For many, Fred Frieberger is known as "The Serial Killer." He worked on the last seasons of several beloved TV shows right before they were cancelled. As a result, fans blame him for their ultimate demise. Star Trek is included in that list of cancelled series.
But to lay the blame for Star Trek's fall at Frieberger's feet is unfair. Prior to the start of production for Season 3, there was a big mess behind the scenes at Star Trek. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were feuding over screen time, the production budget was cut by $9,000 per episode which was a large sum in 1968 and Desilu had been purchased by Paramount and they didn't really want the show!
To make matters worse, Desilu's executive in charge of production Herb Solow, who had brought the show to Desilu and also convinced NBC to buy it, was no longer around in season 3. Frieberger was also dealing with a network that hated Star Trek because of the actions of its creator, and had put the show in the worst time slot imaginable for its audience!
Of course, the worst part of it all was that he had been hired by an executive producer, Gene Roddenberry, who wanted nothing to do with the show anymore. He simply walked away and left it to Frieberger.
In the end, Fred Frieberger inherited a dysfunctional production that couldn't be fixed. It was a complicated mess and all the powers that could have made Star Trek's third season a success were actually aligned against the show.
Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto tell you about the life and career of producer Fred Frieberger on this episode of 70s Trek.
