Info Starships Fleet Yards Treknology

Episodes Database Fandom Community

Observations in TNG: "The Icarus Factor"

A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "The Icarus Factor" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).

"The Icarus Factor" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The animated warp nacelle graphic was added in post production. The screenshot from "Where No One Has Gone Before" shows what the normal, static version of the graphic looks like.		"Where No One Has Gone Before"		We can recognize the graphic somewhat better in TNG-R.
This marks the first appearance of the most often re-used planet on TNG. In season 2, the planet housing Starbase Montgomery is seen once more, as Surata IV in "Shades of Gray". After that, the planet appeared at least once in each following TNG season. Re-Used Planets in TNG				The planet in TNG-R is new but very blurry. Also, the shot of the ship is distorted as the Enterprise is too narrow here.
The Starbase Montgomery technicians' uniforms are only seen in this episode and in "Samaritan Snare".				A better look at this uniform in TNG-R.
The LCARS displays behind Wesley are nicely seen in this screenshot.				We can almost read the headings of the single displays in HD.
The Starbase Montgomery planet from a different angle.				This shot of the planet in TNG-R looks better than the previous one but is still rather blurry. The Enterprise is distorted too. The new planet is actually Earth. The Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea can be seen just below the deflector dish.
Kyle Riker's old friend Graham must be a talented ventriloquist. He is heard saying "It was a pleasure" but his mouth doesn't actually open.				No changes
A good look at the multi-layered Ten Forward bar painting.				No changes
The USS Enterprise in orbit of the Earth-like Starbase Montgomery planet.				Another shot with a blurry new planet and a rather noisy Enterprise. We can recognize Greece and Turkey on this "parallel Earth".
Images from the Riker family album. A photo of Alaska, one showing Kyle and Will Riker on a fishing trip and the last one showing young Will Riker with a large catch. The Mount McKinley (aka Denali) can be seen on the first two photos. On the first photo, the mountain is mirror-inverted, whereas the second one probably shows the correct orientation of Mt. Tatum, Mt. Carpe and Denali (left to right).				The orientation of the mountains on the first photo is still the same. The skyline was updated with new buildings: Center very left: Metro Authority Headquarters concept, Guangzhou Center left: James Law Cybertecture, Mumbai Center right: Raffles Hotel, Dubai Center very right: Burj al Arab, Dubai Lower right: Hémispheric Twilight, Valencia The second photo is unchanged. It was probably upconverted to HD. The background on the third photo is completely new. It is possible that even the photo of the boy was replaced.


Another often re-used shot of the Starbase Montgomery planet.				This shot of the ship and the planet looks somewhat better in HD.
The "message disk" (so called in the script) previously appeared in "The Measure of a Man" and "Lonely Among Us" and will be seen again in "Samaritan Snare" and "Ensign Ro".		"The Measure of a Man"		A better look at the prop in HD.
		"Lonely Among Us"
Footage of the USS Enterprise-D in this shot was originally seen in "The Child" when the ship is seen flying next to the USS Repulse. The footage of the planet appears in several more episodes.		"The Child"		This shot still uses the same footage of the ship in TNG-R. Once again we can recognize the eastern Mediterranean Sea on the planet.
The microscope behind Troi was previously seen in Pulaski's office in "The Child". It was rented from Modern Props and appeared in several more Star Trek episodes. In the Enterprise episode "Stigma", for example, the prop appeared as a neutron microscope.		"Stigma"		No changes
Riker's Starfleet Academy Certificate (or a similar diploma) is seen in the background.				The HD close-up shows the presumable diploma somewhat clearer.
As seen in "Angel One" and this screenshot, a good old thermos is standard medical equipment even in the 24th century.		"Angel One"		No changes
Is that an old fashioned electrical socket that the biobed cable is plugged in?				A close-up of the 20th century technology in HD.
The transparent spreadsheet (last seen in season 1 episode "Home Soil") appears again in sickbay in this episode.				A close-up of the pane in HD.
Picard looks at a graphic of the USS Enterprise-D on his ready room desktop monitor.				A better look at the schematic in HD.
Troi's office is seen for the very first time in this episode. Apart from the color of the vertical "windows lights", it would not change much until the end of the series.		"The Loss"		No changes
The Klingon wall panels and wall ribbing previously appeared in "A Matter of Honor" where they were seen in the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Pagh's corridor and mess hall.		"A Matter of Honor"		A somewhat better look at the wall in TNG-R.
Klingon painstiks appear for the first time in this episode.				A close-up of the painstik in HD.
The Klingon bird statue was seen in some later episodes. It appeared in Marla Aster's home in "The Bonding", on Arkaria in "Starship Mine" in the Maquis colony on Ronara in "Preemptive Strike" and on Annorax's time ship in VOY: "Year of Hell I+II".	"The Bonding"	"Preemptive Strike"		No changes
	"Starship Mine"	"Year of Hell I"
The short corridor leading to the holodeck was modified again for this episode. This time, no turbolift door is connected to the corridor. In previous season 2 episodes showing this corridor, like "Elementary, Dear Data" or "The Outrageous Okona", the turbolift door was still present.		"Elementary, Dear Data"		No changes
		"The Outrageous Okona"
The large Klingon logo at one end of the Klingon Rite of Ascension Chamber appeared in some later TNG episodes, such as "Sins of the Father", "Redemption I+II" (in the Great Hall), "Unification I" and "Aquiel". The Evolution of the Klingon Emblem	"Sins of the Father"	"Unification I"		We can see the set more clearly in HD.
		"Aquiel"
All the holographic Klingons seen up close in "The Icarus Factor" wear forehead pieces previously seen on other TNG Klingons: Konmel, "Heart of Glory" K'Nera, "Heart of Glory" Vekma, "A Matter of Honor" Konmel, "Heart of Glory" Kargan, "A Matter of Honor"		Konmel		No changes
		K'Nera
		Vekma
		Konmel
		Kargan
Two Klingons hit Worf with their painstiks. In the two corresponding close-ups, however, they are not the same Klingons we see in the wide shot.	Close-up #1	Close-up #2		No changes
The Klingon painstik in use.				The recreated light effect in TNG-R is much more brilliant.
A good look at the Klingon insignia on Worf's season 2 sash. It material in the back of the two metal frames has been used in previous episodes. Q's 21st century uniform was made from the same material, as was the Ferengi headgear in "The Last Outpost" and "The Battle". In this season, Hester Dealt's protective suit (seen in "The Child") was partially made from this material.	"Encounter at Farpoint"	"The Last Outpost"		A close-up of the sash in HD.
		"The Child"
The gymnasium is a redress of the shuttlebay/cargo bay set.				A better look at the set in TNG-R.

Kyle and Will Riker's anbo-jyutsu outfits were made from the Rok Blok motocross protection system.				We can recognize more details of the uniforms in HD.

Some Japanese characters are legible in this shot. In some cases, they are references to the Japanese anime series SS Urusei Yatsura. The large character at the center of the ring means "star". The characters to the left and right of it mean "ramu" and "ataru", the names of the main characters of the series. On the banners behind Will Riker, we can read "Urusai" and "Yatsura".				No changes
The USS Enterprise-D about to leave orbit of the Starbase Montgomery planet.				Finally another comparably good shot of the ship and the planet.

Credits

Thanks to several Twitter users who helped identify the "new" buildings in Alaska.

Back to Observations index

Top

View as gallery