Fred Freiberger Fred Freiberger , also credited as Charles Woodgrove , was the producer of the third season of ( 1968 - 69 ) . He was offered the producer ' s job for the first season but instead opted to take a vacation he had already planned . ( " " , p . 65 ) The third season was seen , in general , as less satisfying by some fans , certain actors , production staff , writers , and even at least one future writer . Although Freiberger was the executive producer , replacing Gene Roddenberry who had " de facto " been sidelined , most written accounts of the season absolve him and deny any drop in quality was a result of his leadership . Rather , a number of factors led to the less enthusiastic reception . These included budget cuts ( down to US $ 178 , 000 per episode , from US $ 185 , 000 in season two and US $ 196 , 000 in season one ) – combined with an " increase " in the principal casts ' salaries ; the departure " en masse " of most of the original writing staff and general malaise / decreasing interest of some of the remaining production staff after the hiring of executive story editor Arthur Singer , who seemed to demonstrate a lack of knowledge or caring about " Star Trek " ; the absence of Roddenberry ; and the perceived neglect of the series by NBC ( such as shifting time - slots as well as story meddling , and the reduced budget ) . ( See also : season three background information . ) Additionally , it contained some of the most dismally - received TOS episodes , including ( " " ) and . Yet both Nichelle Nichols in " Beyond Uhura " ( p . 189 ) and William Shatner in " Star Trek Memories " ( pp . 264 – 72 ) deflected blame from Freiberger for any perceived deficiencies in the quality of the third season , instead ascribing it to negligence and mishandling by NBC , aggravated by the ( budget ) restrictions imposed by " Star Trek " s new owner Paramount Television , who were likewise looking for ways to cancel the production as soon as practically possible . Nichols wrote : " . . . you saw fewer outdoor location shots , for example . Top writers , top guest stars , top anything you needed was harder to come by . Thus , " Star Trek ' s " demise became a self - fulfilling prophecy . And I can assure you , that is exactly as it was meant to be . . . In the third season [ the ] new producer Fred Freiberger did everything he could to shore up the show . I know that some fans hold him responsible for the show ' s decline , but that is not fair . " Star Trek " was in a disintegrating orbit before Fred came aboard . That we were able to do even what we did is a miracle and a credit to him . One day Fred and I had an exchange , and he snapped at me . Even then , though , I knew he wasn ' t angry with me but with his unenviable situation . He was a producer who had nothing to produce with . " ( " Beyond Uhura " , p . 189 ) In " " , Herbert F . Solow and Bob Justman defended Freiberger as well . They instead blamed Roddenberry for " abandoning " the series : Furthermore , Fred Freiberger himself had claimed , " " When I went on " Star Trek " , Roddenberry , who had thought the show was dead after the second season , had given out seventeen story assignments . . . for whatever reason . I honored those assignments . . . I may have cut off a couple of them because they didn ' t work out , so let ' s say there were 15 out of 22 that were not mine . " " As to underscore his stance , Justman let Freiberger speak in his own words in the follow - up documentary of the book he wrote , " Inside Star Trek - The Real Story " , in one of the few interviews he has ever given on his " Star Trek " work . Career outside " Star Trek " . Hailing from the Bronx , New York City , Fred Freiberger worked in advertising when World War II broke out . Joining the 8th Air Force as a navigator , flying bomber missions , his plane was shot down over Europe . Freiberger was interred for twenty - two months as a German prisoner of war . ( " Inside Star Trek : The Real Story " , p . 395 ) Upon repatriation , he briefly studied at Pace University ' s Institute of Film , before making his way to Hollywood on his Air Force back pay . Originally , he intended to find employment as a publicist , but found himself in a contemporary industry strike , leaving him without both employment and funds . It was then that he started to write for the motion picture industry , making his first sale in 1946 to Comet Productions , the production company of legendary silent movies - era actress Mary Pickford , which consisted of additional dialogue for her company ' s comedy film " Susie Steps Out " . He continued to sell stories for such 1950s relatively light - fare productions as the television series " The Clock " , " Fireside Theatre " , " Alfred Hitchcock Presents " , " The Ford Television Theatre " , " Men of Annapolis " and " Tombstone Territory " as well as movies such as " Egypt by Three " , " War Paint " ( both 1953 ) , " The Big Chase " , " Garden of Evil " , " The Black Pirates " ( all three 1954 ) , " The Big Bluff " ( 1955 ) , " Massacre " , " The Weapon " ( both 1956 ) , " Beginning of the End " ( 1957 ) and the 1958 movie " Blood Arrow " . The 1958 movie " Crash Landing " has been Freiberger ' s last recorded motion picture credit and afterward he has exclusively worked for television . As writer and / or producer he served on a plethora of subsequent television series including " Iron Horse " ( created by James Goldstone and Stephen Kandel ) , " The Six Million Dollar Man " ( also produced by Harve Bennett ) , " The Fugitive " , " The Wild Wild West " ( " The Night of the Dancing Death " , directed by Harvey Hart , featuring Peter Mark Richman , Arthur Batanides , and Byron Morrow ) , " Bonanza " , " Have Gun , Will Travel " ( which included Gene Roddenberry as one of the head writers ) , " Wanted : Dead or Alive " ( including " The Pariah " , featuring Bill Quinn , " The Matchmaker " , featuring Clegg Hoyt , " The Conquerors " , featuring Paul Carr , " Call Your Shot " and " Ransom for a Nun " , both directed by Don McDougall , the first featuring William Schallert ) , " Rawhide " ( including " Incident of the 100 Amulets " , featuring Whit Bissell , " Incident of the 13th Man " , featuring Paul Fix , " Incident of the Shambling Man " , featuring Gene Nelson , " Incident at Dangerfield Dip " , featuring Phillip Pine and Bert Remsen , and " Incident of Fear in the Streets " , featuring Corey Allen and Whit Bissell ) , " The Big Valley " ( " The Long Ride " , featuring John Harmon ) , " Ben Casey " ( " I ' ll Get on My Ice Floe and Wave Goodbye " , featuring Garry Walberg and the series on which then Set Designer Walter M . Jefferies was working when he was pulled from it to work on " Star Trek " ) , " Starsky and Hutch " ( starring David Soul , including " Terror on the Docks " , featuring Garry Walberg , " Kill Huggy Bear " , featuring Hamilton Camp , and " Moonshine " , directed by Reza Badiyi ) , and " The Dukes of Hazzard " . In 1976 - 77 he served as producer on the second , and as it turned out the last , season of the cult science fiction series " Space : 1999 " , which starred Martin Landau and Nick Tate . Freiberger fired most of the supporting regular cast from the first season , including Clifton Jones . In a repetition of what had happened to him during his tenure on TOS , its fan - base , cast and production staff too , attributed Freiberger for the perceived quality decline and the ultimate cancellation of the series . Freiberger ' s intent was to make the somewhat cerebral British production more appealing to American audiences ( unintentionally repeating what had happened to the first " Star Trek " pilot ) by emphasizing action and drama , even going as far as changing the signage that had hitherto appeared in the episodes to American English spellings . ( SPACE 1999 Season 2 DVD - special features ) Additionally , he wrote three episodes for the season , revitalizing his pseudonym " Charles Woodgrove " , he had used in the 1960s for the western series " Rawhide " . Landau in particular was critical of Freiberger ' s approach in an interview he gave to author Robert E . Wood for his 2010 reference book " Destination : Moonbase Alpha " ( New York , USA : Telos Publishing . p . 112 ) , " " I ' m not going out on a limb for this show because I ' m not in accord with what you ' re ( Freiberger ) doing as a result . . . I don ' t think I even want to do the promos – I don ' t want to push the show any more as I have in the past . It ' s not my idea of what the show should be . " " Given the dubious sobriquet " The Series Killer " , as reconfirmed by author Kevin J . Donnelly in his 2013 book " Music in Science Fiction Television : Tuned to the Future " ( New York , USA : Routledge . p . 112 ) , TOS and " Space : 1999 " were not the only canceled television series over which Freiberger had presided ; " The Six Million Dollar Man " and the cartoon series " Josie and the Pussycats " both ceased production as well after Freiberger took over the oversight of their last seasons . The unrelenting " Series Killer " reputation , despite the testimonials of former " Star Trek " staffers to the contrary , increasingly embittered Freiberger in later life , particularly where " The Original Series " was concerned . He was especially hurt by the persistent attribution of the first interracial kiss between Nyota Uhura and James T . Kirk in , as Roddenberry ' s doing , even though the latter was no longer actively involved with the season in general , and with this specific episode in particular . His growing frustration , has given rise to his bitter , by Justman above - quoted " prison camp " metaphor . ( " " , p . 70 ) Of his motion pictures , the 1953 cult film classic " The Beast From 20 , 000 Fathoms " , which included visual effects from the legendary animator Ray Harryhausen , was the one Fred Freiberger was best known for as its writer - producer .