A character with a visor was a mistake

[Christopher]

There were several times that certain frequencies or colors that Geordi saw had an impact on knowing what to do Engineering-wise, so, I believe they did use it to some degree as an advantage to his Engineering job.

If so, it wasn't often. I think the VISOR is one of the many concepts the series' developers had that the later showrunners weren't interested in exploring fully. For instance, remember in "Up the Long Ladder" when Geordi revealed that he could usually tell when humans were lying, as well as other humanoids to a lesser extent? That never, ever came up again. If he'd been security chief, it could've been much more useful. (And Worf would've been served by getting him away from the stereotyped "warrior" stuff, letting him become a more multifaceted character.)

 

[Trekker4747]

You want them to be strapped to an exploding console?

If they remembered how to make seatbelts, they'd remember how to make circuit breakers too. Exploding consoles are dramatic license just like flying around the bridge is.

Plus Geordi probably got tired of being left in the darkness becuase who ever captured him this week is a sick f@#k who thinks torturing and/or brainwashing and/or experimenting on a guy who can't see becuase you took his Visor is a fun way to pass time.

I don't blame that on the VISOR, I blame it on the writers who couldn't think of a good use for it other than a torture implement.

In his review for "Generations" a couple of weeks ago the Nostalgia Critic griped at and pointed out the flaw in Geordi getting back on the Enterprise, and to duty, with the bug in his VISOR. TNC points out that he can't get on a plane these days without getting his balls touched by security be Geordi can go over to an enemy vessel, come back, get examined by a doctor and no one noticed the bug in his VISOR.

Same arguments could apply to the bug/transmission inside the VISOR in a TNG episode involving the Romulans where Geordi was being "programmed/instructed" via his VISOR to assassinate a Klingon diplomat.

As for Geordi's field of vision I never considered that, I had always assumed his field of vision was no greater or better than that of a human that he still had to physically move his real eyes in order to "see" something specific. But since the VISOR dumps the input directly into his brain (bypassing the eyes altogether) I guess he would have a bit wider field of vision. I wonder if it was limited to just where the VISOR's "slits" were directed? If so then he wouldn't have much field of vision vertically without moving his head (which would offset the added peripheral vision he had horizontally.) I did like the implants he had in the movie, I suppose by that point the technology and "medicine" had improved to make the implants less risky and more viable and to provide him as much input as the VISOR, it also seemed to give him a "zoom feature" and other fine control that he likely didn't have with the VISOR.

What I never quite understood is why the VISOR had to scan the entire EM spectrum plus likely beyond it if he was able to see into subspace or other areas of energy not covered by the EMS. I mean, my alarm clock radio can only scan certain frequencies of the EM spectrum I'm not picking up CB radio, TV and other chatter on it it only scans the frequencies reserved for radio stations. You're telling me Geordi's VISOR or implants couldn't be tuned to only pick up the visible light area of the EM spectrum?

Christopher: While, Geordi may have said he had "humans down" when it came to lying I believe he also said he had difficulty doing the "lie detecting" with alien species. But I agree there were plenty of times where logically the advantages of the VISOR were either ignored or forgotten. For example in "Disaster" Beverly notes that a bulkhead is "hot" shortly before a "plasma fire" erupts from a conduit behind a panel. When Beverly points out the hot wall Geordi looks over there and says "Where?" Which, shouldn't he be able to see right away where the "hot part" of the wall is? Along the lines of his disability, I did like how at some point in the series they gave him a PADD with tactile buttons. (Even though he obviously didn't need one since he piloted the ship and did other aspects of his job without a tactile interface. (Though we could probably suppose there's some tactile interface to the consoles were not aware of by either subtle bumps or such in the console or even temperature changes over the buttons.)

 

[Worf'sParmach]

After TNG I find Levar Burton looks odd without it.

Agreed. And this coming from someone who gre up watching "Reading Rainbow."

 

[Saito S]

Personally, I never had a problem with it. It does look perhaps a bit dated today, aesthetically, but not as much as some other aspects of TNG's visuals. To give him the ocular implants early on would have basically undercut the point of presenting a character who had an obvious disability. They wanted it to be something that could be readily seen as soon as you get a good look at the guy, while at the same time showing that it didn't stop him from leading a normal life and doing his job.

I thought they did show its advantages fairly often, with him being able to detect things right off the bat that others would only see with scanning equipment (and not even then, in some cases; he seemed to be the only one who could tell that Hannah was faking the damage to the biodome in "The Masterpiece Society", and of course the big solution to the problem in the ep came from the VISOR as well). Maybe they could have scaled back a bit on the number of times someone removes it just to screw with him, though.

In his review for "Generations" a couple of weeks ago the Nostalgia Critic griped at and pointed out the flaw in Geordi getting back on the Enterprise, and to duty, with the bug in his VISOR. TNC points out that he can't get on a plane these days without getting his balls touched by security be Geordi can go over to an enemy vessel, come back, get examined by a doctor and no one noticed the bug in his VISOR.

Same arguments could apply to the bug/transmission inside the VISOR in a TNG episode involving the Romulans where Geordi was being "programmed/instructed" via his VISOR to assassinate a Klingon diplomat.

I don't understand that complaint, honestly.

Why is the assumption that the Ent-D crew was (in the case of both GEN and "The Mind's Eye", the ep you are referencing with the Romulans) somehow incompetent, or lazy, or that the computer didn't run a thorough enough scan, or whatever?

Soren's a clever guy. Romulans aren't too shabby, either. Shouldn't the assumption be that Geordi DID undergo various tests and scans upon returning to the ship (most especially in GEN), but that the bug was hidden so well that it was missed? That Soren and the Romulans anticipated that he WOULD be scanned and examined and probed, and thus tried their best to plant a device that would evade all of that attention, and in these two cases, succeeded? If Crusher examines him thoroughly, but misses the bug, doesn't that mean it was just THAT well hidden? No security measure is perfect, in Trek or in real life. To me, the complaint that these bugs "shouldn't" have been missed - that somehow, having the Ent-D crew miss them is "bad writing" - translates to "Soren (or the Romulans) was (were) able to outwit the crew of the Ent-D in this one instance? Impossible! The heroes can't fail!"

As Riker said, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.

 

[Satyrquaze]

What I never quite understood is why the VISOR had to scan the entire EM spectrum plus likely beyond it if he was able to see into subspace or other areas of energy not covered by the EMS. I mean, my alarm clock radio can only scan certain frequencies of the EM spectrum I'm not picking up CB radio, TV and other chatter on it it only scans the frequencies reserved for radio stations. You're telling me Geordi's VISOR or implants couldn't be tuned to only pick up the visible light area of the EM spectrum?

This.

 

[Sindatur]

I thought they did show its advantages fairly often, with him being able to detect things right off the bat that others would only see with scanning equipment (and not even then, in some cases; he seemed to be the only one who could tell that Hannah was faking the damage to the biodome in "The Masterpiece Society", and of course the big solution to the problem in the ep came from the VISOR as well). Maybe they could have scaled back a bit on the number of times someone removes it just to screw with him, though.

It's funny what different people remember. I watched TNG when it originally aired, and I've seen random reruns in Syndication quite a few times, but, never done an actual full rewatch. I recall it being a fairly regular plot point that Geordi knew something or solved something because of his visor, but, don't remember it being a regular occurence that people messed with it. Whereas Christopher believes they rarely showed any advantages for him having it, and Christopher and so many others comment on how frequently his visor was messed with.

 

[Saito S]

I thought they did show its advantages fairly often, with him being able to detect things right off the bat that others would only see with scanning equipment (and not even then, in some cases; he seemed to be the only one who could tell that Hannah was faking the damage to the biodome in "The Masterpiece Society", and of course the big solution to the problem in the ep came from the VISOR as well). Maybe they could have scaled back a bit on the number of times someone removes it just to screw with him, though.

It's funny what different people remember. I watched TNG when it originally aired, and I've seen random reruns in Syndication quite a few times, but, never done an actual full rewatch. I recall it being a fairly regular plot point that Geordi knew something or solved something because of his visor, but, don't remember it being a regular occurence that people messed with it. Whereas Christopher believes they rarely showed any advantages for him having it, and Christopher and so many others comment on how frequently his visor was messed with.

Come to think of it... maybe it wasn't all that many. I said that in my post, but now I'm thinking... "The Mind's Eye", "Descent", and Generations. And?

That's all I can think of. Am I just forgetting others?

On the other hand, there were numerous times when we were told he was picking up some sort of fluctuations or readings or other occurrence that normal human eyes wouldn't pick up. Granted, some of that was not an "advantage" as much as it was him reporting something that the other characters could have gotten from their tricorders in a matter of seconds anyway (and there were also times, such as in "Disaster" as Trekker pointed out, where he really should have been able to detect something, but didn't).

 

[You_Will_Fail]

Well when it comes down to it, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about TNG representing diversity in humanity through Geordi and his disability. In the end for me, it was a TV show with characters who I wanted to be able to connect with, and watching someone on screen and not being able to see their eyes is a huge distraction to me.

 

[Nightdiamond]

Tolian Soran: Have you ever considered a prosthesis that would make you look a little more... how can I say... more normal?

Geordi La Forge: What's normal?

Tolian Soran: "What's normal?" Well, that's a good question. Normal is what everyone else is and you are not.

Apparently other 24th century people thought the VISOR didn't look normal.

From time to time in other episodes, some people made a big deal about Geordi being blind and having to use a VISOR.

 

[RyuRoots]

Well when it comes down to it, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about TNG representing diversity in humanity through Geordi and his disability. In the end for me, it was a TV show with characters who I wanted to be able to connect with, and watching someone on screen and not being able to see their eyes is a huge distraction to me.

Well, I obviously can't say you're wrong here or anything, but I definitely don't get it. As zar pointed out, I also thought Geordi's eyes were plenty expressive even with the visor. I thought it made him look interesting. It made him distinct and easy to latch onto, visually.

 

[Trekker4747]

I don't understand that complaint, honestly...

I don't know. Seems to me the bug could have been found if it was well placed enough that it served any kind of use. We've no idea what kind of "bug" it was, how big it was, how it worked, or anything like that but we do know that it was placed in his VISOR and that it transmitted a visual signal to the Klingon ship.

Hell, you'd think at the very least the Enterprise would have detected the signal from the thing! It just strikes me as odd that the bug wasn't detected in some fashion it's not like the VISOR has a lot of hiding places to stick things.

Furthermore I find it odd that one of the first things that happens to Geordi after he gets back on the ship from being kidnapped for some period of time and subjected to some form of torture that necessitated his trip[ to sickbay and for Crusher to say "... I removed the nanoprobe and I think you're going to be fine," is he goes... Back to work? I mean he can't at least get a day off to recover from what he just went through? The Crusher I know wouldn't stand for Geordi just going right back to work and would have made him take some rest before going for a shower and then back to work.

Well when it comes down to it, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about TNG representing diversity in humanity through Geordi and his disability.

Then you've missed the entire point of Star Trek.

Apparently other 24th century people thought the VISOR didn't look normal.

From time to time in other episodes, some people made a big deal about Geordi being blind and having to use a VISOR.

Well, that 24th Century "person" who thought Geordi's VISOR looked abnormal was a madman blowing up stars in order for him to live in a fantasy la-la-la land. He may have also been trying to "get Geordi's goat" a little bit. The only other people who made a big-deal about Geordi's VISOR where people who simply had not been exposed to the technology before. I can think of three episodes where Geordi's VISOR was called out by a guest on the ship:

1. Loud as a Whisper: A visiting dispute negotiator who is deaf and uses a "chorus" of people to read his thoughts and express them notes Geordi's VISOR. I really like this encounter as Geordi and Reva -the guest- sort of "bond" over their shared disability and how they've worked around it in some fashion. (The VISOR, effectively, doing for Geordi what the chorus did for Reva.)

2. The Enemy: While trapped on a planet Geordi encounters, and bonds with, a Romulan also trapped on the planet. The Romulan expresses some shock that Geordi's parents "allowed him to live" given his disability. The Romulan further points out that one of the reasons why humans are weak is because we waste resources on trying to help people who are disabled. The VISOR (along with a tricorder) plays a key role in helping get the two off of the planet. (The implication being that the Romulans are "lesser" than humans because it was because of Geordi's being "allowed to live" that it was possible for there to be more avenues of technology leading to saving the Romulan's life.)

3. The Masterpiece Society: The Enterprise encounters a society of genetically perfect people, their colony is at risk from being damaged by a passing stellar core fragment. One of the colonists says that someone like Geordi -someone with a disability- wouldn't be possible in their society as his genetic defect would have been weeded out or removed before he was born. (It's not clear if it would have simply been corrected or if Geordi wouldn't have been allowed to be born.) The technology behind Geordi's VISOR ends up playing a role in saving the colony. (Again, implying that "genetically perfect" people aren't a good idea as it'd curb development of technology that likely serve a role in helping the greater whole.)

But, for the most part, people seemed non-reactionary to Geordi and his VISOR.

Hell, I'd make solid arguments that it would have been nice to see one or two more VISORs either on background characters or guest characters somewhere else in Trek to suggest it was a common tool for vision correction for the blind.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I like the visor. It makes the show look like what it is... science fiction. I don't think it looks dated either. It looks like a distinctive part of the show's character.

As for the bug in Generations, I've wondered for a while whether or not Geordi got an upgrade that allowed him to see the way others see or if the bug was designed to pick up only the visible part of the spectrum. Also, I take it the bug was still in there for quite some time. I wonder if someone else ever accidentally picked up the frequency and was able to see what he saw. Maybe that's why he got the implants.

 

[Saito S]

Tolian Soran: Have you ever considered a prosthesis that would make you look a little more... how can I say... more normal?

Geordi La Forge: What's normal?

Tolian Soran: "What's normal?" Well, that's a good question. Normal is what everyone else is and you are not.

Apparently other 24th century people thought the VISOR didn't look normal.

From time to time in other episodes, some people made a big deal about Geordi being blind and having to use a VISOR.

True, though to be fair, with the GEN example, Soran was deliberately trying to make him uncomfortable.

I don't understand that complaint, honestly...

I don't know. Seems to me the bug could have been found if it was well placed enough that it served any kind of use.

But why? Why must the techniques and technology used by the Ent-D crew to spot the bug be superior to the techniques and technology used by Soran to hide it? Why is it somehow a flaw in the movie that Soran was successfully able to create a bug that was too well hidden for Starfleet technology to find?

You say "the bug should have been found if it was well placed enough that it served any kind of use"... this implies that your stance is "If the bug is sophisticated enough to actually do anything, and placed in the right location on the VISOR to do anything, it would certainly be detectable." This translates to "For the VISOR to be bugged in a way that would be of ANY use to the Klingons and Soran is impossible."

We've no idea what kind of "bug" it was, how big it was, how it worked, or anything like that

Exactly. For all we know, the tech Soran used was way ahead of anything the Federation utilizes.

but we do know that it was placed in his VISOR and that it transmitted a visual signal to the Klingon ship.

Hell, you'd think at the very least the Enterprise would have detected the signal from the thing!

Again, why? In TUC, the Ent-A was unable to detect that the torpedo was fired by another ship. I'm not saying they should have detected the BoP, cause it was cloaked, but normally, wouldn't they be able to tell if their own torpedo launcher had gone off or not? Clearly, someone (Valeris) circumvented whatever measures are in place to monitor such systems, making it appear as if it had fired when it hadn't.

In DS9's "Change of Heart", Dax rigs a tricorder while she and Worf are on their way to meet with the informant to mask their lifesigns (and Worf confirms that it worked). Generally speaking, you'd think that an isolated Dominion base in the middle of a jungle would have some pretty sharp sensors for spotting intruders, yet Dax and Worf are able to get quite far before running into a patrol (and we don't even know if they were actually detected; the patrol could have stumbled on their camp by chance).

Sometimes people try and defeat the security measures and procedures of their enemy, and sometimes they succeed.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Well when it comes down to it, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about TNG representing diversity in humanity through Geordi and his disability.

Then you've missed the entire point of Star Trek.

My sentiments, exactly. Your whole post was good, Trekker.

 

[You_Will_Fail]

Well when it comes down to it, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about TNG representing diversity in humanity through Geordi and his disability.

Oh cry me a river. Star Trek is a TV show in the end. And what works best for it as a TV show should always be at the forefront.

 

[Trekker4747]

Now you seem to have missed the point of fictional entertainment.

It shouldn't be there for you to turn your brain off and go "Duhhhh" at the flashing pictures for an hour it should make you think and realize things that never occurred to you before and expand your mind.

Any other prosthetic worn my Geordi would have ruined the entire point of his character. The goal was to make it clear Geordi was a disabled man but society had given him the ability to function on a level or a higher level than everyone else and be a productive member of society. People are all to easy to shrug off the disabled as incapable of doing anything for us and being a burden on society or even disturbing to look at or acknowledge. The point of Geordi was that disabled people have just as much to offer, if not more, as able-bodied people. And while we can't entirely credit TNG with this but Geordi's VISOR seemingly has inspired work in the field to making a real-world equivalent of the device. LINK.

Geordi/Burton's inability to express with his eyes means nothing as he was quite capable even with that "disability" and you could argue it made Geordi/Burton more expressive with his face because he had to overcome the limitations.

If the VISOR really bothered you and hindered your ability to enjoy the show then, I don't know what to say. It seems to not have bothered anyone else over the last 25 years and many found it to be a crucial trait of the character.

 

[JB2005]

I agree with You_Will_Fail...

I don't identify with a blind guy, I can see! More than that - Picard, he's not like me. In fact there's a very obvious way he's not like me. Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against people like Patrick Stewart, but personally since I'm not from Yorkshire, I don't "get" him...oh yeah and he's bald, Shatner wore a hair piece so we wouldn't be confused by baldness, why wasn't Stewart understanding like that?

Worf - he's a Klingon, am I a Klingon?

Crusher and Troi are women, I'm not a woman, how am I supposed to identify with their "woman" problems, frankly they just made me uncomfortable every time they had a line.

And as for Riker, I can't play the trombone, but I'm supposed to be emotionally invested in a character who can?

Data was fine, I have an android smartphone and I just equate the two in my head:

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxc5dstGp91qd96hso1_500.jpg

And finally: Wesley, how am I supposed to identify with an annoying guy who no one likes? Oh yeah...

 

[Trekker4747]

Bravo post.

 

[JB2005]

I feel guilty, I lied...my contract doesn't include unlimited data...

I'm sorry BBS people!

 

[You_Will_Fail]

I agree with You_Will_Fail...

I don't identify with a blind guy, I can see! More than that - Picard, he's not like me. In fact there's a very obvious way he's not like me. Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against people like Patrick Stewart, but personally since I'm not from Yorkshire, I don't "get" him...oh yeah and he's bald, Shatner wore a hair piece so we wouldn't be confused by baldness, why wasn't Stewart understanding like that?

Worf - he's a Klingon, am I a Klingon?

Crusher and Troi are women, I'm not a woman, how am I supposed to identify with their "woman" problems, frankly they just made me uncomfortable every time they had a line.

And as for Riker, I can't play the trombone, but I'm supposed to be emotionally invested in a character who can?

Data was fine, I have an android smartphone and I just equate the two in my head:

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxc5dstGp91qd96hso1_500.jpg

And finally: Wesley, how am I supposed to identify with an annoying guy who no one likes? Oh yeah...

Way to be an obtuse ass. I've clearly been talking about this whole time about needing to see a performer's eyes in a piece of drama for their performance to have an effect on me.