Geordi La Forge’s VISOR eyepiece was an iconic part of the character’s signature look, and he wore it through seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and into the first of that crew’s theatrical films. However, things changed when the character received a set of ocular implants in Star Trek: First Contact and then a pair of natural eyes in Star Trek: Insurrection.
Behind the scenes, the reasons for the change were eminently practical. Though it worked for the character, the VISOR became a burden for actor LeVar Burton, who found it uncomfortable to wear. First Contact took steps to note the differences in his new implants but didn’t specifically comment on it, leaving the change to be inferred rather than stated. First Contact’s writers incorporated those changes without altering the important statement the VISOR made, something Insurrection couldn't manage.
Gene Roddenberry envisioned a future in which everyone was valued for capabilities, and Geordi was written both as a nascent refutation of ableism and a stand-in for visually impaired Star Trek fans. He was born without functioning eyes, and the VISOR permitted him to see in the EM and infrared spectrum, granting him unique abilities that naturally sighted people lacked. It caused him pain, but he declined to part with it, nor would he take painkillers that would affect its function. The show broke barriers by portraying Geordi not as handicapped but simply different. His value to the crew was unchanged, and as The Next Generation went on, his eyesight became almost incidental -- a unique part of who he was rather than a handicap or affliction.
But for Burton, it was physically painful. In an interview with the BBC, he revealed that the VISOR prop gave him daily headaches and had to literally be screwed into the sides of his head. He worked through it, and the prop became a singular part of the character, but the pain never diminished while he wore it. Later in the same interview, Burton claimed that both he and producer Rick Berman agreed to stay with the VISOR because it had become so iconic.
But in First Contact, Burton donned a set of contact lenses instead of the VISOR, and visual effect shots later in the film depicted them as cybernetic implants. Little changed as far as the character's abilities went, and at first sight, his new implants retained the unique features of the VISOR. The Next Generation stayed committed to the unique qualities his implants gave him, and the switch to “upgraded” versions of the same concept was in keeping with the franchise's depictions of technology advancing over time.
Insurrection’s plotline pushed the notion into more problematic territory, however, as the radiation of an alien planet stimulated the regrowth of Geordi's natural eyes. He returns to the implants by the end of the film, but the film's dialogue infers that he’s making a sacrifice to do so, which undercuts the initial message of the VISOR. Its absence had been deftly handled until then, but Insurrection’s flirtation with ableism added an awkward angle to the quietly elegant removal of an iconic Star Trek prop.
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