Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
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Species | Human |
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Affiliation |
United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
Posting |
USS Enterprise-E (FCT, INS, NEM) USS Enterprise-D (Seasons 1-7, GEN) |
Position | Chief Engineer (USS Enterprise-E, USS Enterprise-D - Seasons 2-7, Movies) Helmsman (USS Enterprise-D - Season 1) |
Rank |
Lieutenant Commander (Seasons 3-7, Movies) Lieutenant (Season 2) Lieutenant, Junior Grade (Season 1) |
Father | Edward La Forge |
Mother | Silva La Forge |
Portrayed by | LeVar Burton |
First appearance | "Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG) |
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge /ˈdʒɔːrdi ləˈfɔːrdʒ/ is a fictional character who appeared in all seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its four feature films. Portrayed 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 films. La Forge has been blind since birth and uses technological devices that allow him to see - a VISOR in the series and the first film, replaced by ocular prosthetic implants in the last three films.
Lt. (J.G.) Geordi La Forge
An away-mission regular who is racially black and birth-defect blind – although with prosthetic super-high tech artificial "eyes" which can detect electromagnetic waves from all the way from raw heat to high frequency ultra-violet, making other crewpersons seem hopelessly "blind" by comparison. His closest friend is Data, and the two of them are particularly efficient when working together on away missions. Because of his "eyes", Geordi can also perform some of the functions of a tricorder.
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 was placed with agencies for the role, which described him as friends with Data, and specified that La Forge should have "perfect diction and might even have a Jamaican accent" and instructed those agencies not to submit "any 'street' types."