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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. One sweltering day in Hell's Kitchen in the 1930s. One policeman. Five wanted men. Five bullets left. And no one in the crowd who wants to help call for backup. Gene Roddenberry collaborated on a single episode of the anthology series G.E. True in 1962, and it's a half-hour powderkeg of true-crime dramatic tension. 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 "V Victor 5". 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 Ashley Thomas, Jason Smith, Kevin Ibbotson and Dominic Nigro perform a key section of the script. Listen in as they bring the story to life in this exclusive performance. The original G.E. True episode can be seen on YouTube. 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 888th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 189th episode since the series’ revival), starring Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu. Alan Cumming guest stars in an episode mixing live action with animation.
The 23rd episode of the science fiction series The Expanse, based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for writers Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), is broadcast on cable channel Syfy. Terry Chen (Continuum) and Adam Savage (Mythbusters) guest star in the second season finale.
Having completed its last mission, Space Shuttle Discovery is retired, stripped of working engine parts and other items, and donated to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum by NASA. The workhorse of the shuttle fleet, Discovery flew in space 39 times starting in 1984, visiting both Mir and the International Space Station, and racking up a cumulative total of an entire year in orbit. Discovery takes the place of the test orbiter, Enterprise, which has been on display at the Smithsonian since the 1980s.
Actress Elisabeth Sladen, possibly the performer who has maintained the longest on-screen association with a Doctor Who character in the history of the franchise, dies at the age of 65. In 1973, the producers of Doctor Who had hired another actress to play the part of new companion Sarah Jane Smith, only to meet with strenuous objections from series lead Jon Pertwee. Elisabeth Sladen was then cast in the part, continuing to play Sarah Jane through 1976, one of the longest-running companions in the original series. Numerous times she had been approached to reprise her role, only agreeing to do so in 1981 in her own spinoff, K-9 & Company, which never made it past the pilot stage. After reprising the role of Sarah Jane for Big Finish’s audio spinoff series centered around the character, she was asked to play the part again – on television – alongside David Tennant, sparking new interest in the character and ultimately leading to her own spinoff series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Filming of the fifth season of that series had been put on hold while she was admitted to the hospital.
The ninth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-4. Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke take up residence on the ISS for 187 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a ten-day stay is Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3 with the Expedition 8 crew.
The 40th episode of James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee’s cyberpunk series Dark Angel, starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, airs on Fox. Ashley Scott (Birds Of Prey, Jericho) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the 104th shuttle flight, a 12-day mission to resupply and continue construction of the International Space Station. The primary addition to the station is the Canadian-built remote manipulator arm, derived from the design that has been flown throughout the Space Shuttle program, to be affixed to the station itself. Aboard Endeavour for her 16th flight are Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby, and mission specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, John Phillips, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 167th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode continues a tightly-serialized eight-episode run-up to the series finale. Louise Fletcher guest stars.
The 18th episode of Highlander: The Raven, starring Amanda Gracen and Paul Johannson, airs in syndication; the series is a spinoff from Highlander: The Series.
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 86th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Ted Raimi guest stars.
The 40th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Lisa Howard, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
Pay cable channel HBO airs the sixth episode of the docudrama From The Earth To The Moon, chronicling NASA’s quest to reach the moon, and two episodes debut each Sunday of the show’s run. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Tony Goldwyn (Ghost, Scandal), and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) guest star in an episode covering Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing.
Pay cable channel HBO airs the fifth episode of the docudrama From The Earth To The Moon, chronicling NASA’s quest to reach the moon, and two episodes debut each Sunday of the show’s run. Dann Florek, Kieran Mulroney, and Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) guest star in an episode covering the evolution of the lunar module and the flights of Apollo 9 and 10.
The 113th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, Almost Human) guest stars.
The eighth and final episode of the time-travel/crime series Crime Traveller is broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Anthony Horowitz (Foyle’s War), starring Michael French (Casualty) and Chloe Annett (Red Dwarf).
The third episode of the science fiction police series Mann & Machine, co-created by Dick Wolf and Robert de Laurentiis, is broadcast on NBC, starring David Andrews and Yancy Butler.
The 96th episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Erin Gray (Buck Rogers In The 25th Century) guest stars.
The 16th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back, Chocky) guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches the last of the Salyut space stations, Salyut 7, into Earth orbit. Reflecting an ongoing significant rethink on space station construction, Salyut 7 is intended from the outset to be docked with additional modules to expand its habitable and working space. It also sets a new endurance record of its own, remaining in orbit for nearly a decade.
ITV airs the 17th episode of Roald Dahl’s anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected, hosted by the author himself and adapted from his short stories. Elaine Stritch and Shane Rimmer (Thunderbirds) guest star.
The 398th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This story marks the Cybermen’s first story since the Troughton era, and closes out both the series’ 12th season and the “Nerva” plotline.
The 12th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. France Nuyen and George Takei (Star Trek) guest star.
ITV premieres the first episode of Escape Into Night, adapted by Ruth Boswell from the Catherine Storr novel Marianne Dreams. Though originally shown in color, the color master tapes are lost over time, and the series survives only in black & white recordings originally made to sell to foreign markets. It is these recordings that will eventually get a DVD release in the 21st century.
Salyut 1, the first orbiting space station in history is launched, unmanned, by the Soviet Union. With Salyut 1, the Soviet space program intends to vault ahead of the United States in a new space discipline (namely long stays in space and the study of human endurance in a zero-G environment), having lost the moon race. The first Salyut station will orbit Earth for less than a year.
The 244th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Jane Sherwin, David Savile and Philip Madoc guest star. This is Patrick Troughton’s final story as the incumbent Doctor, the final Doctor Who story of the 1960s, and the final story made in black & white.
The 32nd episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. George Sanders guest stars in the first season’s finale, and the final episode to be broadcast in black & white.
The 15th episode of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, based on Wells’ story, airs on ITV; this episode will air in October 1959 in the U.S. on CBS. Lisa Daniely stars.
The 888th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 (the 189th episode since the series’ revival), starring Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu. Alan Cumming guest stars in an episode mixing live action with animation.
The 134th episode of Arrow, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ Green Arrow superhero starring Stephen Amell, airs on the CW.
The 23rd episode of the science fiction series The Expanse, based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for writers Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), is broadcast on cable channel Syfy. Terry Chen (Continuum) and Adam Savage (Mythbusters) guest star in the second season finale.
The 41st episode of The Flash, a modern-day reboot of DC Comics’ superhero starring Grant Gustin, airs on the CW.
Having completed its last mission, Space Shuttle Discovery is retired, stripped of working engine parts and other items, and donated to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum by NASA. The workhorse of the shuttle fleet, Discovery flew in space 39 times starting in 1984, visiting both Mir and the International Space Station, and racking up a cumulative total of an entire year in orbit. Discovery takes the place of the test orbiter, Enterprise, which has been on display at the Smithsonian since the 1980s.
Actress Elisabeth Sladen, possibly the performer who has maintained the longest on-screen association with a Doctor Who character in the history of the franchise, dies at the age of 65. In 1973, the producers of Doctor Who had hired another actress to play the part of new companion Sarah Jane Smith, only to meet with strenuous objections from series lead Jon Pertwee. Elisabeth Sladen was then cast in the part, continuing to play Sarah Jane through 1976, one of the longest-running companions in the original series. Numerous times she had been approached to reprise her role, only agreeing to do so in 1981 in her own spinoff, K-9 & Company, which never made it past the pilot stage. After reprising the role of Sarah Jane for Big Finish’s audio spinoff series centered around the character, she was asked to play the part again – on television – alongside David Tennant, sparking new interest in the character and ultimately leading to her own spinoff series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Filming of the fifth season of that series had been put on hold while she was admitted to the hospital.
The 743rd episode of Doctor Who (the 45th since the series’ revival) airs on BBC1. Tim McInnery (Blackadder) guest stars. 
ABC premieres the 18th episode of Shaun Cassidy’s sci-fi/horror series Invasion, starring William Fichtner (Contact), Eddie Cibrian, and Lisa Sheridan. James Frain (Tron Legacy, Star Trek: Discovery) guest stars. 
The ninth full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-4. Gennady Padalka and Michael Fincke take up residence on the ISS for 187 days. Arriving with them on the ISS for a ten-day stay is Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, who returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3 with the Expedition 8 crew.
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the seventh episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s post-apocalyptic series Jeremiah. 
The 65th episode of Farscape airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, starring Ben Browder and Claudia Black. 
The 40th episode of James Cameron & Charles H. Eglee’s cyberpunk series Dark Angel, starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly, airs on Fox. Ashley Scott (Birds Of Prey, Jericho) guest stars.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the 104th shuttle flight, a 12-day mission to resupply and continue construction of the International Space Station. The primary addition to the station is the Canadian-built remote manipulator arm, derived from the design that has been flown throughout the Space Shuttle program, to be affixed to the station itself. Aboard Endeavour for her 16th flight are Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby, and mission specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, John Phillips, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov.
UPN airs the 140th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 167th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode continues a tightly-serialized eight-episode run-up to the series finale. Louise Fletcher guest stars. 
The 18th episode of Highlander: The Raven, starring Amanda Gracen and Paul Johannson, airs in syndication; the series is a spinoff from Highlander: The Series. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 86th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. Ted Raimi guest stars. 
The 40th episode of Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, airs in syndication, starring Robert Leeshock, Lisa Howard, Von Flores, and Richard Chevolleau.
Pay cable channel HBO airs the sixth episode of the docudrama From The Earth To The Moon, chronicling NASA’s quest to reach the moon, and two episodes debut each Sunday of the show’s run. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Tony Goldwyn (Ghost, Scandal), and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) guest star in an episode covering Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing. 
Pay cable channel HBO airs the fifth episode of the docudrama From The Earth To The Moon, chronicling NASA’s quest to reach the moon, and two episodes debut each Sunday of the show’s run. Dann Florek, Kieran Mulroney, and Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) guest star in an episode covering the evolution of the lunar module and the flights of Apollo 9 and 10. 
The 113th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, Almost Human) guest stars.
The eighth and final episode of the time-travel/crime series Crime Traveller is broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Anthony Horowitz (Foyle’s War), starring Michael French (Casualty) and Chloe Annett (Red Dwarf). 
The 83rd episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman airs on ABC, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. 
Fox premieres the 20th episode of the military science fiction series Space: Above And Beyond. 
Fox airs the fifth episode of Sliders, Tracy Torme’s alternate-universe science fiction series. 
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 12th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 
The third episode of the science fiction police series Mann & Machine, co-created by Dick Wolf and Robert de Laurentiis, is broadcast on NBC, starring David Andrews and Yancy Butler.
The 96th episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs. Erin Gray (Buck Rogers In The 25th Century) guest stars.
The 16th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back, Chocky) guest stars.
The Soviet Union launches the last of the Salyut space stations, Salyut 7, into Earth orbit. Reflecting an ongoing significant rethink on space station construction, Salyut 7 is intended from the outset to be docked with additional modules to expand its habitable and working space. It also sets a new endurance record of its own, remaining in orbit for nearly a decade.
The fifth episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker, Anthony Daniels stars as C-3PO, and Bernard “Bunny” Behrens stars as Ben Kenobi. 
ITV airs the 37th episode of the anthology series Tales Of The Unexpected. Stuart Whitman guest stars.
The third episode of The Amazing Spider-Man airs on CBS, starring Nicholas Hammond and Robert F. Simon. Theodore Bikel guest stars. 
The 398th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. This story marks the Cybermen’s first story since the Troughton era, and closes out both the series’ 12th season and the “Nerva” plotline. 
The 12th episode of The Six Million Dollar Man is broadcast on ABC, starring Lee Majors and Richard Anderson. France Nuyen and George Takei (Star Trek) guest star.
ITV premieres the first episode of Escape Into Night, adapted by Ruth Boswell from the Catherine Storr novel Marianne Dreams. Though originally shown in color, the color master tapes are lost over time, and the series survives only in black & white recordings originally made to sell to foreign markets. It is these recordings that will eventually get a DVD release in the 21st century.
Salyut 1, the first orbiting space station in history is launched, unmanned, by the Soviet Union. With Salyut 1, the Soviet space program intends to vault ahead of the United States in a new space discipline (namely long stays in space and the study of human endurance in a zero-G environment), having lost the moon race. The first Salyut station will orbit Earth for less than a year.
The 244th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. Jane Sherwin, David Savile and Philip Madoc guest star. This is Patrick Troughton’s final story as the incumbent Doctor, the final Doctor Who story of the 1960s, and the final story made in black & white. 
The 32nd episode of Irwin Allen’s adventure series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea airs on ABC, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison. George Sanders guest stars in the first season’s finale, and the final episode to be broadcast in black & white.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation airs the second episode of the science fiction series The Stranger, starring Ron Haddrick.
ABC airs the 52nd episode of the supernatural anthology series One Step Beyond, hosted and directed by John Newland. Albert Salmi guest stars.
The 15th episode of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, based on Wells’ story, airs on ITV; this episode will air in October 1959 in the U.S. on CBS. Lisa Daniely stars.
The 85th episode of The Adventures Of Superman airs in syndication, starring George Reeves, Noel Neill, and Jack Larson.