In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached him with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. La Forge is blind, but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR, which is worn over his eyes. La Forge is the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, its Chief Engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to the fame he gained from starring in Roots and Reading Rainbow. The Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, beginning with Star Trek Generations in 1994 through 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. Burton directed the season two episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Dreadnought." Burton also directed and appeared in the season five episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled "Timeless" and directed several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise.
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