Geordi's Visor

Do you think it would have been detrimental to the show for them to have phased out the visor during the series run? Clearly it was always going to go down that road anyhow, what with it being used for mind control, & then being seminally responsible for the ship's destruction. It was obvious that when they return in the next film, & it's gone, that's the reason why

Would it have hurt to have worked through that on the show? Even by the time of Descent, Lore is planning something wretched with it, that I'm not even sure we found out about. The thing ended up being way more trouble than it was worth, given the alternatives, but it was put in for the aesthetic value. Was it truly necessary for that reason?

 

I think giving sight to a blind person is more valuable than few occasions where it was used against Starfleet...

 

Just adding the rest of my statement. He had options

 

You take it out of the show and you also take out all the plot devices where it could be used.

In universe - yes. It was a gaping security flaw that was used against the ship and crew several times.

Real life - no.

 

One thing confuses me. I thought that Gene Roddenberry said once that "you should never cover the actor's eyes, because then you lose the actor". Either I am mistaken about the quote, or something was weird because of Geordi's eyes being hidden by the visor.

Quick quiz - I know that VISOR is an acronym, but I do not remember what it stands for. Does anyone know, without googling it?

 

Probably a big thing is that it was an "iconic" thing to the show, similar to Spock's ears. Removing it would remove that iconography.

And I think it'd been foolish for Starfleet to make him get rid of the thing because a few times over the course of 7-8 years it was used against the ship in some manner. They probably run into aliens all of the time who exploit various weaknesses in people, how many times have people on the ship been altered or mind-controlled in some manner without them having to wear some technological gadget?

One thing that always confused me is why the VISOR had to scan the entire EM spectrum? Couldn't it be calibrated to just scan the visible light part of it? Yeah, scanning everything gave LaForge remarkable insight and ability, but it was never suggested that this was a choice he made it was pretty implicitly said he had no choice. This was the only way he could "see."

But why? If my car-radio can be limited to only read the part of the EM spectrum that is comprised of the waves that make up radio, and CBs, HAM and other forms of communication radio limited to those spectrums, why can't Geordi's VISOR be made to only receive the visible light portion of the EM-spectrum? Sure, give him the option (an actuator or something on the rim of it) to scan the other parts of the spectrum to give him those abilities, but why is it an all or nothing? I think it's even said that the thing picks up too much information and tries to cram it into his head so it has to send him the data in small packages and he's able to mentally parse out what he wants and doesn't want (but this still doesn't allow him to "see normally.")

I get it's a "drama" element early-on that he can't see like everyone else, but this doesn't seem to be too much of an issue after it's touched on a couple of times and the rest of the time it's more-or-less like Geordi can "see normally" in some manner as well as everything else.

I do like how he has a PADD he uses with a tactile input, suggesting it's maybe difficult for him to use a normal PADD with a flat display/input.

 

I've read that originally the VISOR was "invented", so that basically a blind man would be flying the ship.

After all the years of watching TNG, it's still unclear to me, does Geordi see the world as we see it, or in the way it was shown in 'The Minds Eye'.

 

The iconography aspect is the real reason, as well as the plot device function. The fact is, blindness & techno vision is a major plot point in Geordi's character development on the show. In the movies, not so much, which is why it was easier to dump it & just have a few cool eye shots. The Visor made it appear on screen as much more of a prominent factor to be featured. It actually put his disability more on display than just having funny contacts would have, & because it was such an integral part of his story, they needed it more prominently displayed

In world, I just toss it up to ignorance. 1st, I'd never suggest that Starfleet should make Geordi trade it in, because so many other vulnerabilities exist that it would be unethical to single him out, but I'd image that if Geordi himself had ever fathomed that the visor could/would be used to destroy the ship, he'd volunteer to trade it in. It's the 9/11 analogy. No one ever expects that the commercial passenger jet IS the weapon until someone uses it as one. So he kept it all that time, even though it was a potential safety concern, because they just never really thought of it that way. Lore was planning to do something with it but never did. The Romulans exploited it, but it got thwarted. It was only after The Duras sisters used it to destroy the ship that it really dawned on him

My OP was mostly to ask if the show could have done without it, whether or not you agree if the crew could have. I'm leaning toward no though, because, it was literally a visual cue that set up story arc for him, whereas contacts couldn't as much

 

The most ironic thing is that the possibility of Geordi getting ocular implants was suggested as early as season 2 (''Loud As A Whisper''), but Geordi rejected getting them on the belief that the VISOR was better than any implant. I definitely like to think that it was the VISOR's implicit role in the destruction of the 1701-D which at least in part finally convinced him that the device was a much bigger liability than it was really worth. Either that or Soran needling him about it hit a raw nerve (''Have you ever considered a prosthesis that would make you look a little more... how can I say... more 'normal'?'')

 

Well, I imagine Geordi's esteem is strong enough to handle Soran's jibe, but the result was probably harder to take. The thing about Pulaski's offer is that I suspect the ocular implants of the time offered less functionality than the visor, but then the question remains, how much functionality? If he could still see as good or better than a human, then you'd expect that for safety's sake, he'd take a bit of a downgrade.

Plus, if both options are tech, then there remains the option of him being able to alternate... Pulls the visor out of a pocket now & then to get a better look at something. Hell, in all the hours he spent working on Data, how has the option of adapting HIS eyes for Geordi never come up? I can't be sure, but I believe his eyes see specifically on the human band (but better telescopically, maybe). Geez, they could have combined the tech for both of them to use all the functions

 

I do think the VISOR was very iconic. It was one of the most unique and visual accessories on the show. I remember as a little girl pretending that my headband was a VISOR. I don't think that Mr Spock's pointed ears were as big as his Vulcan salute. There are a lot of things where people have pointed ears.

Geordi may have been reluctant to change also due to some level of fear. He had been using a VISOR for most of his life, and the idea of changing may have been a little frightening. He may have been used to the spectrum that the VISOR offers, and may have been afraid to see things differently (not meant as a pun).

 

Very possible. When you're so used to something, change can be uncomfortable, even scary.

I mean, hell, I basically have a panic attack anytime I leave the house without remembering to put on my watch. I feel naked without it on my wrist.

 

Pulaski offered regrowing his eyes, working ones. But it was an all or none, go for it and it might fail with no way to go back.

Both Pulaski and Crusher were consulted with giving him a prosthetic that didn't cause him the pain the VISOR did, but the alternatives didn't provide him the same level of vision. Presumably the technology reached a point the implants were as good as the VISOR.

Which is why I think he got the implants, the loss of the ship is unlikely (and more on Riker's hands) and Soren's insults also seem unlikely.

The VISOR caused him pain and likely was just a nuisance to deal with. The implants were more practical, caused him less (if any) pain and wouldn't be as much of a "hassle" to have. (Losing/dropping it off the nightstand and having to recover it, whenever it falls off having to grope around like Velma to find it, etc.)

 

As someone whose had LASIK surgery to remove my permanent need for glasses, I'd make the comparison between that and the VISOR. From my own experience I've found that while the surgery 'equalizes' my vision and gives me ''good enough'' eyesight to operate in most general conditions, the actual definition of my post-surgery vision isn't as good as it was when I had glasses. Pound for pound, the glasses provided me with better overall eyesight, even though they were occasionally an inconvenience. And I still need to keep a pair of glasses handy for those occasions when the extra definition helps me.

So maybe that's what Geordi's point was, that the VISOR provides him with more functionality than the Season 2 era implants. One might suggest that the eventual implants he does get are better than the Season 2 equiavalent of the technology, or maybe (like myself) he was just finally willing to trade off some of the added functionality of his 'glasses' in exchange for the convenience of not having to wear them anymore.

 

I always thought there could have been a compromise in the design of the VISOR. Keep the basic shape but get rid of the grille so Burton's eyes would be visible.

 

It doesn't seem that the VISOR itself would have been a problem regarding security or user pain. The reason LaForge could be "bugged" or "programmed" was that he had neural cybernetics in place of his damaged optical nerves; what was actually plugged to those Borgish pieces was fairly irrelevant.

Pulaski said that real eyes were a triviality: they could be replicated at any time. But regrowing those nerves was experimental medicine, and although Pulaski herself had done something similar twice, it might not have worked. And then there'd be no going back - not just in the sense of "now I'm stuck with mere human vision and I hate it", but possibly also in the sense of "now I'm blind for good, damnit!".

Why did LaForge watch the entire spectrum available to the device? Well, why not? Using just visual would supposedly not have made the pain go away.

Timo Saloniemi

 

The optical implants he ended up with are a prosthetic. Any addition to the human body is a prosthetic, Picard's heart for example, so I just assumed there was some implant they could've used, just not as advanced in function... & yeah, the prospect of trying to bestow normal human eyes on him was risky at best. No one would expect him to do that when he already has some function & superior at that, with the potential of improvement, especially considering that his best friend already has optical technology in him that almost exactly duplicates the function of a human eye

That's exactly how I look at it. He didn't think the downgrade was worth it with the season 2 tech, but mostly likely it improved by the time of ST:FC. Whether or not you want to say the loss of the ship was the catalyst, the damn things were a pain & inconvenience that an integrated component wouldn't be. In my fanboydom, I like to pretend that they used Data's eye tech to make the best damn optical implant of them all, with aspects of the visor, & Data's eye all being compatible tech

The Romulans used his neural pathways against him, but Tolian Soren used the Visor itself. He either hacked into it, or more likely successfully hid some kind of recording device & transmitter in it (Because what the Duras sisters saw wasn't Geordi's actual visual feed)

& god only knows what Lore was planning to do in Descent. lol