Fred Freiberger (February 19, 1915 – March 2, 2003)[1] was an American film and television writer and television producer, whose career spanned four decades and work on films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and TV series including Ben Casey (1963–64), The Wild Wild West (1965), Star Trek (1968–69) and Space: 1999 (1976–77).

He appeared as himself in the short documentary Funny Old Guys,[2] which aired as part of the HBO series Still Kicking, Still Laughing in 2003, a few months after his death in March.

Freiberger had been interviewed as a possible producer for Star Trek before it entered production in 1966, but had left the selection process due to a planned trip.

In 1968, as a result of creative differences with broadcaster NBC, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry resigned as showrunner.

He assumed this role with a reduced budget that made the series more difficult to produce,[10] as well as a new "Friday night death slot" that resulted in a further decline in viewing ratings for what was already a low-rated program.

Many Star Trek fans have since criticised Freiberger for being the cause of this decline, but actress Nichelle Nichols (who played Uhura) wrote in his defense.

Nichols argued that NBC's considerable budget cutbacks to the third season of Star Trek, in an environment of rising production costs and escalating actors' salaries, meant that: you saw fewer outdoor location shots, for example.

To that end, Freiberger re-worked the series with major cast and character changes, a heightened emphasis on action and drama, and even ensured that signs appearing in the episodes used American English spelling.

[citation needed] Freiberger has a dubious reputation in science-fiction fandom, due to his involvement in the final seasons of Star Trek, Space: 1999, and The Six Million Dollar Man, all cancelled on his watch (he also produced the cartoon series Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, which ran only one season, but most Saturday morning cartoons had short runs).

In some circles this resulted in Freiberger being nicknamed "the Showkiller" or "the Serial Killer", with perceptions that he was unfamiliar with the science fiction genre and its core attributes.