Ralph Senensky Beginning in 1958 , Ralph Albert Senensky built a long career directing television series and the occasional telefilm . During that career he directed seven episodes of , spanning the time period 1967 - 1968 , and encompassing episodes from all three seasons . Senensky was originally scheduled to direct , but the production schedule was switched with . The production staff was well - satisfied with his work on the episode , and he was hired to direct other episodes of the second and third seasons . ( " " , p 208 ) During the second season , Senensky was hired as the third " rotating director " , filling in when neither Joseph Pevney nor Marc Daniels were available . ( " " ) However , Senensky was fired by producer Fred Freiberger midway through shooting because he went over schedule , and although almost all of the footage he shot remained in the episode , he was not credited . ( " The Star Trek Interview Book " ) Brief footage shot by Senensky for " This Side of Paradise " also appeared in . Senensky has been featured as recently as 2016 , when he was interviewed for the " Inside the Roddenberry Vault " ( all three parts ) special feature documentary for the " " Blu - ray Disc release , where delved into detail on his involvement with the episodes " This Side of Paradise " , and , three of the twelve episodes prominently featured on the release . Co - interviewer Denise Okuda has expressed astonishment on the sharpness and vividness of Senesky ' s recollections , having stated , " " And he was amazing ! He ’ s 92 years old and his memory is sharper than mine . He could tell you specific days – " " oh yeah , we shot that on a Tuesday , " " and " " the sun was going down , and it was mostly on a planet . . . " " " Senensky himself has divulged a plethora of minutiae on his involvement with " The Original Series " on his own specialty blog " Ralph ' s Cinema Trek : A Journey in Film " , which he put online in 2010 , and where he has the second season episode " Metamorphosis " stated as his personal favorite , citing its writer Gene Coon as " incomparable " . Career outside " Star Trek " . Graduating from the , he began his career directing in the theater , then worked as a production supervisor on " Playhouse 90 " and as an assistant producer on " Dr . Kildare " . His work stretches from " The Twilight Zone " through many popular sitcoms and dramas of the 1960s and ' 70s . In addition to , he worked on dramas such as " Dr . Kildare " , " Route 66 " ( including " In the Closing of a Trunk " , featuring Jon Lormer and Guy Raymond ) , " Naked City " ( including " Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant " , written by Shimon Wincelberg and " Color Schemes Like Never Before " , featuring Lou Antonio ; the series also featured Lawrence Dobkin as narrator and Andrew Laszlo as co - cinematographer ) , " Arrest and Trial " ( starring Roger Perry ) , " The Fugitive " ( including " When the Bough Breaks " , featuring Jud Taylor , " An Apple a Day " , featuring Kim Darby , and " When the Wind Blows " , featuring Harry Townes ) , " The F . B . I . " ( starring Stephen Brooks , including " The Plunderers " , featuring Bill Erwin , " The Escape " , featuring Steve Ihnat and Paul Comi , " The Assassin " , featuring William Windom , Ted Knight , and James B . Sikking , " Anatomy of a Prison Break " , featuring George Murdock , Vic Perrin , and Paul Winfield , " The Death Wind " , featuring Peter Mark Richman , Bill Quinn , and Garrison True , " The Raid " , featuring Seymour Cassel , Ken Lynch , Dallas Mitchell , and Rudy Solari , " The Courier " , featuring Keye Luke and Gene Lyons , " Game of Terror " , featuring James B . Sikking , " End of a Hero " , featuring Lee Meriwether , " A Second Life " , featuring George Sawaya , and " Arrangement with Terror " , featuring Roger Perry ) , " Kraft Suspense Theatre " ( including " The Easter Breach " , starring Richard Beymer ) , " 12 O ' Clock High " ( starring Frank Overton and Robert Lansing , including " To Heine – With Love " , featuring Stewart Moss and " The Trap " , featuring David Frankham ) , " The Wild , Wild West " ( produced by Gene L . Coon ) , " Mannix " , " Ironside " , " I , Spy " ( " This Guy Smith " , featuring Diana Muldaur ) , " Mission : Impossible " ( " The Train " , featuring William Windom and William Schallert ) , " Night Gallery " ( including " The Ghost of Sorworth Place " , featuring Jill Ireland and Richard Kiley ) , " Planet of the Apes " ( " The Tyrant " , featuring Mark Lenard , Percy Rodrigues , Joseph Ruskin , Gary Combs , Tom Troupe , and cinematography by Jerry Finnerman ) , " The Waltons " ( including " The Chicken Thief " , featuring John Crawford and Meg Wyllie , " The Conflict " , featuring Bill Irwin , Bill Quinn , Morgan Woodward , and Paul Fix , and " The Warrior " , also with John Crawford ) , " Barnaby Jones " ( starring Lee Meriwether and theme music by Jerry Goldsmith , including " Murder Once Removed " , featuring Bill Quinn , and " To Denise , with Love and Murder " , featuring Vince Howard ) , " Casablanca " ( starring David Soul ) , and " Paper Dolls " ( starring Richard Beymer , Jonathan Frakes , and Terry Farrell ) , and comedies such as " The Courtship of Eddie ' s Father " ( produced by and co - starring , including " Gentleman Friend " with George Takei and " The Promise " with Meg Wyllie ) , " The Partridge Family " , and " Eight is Enough " , as well as many other television series . His 1974 TV movie " The Family Kovack " ( written by Adrian Spies ) starred James Sloyan and Andrew Robinson and featured Peter Brocco . Seven years later he worked with Andrew Robinson again in the failed television pilot " Big Bend Country " , which also featured Anne Haney . In 1970 Senensky co - directed " Double Jeopardy " , the TV movie pilot for the series " Dan August " , featuring Susan Oliver , Jerry Ayres , Ned Romero , and Fritz Weaver . His only feature film credit , " Harper Valley P . T . A . " ( 1978 , finished by Richard C . Bennett after Senensky was fired from the project ) starred Ronny Cox and featured Clint Howard . Senensky also directed the pilot episode of " Dynasty " , " Oil " , which featured Peter Mark Richman , Lee Bergere , Jerry Ayres , Ellen Geer , Julie Parrish , and Paul Sorensen . In the mid - 1980s , he briefly returned to the theater , where he directed the plays and . Currently , Senensky resides in Carmel - by - the - Sea , California , enjoying retirement and writing his blog . In 2013 , Senensky directed his first film project in more than two decades , an independent production titled " The Right Regrets " . Senensky is currently the second oldest living production staff member who worked on " Star Trek " , being eight months younger than costume designer Robert Fletcher .