Season One Geordi and his smart-@ss remarks

[Bad Atom]

When TNG first started, Geordi was the blind pilot (yes, Gene, we get the irony) who always had some snarky comment to make about every situation. Even though the writing in the first season wasn't all that great, Geordi provided a lot of levity and humor.

But when the character got promoted to Chief Engineer in the second season, he seemed to lose his sense of humor and fun. And by the time season three started, he became pretty uptight and dull.

Sure, there were exceptions, but in a way, I kind of miss the cool, funny guy from the first season. Anyone agree? Or disagree?

 

[Geck]

I liked his humour in the first season too. It was a natural evolution though, I think. He was pretty young at the start and had a much easier job. He matured as the seasons went on and was worked pretty hard as Chief Engineer. He had more responsibility and less time for joking around.

A few more smart-ass remarks would have been more than welcome though, agreed. I'm a sucker for a good one-liner.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Was the "kidley" joke in the first season?

 

[Trekker4747]

"Then we shift-down into Warp 9 and they'll never see us coming! WHOO-WEEE!"

:while looking at inhospitable planet's sensor readings: "Nasty!" (as if he just looked at a picture of Lady Gaga in her meat-dress.)

Yeah, Geordi was an odd duck in the first, and even second, seasons. I did like how he interacted with the racially deaf guy who had the telepathic "choir" to speak for him.

 

[od0_ital]

It's easy to be snarky when ya are on the bridge...not so much when ya gotta ride a turbolift all the way up from the ass end of the ship to comment on whatever is happenin' on the viewscreen.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I recall an early television interview about TNG--I think it was made just prior to the debut of the second season--and Roddenberry was talking about LaForge having a flip sense of humor about him. I think he was meant originally to be slightly irreverent and not as straight-laced as the other characters...

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

"Then we shift-down into Warp 9 and they'll never see us coming! WHOO-WEEE!"

Yep, that was cringeworthy - a facepalm piece of dialogue.

 

[Bob Karo]

Well, going from a job "the Boy" could do to heading up engineering had to be a pretty big change. Hell, it seems to have burnt out three Chief Engineers in the year prior.

 

[Trekker4747]

It's always been my theory that LaForge was intended to be the Chief Engineer, selcted by Picard. But Geordi needed more time under his belt to get experience and a promotion so he was brought onto the ship as the helmsman for a year to get the necessary promotion (to full Lieutenant) to become C.E. In the interim the ship had a rotation of Engineers to "train them" on the new Galaxy-class improvements and those C.E.'s then went on to other Galaxy-class ships.

 

[Red Ranger]

Sometimes his "snarky" comments fell flat, like the one already mentioned from The Last Outpost. There is a better line in that ep -- when Data's fingers get stuck in the Chinese finger puzzle, Geordi says, "My hero," and starts laughing maniacally.

I do remember at least one later ep when he cracked wise, kinda. It was The Enemy, when he was stuck on Galorndan (sp?) Core with the Romulan centurion. When he didn't know the Romulan's name, he kept calling him, "Commodore," as in, "I never lie when I have sand in my shoes, Commodore."

It's always been my theory that LaForge was intended to be the Chief Engineer, selcted by Picard. But Geordi needed more time under his belt to get experience and a promotion so he was brought onto the ship as the helmsman for a year to get the necessary promotion (to full Lieutenant) to become C.E. In the interim the ship had a rotation of Engineers to "train them" on the new Galaxy-class improvements and those C.E.'s then went on to other Galaxy-class ships.

Or other new class ships like the Nebula-class. I wonder if the fanon explanation above regarding why so many rotating chief engineers from the first season has ever been taken up in any of the TNG novels?

 

[Trekker4747]

Kind of along the same lines. You' think two bridge officers, one of whom is the ship's second officer, would know better than to be whispering "insults" and other gossip between one another about the Ferengi. Especially when the victims of their whispering are on the viewscreen right in front of them.

Geordi, is you're supposed to be this flippant, young, officer you've got an excuse. Data? You're an android who's a ranked officer. You should know better.

 

[Canadave]

It's always been my theory that LaForge was intended to be the Chief Engineer, selcted by Picard. But Geordi needed more time under his belt to get experience and a promotion so he was brought onto the ship as the helmsman for a year to get the necessary promotion (to full Lieutenant) to become C.E. In the interim the ship had a rotation of Engineers to "train them" on the new Galaxy-class improvements and those C.E.'s then went on to other Galaxy-class ships.

So... you're saying Geordi needed to spend a year in the minors before getting called up to the big club?

 

[Trekker4747]

It's always been my theory that LaForge was intended to be the Chief Engineer, selcted by Picard. But Geordi needed more time under his belt to get experience and a promotion so he was brought onto the ship as the helmsman for a year to get the necessary promotion (to full Lieutenant) to become C.E. In the interim the ship had a rotation of Engineers to "train them" on the new Galaxy-class improvements and those C.E.'s then went on to other Galaxy-class ships.

So... you're saying Geordi needed to spend a year in the minors before getting called up to the big club?

Eh, more he needed to earn his wings before he could fly.

Or that you'can't give a guy who's had one, tiny, promotion in his career a top-position on the flagship without pissing people off so make him wait a year for a suitable promotion.

 

[Red Ranger]

Well, if any of you have taken a look at the background info on TNG, including the original show bible, they had the crazy idea that the Galaxy-class ships were so advanced they didn't need a chief engineer. What an ill-advised concept that was!

 

[Skellington]

I recall an early television interview about TNG--I think it was made just prior to the debut of the second season--and Roddenberry was talking about LaForge having a flip sense of humor about him. I think he was meant originally to be slightly irreverent and not as straight-laced as the other characters...

Funny how things work out. I actually much prefer the technically-adept, doesn't-need-a-sense-of-humour version of Geordi. By the time he met Montgomery Scott in season six, he could in some ways be considered the superior engineer.

 

[Bob Karo]

Well, if any of you have taken a look at the background info on TNG, including the original show bible, they had the crazy idea that the Galaxy-class ships were so advanced they didn't need a chief engineer. What an ill-advised concept that was!

I always found it more likely that they wouldn't need a dedicated helmsman. Weird.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well they did "improve" that idea with the concept that the ship didn't need both a helmsman and a navigator. The helmsman would do both jobs.

 

[indolover]

it's his personality, I guess. Even as chief engineer post season 2, he uses a lot of colloquialisms (American ones, even though he was supposedly born in Africa lol).

 

[Finn]

^24th Century Africa. Some American colloquialisms may be worldwide by then. We use ones that originated in other contients from centuries ago.

 

[Hober Mallow]

My favorite Geordi is the perpetually high Geordi from TNG's recut series.