Gene-ology: A Mission Log Look into Gene Roddenberry's Works

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. Twice before, the Joan Crawford Show was piloted - would the third time, with a pilot written by Gene Roddenberry, have been the charm? Ashley and Earl find a lot of charm and a considerable amount of progressive thought in this unproduced 1961 script. Hosted by Earl G...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. Gene co-write a single script for the Screen Gems western Two Faces West, finishing the script of another writer's story. But it made effective use of the series' recurring mistaken identity gag, and featured a compelling guest character who was ahead of her time. Host...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. In Gene's final script for the British-Australian series Whiplash, an actress from a roaming theater troupe finds herself giving an improv performance with the highest possible stakes, and we find Gene slipping the audience a message about grace and mercy. Hosted by Ea...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. Much has been made of how progressive Gene Roddenberry's TV writing was, but one line from the original script for "Dutchman's Reef" caught even your hosts off guard - and shows just how far ahead of his time Gene was. Hosted by Earl Green & Ashley Thomas About Gene-ol...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. Gene's second episode of Whiplash, "Sarong", proves to be a surprisingly progressive stew of villains you love to hate, pearls, hungry sharks, amazing filming locations, sisters doin' it for themselves, and Peter Graves jumping off a horse like nobody's business. Hoste...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. Welcome to Whiplash, a show about Australia's old west whose makers tried to lure Gene to live and work in the UK! His first script for this western starring Peter Graves left little doubt that it was the work of Gene Roddenberry. Hosted by Earl Green & Ashley Thomas A...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. We've read all the Wrangler scripts, considered all the stories - the only thing left to do was for Ashley and Mission Log: Prodigy's Charlynn Schmiedt to visit the UCLA Library and watch the seven produced episodes for themselves.  Even the pilot.  What they found was...

Welcome to Gene-ology, a podcast by Roddenberry Entertainment that dives deep into the early TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry. As we set course for the Wrangler off-ramp, we examine one last script - the one that was never even filmed, namely, Edward J. Lakso's "Incident of the Magic Elixir", which has some themes that fit nicely into a Gene Roddenberry creation...and plenty of themes that don...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Was this the final aired episode of Wrangler, or was "A Crisis Named Wavelin" left on the cutting room floor?  Which would have been better?  Gene-ology examines Gene Roddenberry's final Wrangler script, which has a troubling tendency to use some disturbingly heavy themes as a sourc...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology keeps reliving the travels of the Wrangler, this time running afoul of a town riddled with corruption and violence.  What does justice look like in a town where the lawmen think they're above the law?  Gene's script for "Encounter At Elephant Butte" offers a grim look. Jo...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! It's a Gene-ology with an interesting twist: it may be another script for Wrangler, the 1960 western series Gene created, but it didn't reach the screen in this form.  We start the process of asking what changed and why - though we're able to take some educated guesses. Join us as w...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology continues chronicling Pitcairn's Wrangler adventures, with Gene's script presenting a character-focused ethical dilemma that raises quite a few more questions than it answers - especially with one deleted line from the earlier draft of the story. Join us as we dig into th...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! It's a Gene-ology first - a Wrangler script written by someone other than Gene himself.  Does future Star Trek writer George Slavin's "Affair At The Trading Post" fit in with Pitcairn's world... and does it still feel like a Gene Roddenberry show? Join us as we dig into the Roddenbe...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology tackles a tense adventure for Gene's 1960 series Wrangler, where one man has decided that "A Time For Hanging" is now - and isn't willing to listen to any voices of reason before executing Pitcairn, tackling multiple meaty topics in a single half-hour show in a very Gene...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! You've heard the story behind the making of the first series created by Gene Roddenberry. Now Gene-ology gives you the storyline of Wrangler's first episode, and meet the show's recurring hero, Pitcairn.  Was he boldly going where Paladin had gone before? Join us as we dig into the...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene Roddenberry created a series that made it to air in 1960 - for mere weeks - and it has faded almost entirely from history, despite the fact that the tapes still exist.  And John Champion and Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry have seen them.  They stop by Gene-ology to take us on the dee...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Norman rejoins Earl and Ashley for another look back at Paladin's adventures in five further Gene Roddenberry-written episodes of Have Gun - Will Travel.  Was Tuttle redeemable?  Was the Golden Toad underplayed?  The Les Girls/Mudd's Women debate continues, and much more! Join us as...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology enters the world of Gene Roddenberry, show creator and producer, with the unsold 1960 pilot "333 Montgomery". Even though the show didn't sell, it did cement a long friendship that would affect the casting of a future starship forever. Join us as we dig into the Roddenber...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! It's a more light-hearted return to the old west as Gene-ology examines Gene Roddenberry's only script for Sam Rolfe's Hotel de Paree series. But can even a comedy script shortchange one of its central characters? Join us as we dig into the Roddenberry archives and discuss how Gene'...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene Roddenberry's second and final script for The Detectives has enough relentless action and a ticking clock, it's enough to raise someone's blood pressure!  But does it say what Gene intended it to say about police work - especially when compared to an earlier professional paper...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology begins its examination of Gene Roddenberry's 1960s TV writing with "Karate", a episode of The Detectives starring Robert Taylor, where our hosts find plenty to talk about, including some surprisingly heavy topics. Join us as we dig into the Roddenberry archives and discus...

Does Gene's Paladin line up with Paladin in the rest of Have Gun -- Will Travel?  Was Gene writing Paladin as Sam Houston?  All three of Gene-ology's hosts - Ashley, Earl, and Norman C. Lao - gather to consider the story so far across Gene Roddenberry's scripts for Have Gun -- Will Travel.

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! Gene-ology examines "Beyond Atlas" , a one-off script for an unmade series might have been "West Point, but for the Air Force Academy" - except that, as written by Gene Roddenberry, it reads like a pitch for Starfleet Academy, which is impressive considering it was written mere week...

Welcome to Gene-ology, where we explore the earliest TV writing works of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek! The fourth and final episode Gene Roddenberry wrote for Boots & Saddles is a challenging piece of work; the story pitch that got him hired to write the episode is even more challenging and perhaps a bit shocking.  Gene-ology takes a deep dive into " The Rescue of the Strangers ." Jo...

Gene-ology has been covering Gene Roddenberry's early TV writing for a year now, so it's an opportune time for Ashley and Earl to take a well-deserved break from the wild west and dig into your comments and questions on past episodes of the podcast.