Beloved for his Reading Rainbow and Jeopardy! hosting gigs, LeVar Burton's other most-noteworthy role, Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, is also arguably his best. Sensitive and smart, Geordi is an amicable character who's hard to critique. That said, Burton has pointed out one way he would have written the character differently: given the reigns, he would have gotten La Forge laid on Next Gen.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the actor recounted the Federation Lieutenant's glaring lack of any romantic subplot throughout TNG's seven seasons. When asked what he would change about his character now, Burton responded:
He'd get laid ... Whether they are aware of it or not, those white men who wrote the show had an unconscious bias that was on display to me and to other people of colour. Their blind spot is revealed in the fact that a Black man never was successful at one of the basic and most … My wife says, "There's a lid for every pot." It's true. The idea that Geordi never found a lid for his pot is ludicrous. It's preposterous, and it's insulting.
Burton added: "I don't think Geordi was an incel, because he wasn't angry. I think that term comes along with the idea there's some sort of maladaptation going on in the fixation. Geordi wasn't angry, so I think it's unfair to put him in that category."
Further, as /Film points out, Geordi's "strongest relationship was with a non-sentient hologram of a real, married woman," whom he created on the holodeck, rather than with a living, breathing human (or even humanoid).
"In their attempts to be cute," Burton continued, "they inadvertently created an aspect of Geordi's character that is very uncomfortable."
Despite his complaints, Burton remains open to the idea of returning to the character someday — perhaps to set the story straight and finally get that love interest Geordi deserves. He may even be presented with the opportunity — Star Trek: Picard is returning for its second season in 2022, and the series has already tapped former Next Gen star Whoopi Goldberg to reprise her role alongside the iconic Sir Patrick Stewart.
"I love Star Trek. I love my castmates," Burton said. "It is certainly feasible, if not plausible, that [the crew] should show up at some point during this current adventure."
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the actor recounted the Federation Lieutenant's glaring lack of any romantic subplot throughout TNG's seven seasons. When asked what he would change about his character now, Burton responded:
He'd get laid ... Whether they are aware of it or not, those white men who wrote the show had an unconscious bias that was on display to me and to other people of colour. Their blind spot is revealed in the fact that a Black man never was successful at one of the basic and most … My wife says, "There's a lid for every pot." It's true. The idea that Geordi never found a lid for his pot is ludicrous. It's preposterous, and it's insulting.
Burton added: "I don't think Geordi was an incel, because he wasn't angry. I think that term comes along with the idea there's some sort of maladaptation going on in the fixation. Geordi wasn't angry, so I think it's unfair to put him in that category."
Further, as /Film points out, Geordi's "strongest relationship was with a non-sentient hologram of a real, married woman," whom he created on the holodeck, rather than with a living, breathing human (or even humanoid).
"In their attempts to be cute," Burton continued, "they inadvertently created an aspect of Geordi's character that is very uncomfortable."
Despite his complaints, Burton remains open to the idea of returning to the character someday — perhaps to set the story straight and finally get that love interest Geordi deserves. He may even be presented with the opportunity — Star Trek: Picard is returning for its second season in 2022, and the series has already tapped former Next Gen star Whoopi Goldberg to reprise her role alongside the iconic Sir Patrick Stewart.
"I love Star Trek. I love my castmates," Burton said. "It is certainly feasible, if not plausible, that [the crew] should show up at some point during this current adventure."
