Geordi La Forge

Lore & Background

Gene Roddenberry created the character in honor of George La Forge, a quadriplegic fan of the original Star Trek series, who died in 1975. A casting call described La Forge as friends with Data, with 'perfect diction' and possibly a Jamaican accent, and instructed agencies not to submit 'any street types.' LeVar Burton auditioned in 1986 after a call from producer Bob Justman, who remembered Burton's love of the show. Burton was anxious about his role because he feared The Next Generation would flop, but thought that with Gene involved they had a good shot. Throughout the series, Burton wore the VISOR, which he found extremely unpleasant: it took away 85 to 90% of his vision, caused him to bump into things, and after a redesign in the second season, the device was screwed into his head with flanges pressing into his temples, giving him headaches for about six years. Burton commented that delivering technobabble was a challenge, and his methodology was to spit it out as fast as possible to give the illusion he knew what he was talking about. His favorite scenes were holodeck adventures like the Holmes and Watson episodes and the Robin Hood episode. After the series ended, Burton said his best man at his wedding was Brent Spiner, and his groomsmen were Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, and Patrick Stewart.

In Their Own Story

In the Star Trek fictional universe, a VISOR is a device used by the blind to artificially provide them with a sense of sight. It scans the electromagnetic spectrum, creating visual input transmitted into the brain via the optic nerves. The only VISOR seen on screen was used by Geordi La Forge, who was blind from birth. VISOR is an acronym for 'Visual Instrument and Sight Organ Replacement,' though the complete term never appeared in the series. The VISOR caused La Forge some persistent pain. The device does not reproduce normal human vision but allows the character to see energy phenomena and expands the wearer's full perceived spectrum to 1 Hz — 100 PHz. In the episode 'Heart of Glory,' Captain Picard keys the main viewer to Geordi's visor, and Geordi explains that differentiating wavelengths is a learned talent, like a child hearing many sounds and picking out what they need. In 'The Mind's Eye,' access to Geordi's brain through the interface makes him a target of Romulan brainwashing. In 'Interface,' Geordi uses an experimental interface to his VISOR to see, hear, feel, and act through a robot. Twice in the series, Geordi refused to be granted natural vision. Sometime between 2371 and 2373, before the film Star Trek: First Contact, Geordi's VISOR was replaced by cybernetic eyes. In Star Trek: Insurrection, Geordi gained actual eyesight due to metaphasic radiation on the planet Ba'ku, but the effects wore off after leaving the planet.

Reader's Guide

Geordi La Forge served as helmsman of the USS Enterprise-D in the first season, then as chief engineer for the rest of the series and in the films, and later as a commodore in Picard. He was blind from birth and used a VISOR in the series and the first film, replaced by ocular prosthetic implants in the last three films and in Picard. The VISOR allowed him to see energy phenomena and expanded his perceived spectrum to 1 Hz — 100 PHz. In 'Heart of Glory,' he explained that differentiating wavelengths is a learned talent. In 'The Mind's Eye,' Romulans used the VISOR interface for brainwashing. In 'Interface,' he used an experimental interface to control a robot. He twice refused natural vision. His VISOR was replaced by cybernetic eyes between 2371 and 2373. In Insurrection, he temporarily gained natural eyesight from metaphasic radiation. LeVar Burton disliked the VISOR prop because it restricted his peripheral vision and caused headaches; film writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga noted Burton felt the prop limited him as an actor by denying him the use of his eyes in conveying emotion.

Did You Know?

• The character was created by Gene Roddenberry in honor of George La Forge, a quadriplegic fan of the original Star Trek who died in 1975.
• LeVar Burton's audition came after producer Bob Justman remembered Burton's love of Star Trek from a previous TV movie they worked on together.
• The VISOR prop took away 85 to 90% of Burton's vision and, after a redesign, was screwed into his head with flanges pressing into his temples, causing daily headaches for about six years.
• Burton's favorite scenes were holodeck adventures, including the Holmes and Watson episodes and the Robin Hood episode.
• The VISOR acronym stands for 'Visual Instrument and Sight Organ Replacement,' but the full term never appeared in the series.