s List) guest stars in the finale of the abbreviated first season. Already a hit with critics, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles won’t be seen again until September, at which point it will be a heavily-promoted part of ABC’s fall season.
The 63rd episode of a revival of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs in syndication. David Naughton stars in an episode written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Jeremiah, Sense8).
CBS airs the 22nd episode of Ron Koslow’s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton, Ron Perlman, and Roy Dotrice. This is the first season finale.
Atlantic Records releases an album of Andrew Powell‘s soundtrack from the movie Ladyhawke. The album is produced by Alan Parsons, and features a rock-based score performed by the same musicians who record for the Alan Parsons Project. 
The 21st episode of the science fiction series The Powers Of Matthew Star airs on NBC, starring Peter Barton and Louis Gossett Jr. Kevin Hooks (The White Shadow, He’s The Mayor) guest stars.
ABC airs the fourth episode of Stephen J. Cannell’s superhero comedy series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Culp.
Atari releases the arcade video game Warlords, in both upright (for one or two players) and cocktail (up to four players) models. 
The 23rd episode of The Tomorrow People is broadcast on ITV. 
The 11th episode of The Sixth Sense airs on ABC, starring Gary Collins. Frank Converse (Coronet Blue) guest stars.
The 318th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Garrick Hagon (Star Wars) and John Hollis (The Empire Strikes Back) guest star. 
NASA launches the Nimbus 4 satellite, designed to observe weather patterns from orbit and test new weather and climate detection technologies. Nimbus 4 is among the first satellites to test what will become known as global positioning system technology, capable of pinpointing ground-based targets with special equipment. The satellite begins to experience intermittent attitude control problems in 1971, but remains in at least partial service through 1980.
The 157th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. 
British broadcaster ABC airs the 116th episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon) and Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz) guest star.
NASA launches its first space-based telescope, the unmanned Orbiting Astronomical Observatory satellite, into Earth orbit. Weighing nearly two tons and sporting visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray astronomy capabilities, OAO is in trouble mere minutes after it goes into service: a serious electrical failure leaves the spacecraft in a blind tumble, and it will be declared a loss three days after launch. NASA will attempt another OAO launch in 1968.
The 27th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Ivan Dixon and Kim Hamilton star in an episode written by Serling.