Geordi La Forge
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- Geordi redirects here; for a similarly named regional culture in England, see Geordie.
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| Geordi LaForge | |
|---|---|
| Geordi La Forge | |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Home planet: | Earth |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet |
| Posting: | USS Victory USS Enterprise-D helmsman (1st season) and chief engineer USS Enterprise-E chief engineer |
| Position: | Helmsman Chief Engineering Officer |
| Rank: | Lieutenant Junior Grade Lieutenant Lieutenant Commander |
| Portrayed by: | LeVar Burton |
Geordi La Forge is a regular character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by LeVar Burton. He served as helmsman of the USS Enterprise-D in the first season, then occupied the role of the chief engineer for the rest of the series and in the TNG-era films. The character was named after George La Forge, a fan of the original Star Trek series who died from muscular dystrophy in 1975.[citation needed]
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[edit] Casting
LeVar Burton auditioned for the role in 1986.[citation needed] He had previously appeared in Roots and other major network shows.
[edit] Character back story
Roddenberry created Laforge in homage to a handicapped fan of the original series.[citation needed]
In the series, we learn that Geordi was born blind and wears a VISOR (Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement), a half-moon-shaped prosthetic attached at the temples that provides him with vision. Interfacing directly with his brain, the device enables him to "see" much of the electromagnetic spectrum – radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, but not normal light perception.
La Forge was born February 16, 2335 in the African Confederation on Earth to Silva La Forge (a Starfleet command track officer) and Edward M. La Forge (a Starfleet exozoologist) (TNG: "Interface"). He attended Zefram Cochrane High School (Star Trek: First Contact) and then Starfleet Academy from 2353 to 2357 (TNG: "Conundrum"). In 2357, he was assigned as an ensign aboard the USS Victory under Captain Zimbata (TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data"). After his first cruise, he was transferred to the USS Hood for her 2361-64 cruise, during which he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade (TNG: "Conundrum").
In 2372, Geordi is transferred to the new Sovereign class starship Enterprise-E. When the ship travels back in time to the 21st century, he works alongside Dr. Zefram Cochrane and helps him successfully launch Earth's first warp-capable vessel and achieve first contact with the Vulcans (Star Trek: First Contact). During the Ba'ku incident, La Forge began to experience annoying pain in his eyes after sojourning on the planet. Doctor Crusher removes his ocular implants to discover that his optic nerves have regenerated and he has gained normal sight. This effect is caused by the healing properties of the Ba'ku ring system and, at the time, it is speculated that the effect will fade after La Forge leaves Ba'ku (Star Trek: Insurrection). This diagnosis proved correct; La Forge again wears the implants in Star Trek Nemesis.
[edit] Alternate time lines
In the alternate timeline of TNG series finale All Good Things..., La Forge has by 2395 married Leah Brahms and had three children (Alandra, Brett, and Sydney) with her. He has left Starfleet and become a novelist. However, these events may never happen because of the divergence of the time line at the episode's end.
In the alternate 2390 future in Star Trek: Voyager's "Timeless", La Forge is a captain and the commanding officer of the USS Challenger, doing his best to stop Harry Kim and Chakotay from altering the time line. However, Kim and Chakotay succeed in their mission, erasing the alternate time line.
[edit] Critical and fan reception
Critics and fans have responded favorably to the character. Burton himself has complained on DVD featurettes about the lack of romantic interests for his character. Some scholars decry that out of seven principal black characters across the Star Trek series, only LaForge and Tuvok "really qualify as nerds, and neither of them compares with the extraordinary geekiness of the teenaged Wesley Crusher.[1] The construction of the LaForge character then fails by the standards of Afrofuturism.[2]
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Character biography at the official Star Trek website
- Geordi La Forge article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
Regular characters on Star Trek | |
|---|---|
| The Original Series | Chapel | Chekov | Kirk | McCoy | Rand | Scott | Spock | Sulu | Uhura |
| The Animated Series | Arex | Chapel | Kirk | M'Ress | McCoy | Scott | Spock | Sulu | Uhura |
| The Next Generation | B. Crusher | W. Crusher | Data | La Forge | Picard | Pulaski | Riker | Troi | Worf | Yar |
| Deep Space Nine | Bashir | E. Dax | J. Dax | Kira | M. O'Brien | Odo | Quark | B. Sisko | J. Sisko | Worf |
| Voyager | Chakotay | Doctor | Janeway | Kes | Kim | Neelix | Paris | Seven | Torres | Tuvok |
| Enterprise | Archer | Mayweather | Phlox | Reed | Sato | T'Pol | Tucker |
it:Geordi La Forge hu:Geordi La Forge nl:Geordi La Forge ja:ジョーディ・ラ＝フォージ pl:Geordi La Forge pt:Geordi La Forge sv:Geordi La Forge
Categories: Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from December 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since December 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Articles with sections needing expansion | Fictional Africans | Fictional blind characters | Fictional commanders | Fictional engineers | Fictional lieutenants | Fictional cyborgs | Star Trek film characters | Star Trek: The Next Generation characters
