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. It features Lee Marvin in front of a high-tech viewscreen, but this is no starship – Gene-ology opens its investigation into a very unusual foray into "true crime" with Gene Roddenberry adapting the particulars of a notorious Seattle murder case into dramatic form. It's also a career milestone for Gene: the last script he would write for a show that he didn't also create. 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 "Queen Anne Killer Unidentified: The Michael Olds Story". 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.
The 880th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 181st episode since the series’ revival), starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. Varada Sethu (Andor) guest stars in an episode written by Hugo-winning former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
The 91st episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Neal McDonough (Boomtown) guest stars.
The 800th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 102nd episode since the series’ revival), closing the new series’ seventh season and setting up hints toward the much-anticipated 50th anniversary special. John Hurt and Richard E. Grant guest star.
The 209th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks.
The final film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith is released, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid.
Canadian broadcaster CHCH-TV airs the 19th 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. Art Hindle (E.N.G.), Jayne Heitmeyer (Earth: Final Conflict), and Nigel Bennett (Forever Knight, Lexx) guest star.
The 54th 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. Alexis Denisof (Angel), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), and Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.
The 22nd and final episode of the sequel series Team Knight Rider airs in syndication, starring Brixton Karnes, Christine Steel, Duane Davis, and Nick Wechsler. David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, The Invisible Man, Sapphire & Steel) guest stars in what was intended to be a season finale cliffhanging into a second season, with the return of Michael Knight from the original Knight Rider as a major plot point. That character’s face is not seen, as David Hasselhoff – still starring in Baywatch – has not been approached to reprise the role.
The 97th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. John Finn guest stars in the fourth season finale.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 13th episode of Babylon 5. Ed Wasser makes his first guest appearance as Mr. Morden, and this episode marks the first direct appearance by the Shadows, who will become the series’ main antagonists.
Helen Sharman becomes the first British national in space, flying aboard Soyuz TM-12 to the Soviet space station Mir. Making her flight in a seat bought and paid for by a consortium of British commercial interests, Sharman tags along with cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, and she spends just a week in orbit before returning with Soyuz TM-13 cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov. Artsebarsky and Krikalev remain aboard Mir for what is initially planned to be a five-month stay, though a shake-up in the flight schedule forces mission planners to ask Krikalev to stay aboard Mir even after Artsebarsky returns to Earth, resulting in Krikalev remaining on Mir for 10 months, not returning home until 1992 – at which point the Soviet Union will have ceased to exist.
The 22nd episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, airs on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays. Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman: The Animated Series) guest stars in what is intended to merely be a lead-in to a second season, though CBS does not pick The Flash up for a second year, making this the final episode. John Wesley Shipp will return as both this series’ version of the Flash and as Barry Allen’s father in the much longer-lived 21st century series based on the character.
The 77th episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Sherman Howard and Justina Vail (Seven Days) guest star.
The sixth episode of The Max Headroom Show premieres, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Boy George (Culture Club) guest stars. This concludes the show’s first season.
Konami introduces the arcade game Gyruss in the United States, a space shooter with a vaguely 3-D perspective and a thumping Bach-by-way-of-techno soundtrack.
Folllowing a lull in its recent frequent earthquake and minor volcanic activity, the summit of Mt. St. Helens in Washington disappears in a massive landslide, releasing a powerful (300mph) lateral explosion that flattens nearby forest land ahead of a devastating release of debris and snowmelt mud known as a lahar. Within an hour, with the summit crater exposed, the remaining magma stored under Mt. St. Helens surges upward, resulting in a massive eruption from the summit, lasting nine hours and wiping out hundreds of square miles of forest and killing dozens of people, including geologists who had been on station to monitor the volcano’s activity. Following the eruption, Mt. St. Helens is over 1,000 feet shorter, its peak replaced by a mile-wide crater. This is the first significant volcanic eruption on the American mainland since 1915.
With the 1972 agreement having resulted in the successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the United States and the Soviet Union formally renew the Space Cooperation Agreement. As an immediate goal to build on Apollo-Soyuz, both countries hold tentative discussions about docking the American Space Shuttle (which, it is still assumed, will be in space before the 1970s are out) and a Soviet Salyut space station. Though the shuttle’s first flight is still being delayed, the biggest hurdle will prove to be international relations, specifically a renewed chilling of the Cold War thanks to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
Having spent six years wrangling with various mission profiles for a “Grand Tour” of the outer solar system, made possible by a favorable planetary alignment occurring only once every 175 years, NASA finally authorizes a very stripped-down version of its original ambitious Grand Tour plans. The Mariner Jupiter/Saturn ’77 mission will consist of two twin unmanned spacecraft to be launched in 1977, each on a course to explore Jupiter, and then to use Jupiter’s gravity to deflect them to Saturn. These spacecraft will be renamed Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 just a few months before lifting off.
Apollo 10 lifts off for a dress rehearsal over the moon. Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan and John Young fly a complete Apollo stack – both the command/service module and the lunar model – to the moon, conducting practice maneuvers in lunar orbit. Over eight days, the Apollo 10 crew does everything but land on the moon. With the mission requirements fulfilled, NASA announces that the next Apollo mission will attempt an actual landing.
The 207th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This story sees the return of the Cybermen and the introduction of Wendy Padbury as the Doctor’s new companion, Zoe. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.
The 100th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Josephine Hutchinson and David White star in a Serling adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s short story of the same name.
The 880th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 181st episode since the series’ revival), starring Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. Varada Sethu (Andor) guest stars in an episode written by Hugo-winning former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
The CW airs the 165th episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin. 
The CW airs the sixth episode of Superman & Lois, starring Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Jordan Elsass, and Alex Garfin.
The 91st episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW. Neal McDonough (Boomtown) guest stars.
The 800th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 102nd episode since the series’ revival), closing the new series’ seventh season and setting up hints toward the much-anticipated 50th anniversary special. John Hurt and Richard E. Grant guest star. 
ABC airs the 12th episode of a modern-day remake of Kenneth Johnson’s sci-fi series V, starring Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) and Morena Baccarin (Firefly). This is the first season finale. 
Sci-Fi Channel airs the 56th episode of Stargate Atlantis. 
The 209th episode of Stargate SG-1 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks. 
The final film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith is released, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid. 
Temple University Press publishes the non-fiction book The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television by David Weinstein, chronicling the rise and fall of the original “fourth television network” and its founder, Allen Du Mont. 
Canadian broadcaster CHCH-TV airs the 19th 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. Art Hindle (E.N.G.), Jayne Heitmeyer (Earth: Final Conflict), and Nigel Bennett (Forever Knight, Lexx) guest star.
The 54th 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. Alexis Denisof (Angel), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), and Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest star.
Fat Wreck Chords releases Me First and the Gimme Gimmes‘ second album, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Are A Drag. 
Christopher Franke’s soundtrack to the Babylon 5 TV movie The River Of Souls is released on Sonic Images Records. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 146th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
The 22nd and final episode of the sequel series Team Knight Rider airs in syndication, starring Brixton Karnes, Christine Steel, Duane Davis, and Nick Wechsler. David McCallum (The Man From UNCLE, The Invisible Man, Sapphire & Steel) guest stars in what was intended to be a season finale cliffhanging into a second season, with the return of Michael Knight from the original Knight Rider as a major plot point. That character’s face is not seen, as David Hasselhoff – still starring in Baywatch – has not been approached to reprise the role.
The 97th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. John Finn guest stars in the fourth season finale.
Virgin Publishing releases the tenth Doctor Who: The Missing Adventures novel, The Menagerie by Martin Day, featuring the TARDIS team of the second Doctor, Zoe, and Jamie. 
Virgin Publishing releases the 38th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Human Nature by Paul Cornell. This book will be remade in the 21st century TV series as a heavily-reworked two-part story featuring the tenth Doctor rather than the seventh. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 13th episode of Babylon 5. Ed Wasser makes his first guest appearance as Mr. Morden, and this episode marks the first direct appearance by the Shadows, who will become the series’ main antagonists. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 123rd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Michelle Forbes guest stars as Ensign Ro. 
Helen Sharman becomes the first British national in space, flying aboard Soyuz TM-12 to the Soviet space station Mir. Making her flight in a seat bought and paid for by a consortium of British commercial interests, Sharman tags along with cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev, and she spends just a week in orbit before returning with Soyuz TM-13 cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov. Artsebarsky and Krikalev remain aboard Mir for what is initially planned to be a five-month stay, though a shake-up in the flight schedule forces mission planners to ask Krikalev to stay aboard Mir even after Artsebarsky returns to Earth, resulting in Krikalev remaining on Mir for 10 months, not returning home until 1992 – at which point the Soviet Union will have ceased to exist.
The 22nd episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, airs on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays. Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman: The Animated Series) guest stars in what is intended to merely be a lead-in to a second season, though CBS does not pick The Flash up for a second year, making this the final episode. John Wesley Shipp will return as both this series’ version of the Flash and as Barry Allen’s father in the much longer-lived 21st century series based on the character.
The 77th episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Sherman Howard and Justina Vail (Seven Days) guest star.
The sixth episode of The Max Headroom Show premieres, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Boy George (Culture Club) guest stars. This concludes the show’s first season. 
Gottlieb introduces the arcade game Krull in the United States, based on the much-hyped fantasy movie of the same name. 
Konami introduces the arcade game 
Decca Records releases the tenth Moody Blues album, Long Distance Voyager, featuring the singles “Gemini Dream” and “The Voice”. 
Folllowing a lull in its recent frequent earthquake and minor volcanic activity, the summit of Mt. St. Helens in Washington disappears in a massive landslide, releasing a powerful (300mph) lateral explosion that flattens nearby forest land ahead of a devastating release of debris and snowmelt mud known as a lahar. Within an hour, with the summit crater exposed, the remaining magma stored under Mt. St. Helens surges upward, resulting in a massive eruption from the summit, lasting nine hours and wiping out hundreds of square miles of forest and killing dozens of people, including geologists who had been on station to monitor the volcano’s activity. Following the eruption, Mt. St. Helens is over 1,000 feet shorter, its peak replaced by a mile-wide crater. This is the first significant volcanic eruption on the American mainland since 1915.
With the 1972 agreement having resulted in the successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the United States and the Soviet Union formally renew the Space Cooperation Agreement. As an immediate goal to build on Apollo-Soyuz, both countries hold tentative discussions about docking the American Space Shuttle (which, it is still assumed, will be in space before the 1970s are out) and a Soviet Salyut space station. Though the shuttle’s first flight is still being delayed, the biggest hurdle will prove to be international relations, specifically a renewed chilling of the Cold War thanks to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
Asylum Records releases Warren Zevon‘s self-titled second album, his first album since 1969. 
The 378th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the final story of the third Doctor’s era.
Having spent six years wrangling with various mission profiles for a “Grand Tour” of the outer solar system, made possible by a favorable planetary alignment occurring only once every 175 years, NASA finally authorizes a very stripped-down version of its original ambitious Grand Tour plans. The Mariner Jupiter/Saturn ’77 mission will consist of two twin unmanned spacecraft to be launched in 1977, each on a course to explore Jupiter, and then to use Jupiter’s gravity to deflect them to Saturn. These spacecraft will be renamed Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 just a few months before lifting off.
Apollo 10 lifts off for a dress rehearsal over the moon. Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan and John Young fly a complete Apollo stack – both the command/service module and the lunar model – to the moon, conducting practice maneuvers in lunar orbit. Over eight days, the Apollo 10 crew does everything but land on the moon. With the mission requirements fulfilled, NASA announces that the next Apollo mission will attempt an actual landing.
The 207th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This story sees the return of the Cybermen and the introduction of Wendy Padbury as the Doctor’s new companion, Zoe. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.
The 100th episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone airs on CBS. Josephine Hutchinson and David White star in a Serling adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s short story of the same name.