The Icarus Factor

While the Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is en route to Starbase Montgomery to run diagnostics on its engines, Picard receives a message from Starfleet offering First Officer Commander William Riker a command of his own, the Aries, which is on a potentially dangerous exploration mission in a distant sector. Picard advises Riker that while the Enterprise is a prestigious assignment, it cannot replace the experience of having one's own command, and gives him 12 hours—the duration of their stop at the starbase—to decide. Riker's decision is complicated by the fact that the civilian adviser Starfleet has sent to brief him on his mission turns out to be his father, Kyle Riker (Mitchell Ryan), with whom he has an antagonistic relationship.

After his father makes several attempts to reconcile, which Will rebuffs, the tension between the two finally boils over, and they agree to a match of anbo-jitsu, a form of martial arts. During the match, the two continue to argue, with Will venting his bitterness over the death of his mother. Will interrupts the match, claiming a move his father used is illegal, and realizes his father had only been able to beat him in his youth by cheating, which his father admits. The two are finally able to talk and reconcile, and Will admits he is glad his father came.

Meanwhile, Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher notices that Lieutenant Worf is acting particularly agitated, and enlists the help of Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge and Commander Data to find out why. The trio eventually learn that Worf was coming upon an important anniversary, 10 years since his Age of Ascension, which is normally celebrated with an important Klingon ritual among other Klingons. They recreate the ritual, which involves a gauntlet of Klingon warriors brandishing pain sticks, on the holodeck as a surprise for Worf. While reciting vows of honor, Worf undergoes jolts from the sticks with each step forward, enduring the extreme pain, and finally reaches the end, where he is grateful to his "family" aboard the ship for honoring him in this way.

Entertainment Tonight co-host John Tesh plays a holographic Klingon in the ritual scene, having enthusiastically volunteered for the part while covering the filming of this episode for his show.

Anbo-Jitsu, the fictitious sport shown in this episode, involves fighting with staffs while blindfolded. In Japanese, "An" means dark (i.e. blindfolded), "Bo" means staff, and "Jitsu" means technique or skill. The banners around the arena are written in Japanese and make reference to various Japanese characters and shows.

This episode was noted for the tensions between Commander Riker and his dad, which culminates in a round of Anbo-jitsu, a fictional martial arts form from the Star Trek future.[1]

• Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 2, disc 4, selection 2.

• "The Icarus Factor" at IMDb
• "The Icarus Factor" at TV.com

• "The Icarus Factor" at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

• "The Icarus Factor" at StarTrek.com
• "The Icarus Factor" rewatch by Keith R.A. DeCandido
• "The Icarus Factor" rewatch by Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club