Talk: Geordi La Forge

Early Life/VISOR

In the article, it says that Geordi being trapped in a burning building happened before he turned five, but in the episode it says that it was when he was five. The article also received his first VISOR when he was five, but it was never said exactly when in the episode. Is there a conflicting source here or should I go ahead and fix it? – The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jierthelka (talk • contribs) at 01:34, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

I've tweaked it, as the exact line in the episode is "I was caught in a fire once. I must have been, I don't know, about five, I guess. It was before I got the first visor." -- Sulfur (talk) 11:20, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

Thank you! – The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jierthelka (talk • contribs) at 21:08, 31 March 2024 (UTC)

DId Geordi really serve on the Hood?

This page says "La Forge later transferred to the USS Hood, where he served under Captain Robert DeSoto. On the Hood, La Forge knew William T. Riker, but only professionally. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")", and Geordi's tenure on the Hood has been on this page since it was first created. But when was this established in canon? "Encounter at Farpoint" is cited, but I don't think that establishes anything beyond him being at Farpoint with Riker (who *did* come from the Hood), but Crusher was there as well and we don't make that assumption for her. I've seen "Conundrum" cited elsewhere, but I can't find anything there in dialogue (and we don't see La Forge's bio with the other crew members). "The Next Phase" established that Riker knew La Forge longer than anyone else, but it doesn't say how they knew each other; them serving on the Hood would explain it, but so would them being at the Academy together or any number of other things. The most recent editions of the Encyclopedia and the Chronology didn't mention anything about this either.

David Gerrold's novelization says "The VISOR was actually more than just a replacement for his eyes. It allowed him to see telescopically and microscopically, as well as view the entire spectrum of light from X-ray to infrared. LaForge had also been serving on the Hood as conn officer; but his duty shifts had not often coincided with Riker’s, and the older man knew him primarily by reputation." Riker also says “And you, Mr. LaForge—Captain DeSoto thought very highly of your navigation on the Hood. Why did you request transfer to the Enterprise?”, but this dialogue is not in the episode.

Is this actually beta canon that crept into Memory Alpha 20 years ago and was just never removed? Or am I missing something? If it's just something that's easy to miss it would be nice to have it documented somewhere, so even if it's accurate hopefully this talk page will serve that purpose. --Cap'n Calhoun (talk) 16:30, 20 June 2025 (UTC)

Almost as soon as I posted the above I spotted another discussion of this in the archive, so this question has come up before without any evidence coming up to support the claim.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Talk:Geordi_La_Forge/archive#Early_Career

I feel like this should be removed or moved to "Apocrypha" if we can't find something. The same applies to the references on the page for USS Hood (Excelsior class) and USS Hood (Excelsior class) personnel. --Cap'n Calhoun (talk) 16:34, 20 June 2025 (UTC)

Five months with no response, so I've taken it out. If someone finds a canon source, please note it here when you restore the informatoin. --Cap'n Calhoun (talk) 04:46, 3 November 2025 (UTC)