Special effects to create the germ from space cost $250,000.
Michael Crichton was invited to take a tour of Universal Studios during the production of this film. His guide was none other than Steven Spielberg, who went on to adapt Crichton's most successful novel, Jurassic Park (1993).
Patient Jackson states that he drinks "squeeze", otherwise known as Sterno, or "canned heat"; a gelled fuel made of ethanol and methanol that is sold in short, wide cans with resealable lids. When lit, it produces a low, even flame and is used primarily for heating food, as in chafing dishes. Although poisonous to drink, it became popular during prohibition, particularly in homeless camps. The product would be placed in cheesecloth or a sock and squeezed to produce the liquid alcohol, which would be mixed with fruit juice to make so-called "jungle juice." The nickname, "squeeze" is taken from this squeezing process.
Screenwriter Nelson Gidding read numerous science fiction books while researching for his work on this film. To further his self education, he attempted to look up all of the items listed in the Bibliography section in Crichton's original book. To his surprise, he discovered they were all made up as the book is a work of fiction. In fact, as you peruse the list you will notice that several items are accredited to characters in the novel. Gidding took this lesson to heart and imaginatively created most of the techno-jargon used in the film, especially for the highly detailed printed props and the station wide announcements heard throughout the lab.
The Wildfire scientific lab sets cost more than $300,000 to build and were described at the time as "one of the most elaborately detailed interiors ever built."
Michael Crichton: "Bearded Surgeon" during the scene where Dr. Hall is told to break scrub because he has to report to the Wildfire research facility.