70s Trek: Star Trek In The 1970s

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!