Get the code here: Recorded in 1976, it’s an Easter egg at ‘Gene’s Journal’



We’ve all heard of trying to find Easter eggs on DVDs. But how about Web sites?

Gene’s Journal, the popular online comic created by Trevor Roth and drawn by David Reddick, features a young Gene Roddenberry and the tales of his adolescence that would later lead to him creating “Star Trek” — in a fictional way of course.

Commissioned and approved by the Roddenberry family, other characters include Agent 4 and Agent 6, two aliens who are visiting Earth during Roddenberry’s childhood for the purpose of studying human beings.

The hidden interview was one Gene Roddenberry did in July 1976 with William Shatner called “Inside Star Trek” that was recorded at United Western Studios in Los Angeles. It was part of a series of interviews, rarely heard, that included DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy) and Mark Lenard (Sarek).

The interviewers were meant as a look at the development of “Star Trek” as well as the story of Gene Roddenberry, his dreams and his difficulties.

Because “spoken word” albums such as this were typically unpopular in music stores, “Inside Star Trek” sold poorly and was not released again in the LP format. However, in 1999, Columbia re-released “Inside Star Trek” as part of the two-CD “Star Trek: The Motion Picture 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition.”

In order to access the interview, visitors to the Gene’s Journal site need to have a special Konami Code. It will play on both PCs and Macs (but not Linux), and once the code is entered, the screen goes dark, a retro radio appears, and Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the late “Star Trek” creator and his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry, delivers a special introductory message.

To find the interview, visit Gene’s Journal at www.GenesJournalComic.com, and using your cursor keys and keyboard, type in the following code that Roddenberry Productions provided to Airlock Alpha:

UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, ENTER.

Gene’s Journal is one of two comic properties produced by Roddenberry Productions and Reddick, the other being the popular “Rod & Barry.” Reddick, a former cartoonist for the “Garfield” comic strip line, also is known to genre fans for “The Trek Life” that once appeared on the official Star Trek Web site.

Roth is the chief operating officer of Roddenberry Productions.