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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. To fans, they were the Great Bird of the Galaxy and the First Lady of Star Trek. To their friends and co-workers, Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry were, perhaps, slightly less mythic figures with their own very human quirks, but still beloved and admired. In this panel from the TrekTalks 5 telethon in support of the Hollywood Food Coalition, Gene and Majel are remembered by those who knew them. Podcast hosted by Earl Green & Ashley Thomas TrekTalks panel hosted by John Champion Panel guests: Fred Bronson, Denise Crosby, Ernie Over, Rod Roddenberry 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 Memories of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry from those who knew and worked with them 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 807th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 108th episode since the series’ revival), starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Keeley Hawes guest stars.
Fox airs the first episode of Joss Whedon’s science fiction series Firefly, starring Nathan Fillion. This episode is actually a replacement for the original pilot, written and produced late in production; strangely enough, the original pilot will also be shown during the course of the first season.
Fox airs the 23rd episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd, and Cleavant Derricks. This is the third season premiere.
The first episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, premieres on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp (Dawson’s Creek) and Amanda Pays (Max Headroom). Tim Thomerson and Lycia Naff (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star.
The 686th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Jean Marsh guest stars, and Nicholas Courtney makes his final original series appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This story opens the 26th and final season of the original Doctor Who series.
NBC airs the ninth episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Alice Adair guest stars in the second season premiere.
The first episode of the young-adult-audience science fiction series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future premieres in syndication, starring Tim Dunigan, Maurice Dean Wint (Robocop: Prime Directive), Jessica Steen, and Sven-Ole Thorsen. The series is launched alongside a Mattel toy line whose vehicles are intended to interact with visual cues built into episodes of the show, an idea that works better in theory than it does in execution. Bruce Gray guest stars.
The 644th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Lynda Bellingham (All Creatures Great & Small) guest stars as the Inquisitor, with Michael Jayston as the Valeyard and David Selby (Dark Shadows) as Sabalon Glitz. The first four parts of the 14-part story are the final complete storyline written by former script editor Robert Holmes, who dies during production.
British publisher W.H. Allen releases the non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Key To Time by Peter Haining, a chronological collection of events, press mentions and other ephemera from Doctor Who’s beginning through the book’s publication. (The book is not related to the Key to Time storyline of the series’ 16th season.)
After a long development process (during which it was briefly known as “Atari Video System X”), Atari introduces its own next-generation video game console, Atari 5200. Dubbed “The Supersystem,” the new console, boasting far better graphics and sound capabilities than the VCS, is hampered by one of the worst controller concepts in video game history. Also not helping the 5200’s chances are the lack of an adapter allowing VCS owners to painlessly transition to the new system, a peripheral already available for the Colecovision. (In keeping with the new system’s name, the VCS is also now marketed as the Atari 2600.)
The second episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Horror airs on ITV. Julia Foster and Dinah Sheridan guest star.
Cinematronics releases the cult classic arcade game Star Castle, a vector graphics game sending players on a mission to create a tiny vulnerability in a space station’s colorful rotating defense shields. Once its shields have been penetrated, a well timed shot can destroy the enemy fortress.
NBC airs the two-hour pilot movie of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, a ’70s update of the classic sci-fi pulp hero by Glen A. Larson of Battlestar Galactica fame. Gil Gerard, Erin Gray and Tim O’Connor star in the heavily promoted new series, whose pilot is also shown as a theatrical movie both in America and abroad.
The 14th episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, premieres in syndication across the U.S.
NASA launches the third and final High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellite into Earth orbit, where it begins studying gamma ray sources and the nature of cosmic rays. There is also an experiment package designed to detect heavy atomic nuclei. HEAO-3 will remain in service through May 1981, and it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in December of that year.
The 405th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This episode marks the final appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart until 1983’s Mawdryn Undead. This is also the last UNIT story until the late 1980s.
ABC airs the third episode of Sid & Marty Krofft’s The Lost Saucer, starring Jim Nabors (The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC) and Ruth Buzzi (Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In). Walker Edmiston (Land Of The Lost) guest stars.
The 18th episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring Jackson Bostwick, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. Dabbs Greer guest stars.
ABC airs the second episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on Jeff Rice’s novel and the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. Scatman Crothers guest stars.
The 15th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Mike Farrell (The Questor Tapes, M*A*S*H) guest stars.
The 62nd episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Grant Sullivan and Carol Williams guest star.
The 807th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 108th episode since the series’ revival), starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Keeley Hawes guest stars.
ABC premieres the first episode of Frank Spotnitz’ sci-fi/horror series Night Stalker, a re-imagining of the 1970s series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, starring Stuart Townsend (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). 
Fox airs the first episode of Joss Whedon’s science fiction series Firefly, starring Nathan Fillion. This episode is actually a replacement for the original pilot, written and produced late in production; strangely enough, the original pilot will also be shown during the course of the first season. 
Fox airs the 23rd episode of Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series Sliders, starring Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys Davies, Sabrina Lloyd, and Cleavant Derricks. This is the third season premiere.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 152nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode opens TNG’s seventh and final season. 
The first episode of the superhero series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character, premieres on CBS, starring John Wesley Shipp (Dawson’s Creek) and Amanda Pays (Max Headroom). Tim Thomerson and Lycia Naff (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest star.
The 686th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Jean Marsh guest stars, and Nicholas Courtney makes his final original series appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This story opens the 26th and final season of the original Doctor Who series.
NBC airs the ninth episode of Donald Bellisario’s science fiction series Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. Alice Adair guest stars in the second season premiere.
NASA releases an interactive electronic educational guide to the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope for the Apple II computer. Featuring diagrams of the orbiting telescope’s construction, methods of communication with Earth, and how it gathers its images. The software is released ahead of HST’s launch aboard an upcoming shuttle flight. 
The ninth episode of the science fiction comedy Red Dwarf airs on BBC 2. 
UK regional broadcaster TVS airs the third episode of Richard Cooper’s alternate-history series Knights Of God, portraying a struggle between oppressive government and rugged resistance fighters in a post-civil-war UK. Christopher Bowen guest stars. 
The first episode of the young-adult-audience science fiction series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future premieres in syndication, starring Tim Dunigan, Maurice Dean Wint (Robocop: Prime Directive), Jessica Steen, and Sven-Ole Thorsen. The series is launched alongside a Mattel toy line whose vehicles are intended to interact with visual cues built into episodes of the show, an idea that works better in theory than it does in execution. Bruce Gray guest stars. 
The 644th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Lynda Bellingham (All Creatures Great & Small) guest stars as the Inquisitor, with Michael Jayston as the Valeyard and David Selby (Dark Shadows) as Sabalon Glitz. The first four parts of the 14-part story are the final complete storyline written by former script editor Robert Holmes, who dies during production.
British publisher W.H. Allen releases the non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Key To Time by Peter Haining, a chronological collection of events, press mentions and other ephemera from Doctor Who’s beginning through the book’s publication. (The book is not related to the Key to Time storyline of the series’ 16th season.) 
After a long development process (during which it was briefly known as “Atari Video System X”), Atari introduces its own next-generation video game console, Atari 5200. Dubbed “The Supersystem,” the new console, boasting far better graphics and sound capabilities than the VCS, is hampered by one of the worst controller concepts in video game history. Also not helping the 5200’s chances are the lack of an adapter allowing VCS owners to painlessly transition to the new system, a peripheral already available for the Colecovision. (In keeping with the new system’s name, the VCS is also now marketed as the Atari 2600.) 
The second episode of the Hammer Studios-produced horror anthology series Hammer House Of Horror airs on ITV. Julia Foster and Dinah Sheridan guest star.
The 529th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This is the first story produced by John Nathan-Turner. Adrienne Corri and Nigel Lambert guest star.
Cinematronics releases the cult classic arcade game Star Castle, a vector graphics game sending players on a mission to create a tiny vulnerability in a space station’s colorful rotating defense shields. Once its shields have been penetrated, a well timed shot can destroy the enemy fortress. 
NBC airs the two-hour pilot movie of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, a ’70s update of the classic sci-fi pulp hero by Glen A. Larson of Battlestar Galactica fame. Gil Gerard, Erin Gray and Tim O’Connor star in the heavily promoted new series, whose pilot is also shown as a theatrical movie both in America and abroad. 
The 14th episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, premieres in syndication across the U.S. 
NASA launches the third and final High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellite into Earth orbit, where it begins studying gamma ray sources and the nature of cosmic rays. There is also an experiment package designed to detect heavy atomic nuclei. HEAO-3 will remain in service through May 1981, and it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in December of that year.
The 405th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This episode marks the final appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart until 1983’s Mawdryn Undead. This is also the last UNIT story until the late 1980s.
ABC airs the third episode of Sid & Marty Krofft’s The Lost Saucer, starring Jim Nabors (The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle USMC) and Ruth Buzzi (Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In). Walker Edmiston (Land Of The Lost) guest stars.
The 18th episode of Filmation’s live-action Shazam! series airs on CBS, starring Jackson Bostwick, Michael Gray and Les Tremayne. Dabbs Greer guest stars.
The third episode of Sid & Marty Krofft’s Far-Out Space Nuts airs on CBS, starring Bob Denver (Gillgan’s Island) and Chuck McCann (Herbie Rides Again). 
ABC airs the second episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, based on Jeff Rice’s novel and the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. Scatman Crothers guest stars. 
The second episode of the TV spinoff of Planet Of The Apes premieres on CBS. Future V star Marc Singer guest stars. 
The 15th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. Mike Farrell (The Questor Tapes, M*A*S*H) guest stars.
The second episode of Leslie Steven’s “spy-fi” series Search airs on NBC, starring Tony Franciosa and Burgess Meredith. Stefanie Powers (Hart To Hart) and Larry Linville (M*A*S*H) guest star. 
The 56th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction series Star Trek airs on NBC. This is the first episode of the third season, and the first overseen by new producer Fred Freiberger. Marj Dusay guest stars. 
The 62nd episode of Irwin Allen’s science fiction series Lost In Space premieres on CBS, starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, and Jonathan Harris. Grant Sullivan and Carol Williams guest star.