- Icarus (fictional spacecraft)
"Icarus is also the name of a spaceship seen in the film Sunshine."
"Icarus" is a fan designated, non-canonical name of the spacecraft designed by art director William Creber for "Planet of the Apes" (1967) and "
Escape from the Planet of the Apes " (1971). "Icarus" is the space craft commanded by Col. George Taylor in "Planet of the Apes". Although unnamed in the film, aficionado Larry Evans named its "Icarus", and among the series' fans, that is its unofficial name. Similar spaceships (the same prop) appear in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes " and the first episode of the "Planet of the Apes" television series. The name "Icarus," coined by a fan named Larry Evans in 1972, was used by some toy model companies, then later in the Mr. Comics' miniseries "Revolution on the Planet of the Apes"; however, none of these can be considered canonical sources.Planet of the Apes
The "Icarus" first appears in "Planet of the Apes" (1968). Its crew are George Taylor, Commander, and astronauts Landon, Dodge & Stewart. Taylor says theirs is the first manned interstellar mission to the Orion constellation; its purpose is unstated, but might be either exploration or colonization. Though meant to last only eighteen months, the voyage is thousands of years long, because of
time dilation . Later, "Icarus" crashes to Earth in an inland sea in the year A.D. 3978 — Taylor, Landon, and Dodge awaken from hibernation, but find a desiccated Stewart dead, because the air leaked from her hibernation chamber. The floating spacecraft leaks, fills with water, and they abandon ship.Beneath the Planet of the Apes
The second appearance of the "Icarus"-type spacecraft is a tail-lander variant in "
Beneath the Planet of the Apes " (1969), with a two-man crew sent to rescue Taylor's crew, astronaut Brent and his commanding officer, Maddox, who is fatally injured. Brent tells Maddox, shortly before his death, that the craft's chronometre indicates the year is A.D. 3955; (the most famous continuity error in the series, given that Taylor's mission crash-landed in A.D. 3978).Escape from the Planet of the Apes
The second appearance of the "Icarus" proper (third of the Icarus-type spacecraft) is in "
Escape from the Planet of the Apes " (1971). It is Col. Taylor's spacecraft, raised from the inland sea, refurbished, and piloted by ape scientist Dr. Milo. It was flown by Zira, Cornelius, and Dr. Milo from the year A.D. 3955 back to A.D. 1971, itscommand module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, and was recovered by the U.S. Navy.Planet of the Apes TV series
The fourth, final appearance of the "Icarus" spacecraft was in the "Planet of the Apes" television series. On a mission to
Alpha Centauri , launched in A.D. 1980, this spacecraft traverses atime warp , then crash-lands on the Planet of the Apes in the year A.D. 3085. Its three-man astronaut crew: Jones, Burke, and Virdon; the crash impact killed Jones; Burke and Virdon survive. Later, the Apes vandalized the Spacecraft then Virdon set the spacecraft to self destruct.The "Planet of the Apes Initial Concept Pages" reveals the name of this spacecraft to be "Probe Six".Other Appearances
The "Icarus" was used as a crashed "Unified States of Earth" spaceship in the "Long Rain" segment of the film adaptation of
Ray Bradbury 'sshort story collection "The Illustrated Man ".External links
* [http://www.goingfaster.com/icarus/ The Last Flight of the Icarus] Fansite hosting many pictures and other information.
* [http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/ApesShip/PofA01.html Spaceship: Icarus ] Site with pictures, information, and behind-the-scenes pictures.
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