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Wow! If I had a nickel for every time a Trek show had a blind engineer, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?
(startrek.website)
Transcription: A side by side picture of Star Trek Strange New Worlds character Hemmer and The Next Generation character Geordi La Forge.
I feel like they do that all the time throughout the TNG era, owing to the fact that they didn't have a "science lab" set in addition to the warp core set which at any rate looked cool and they wanted to use it whenever they could.
Sets are expensive.
But yes never ever test a phaser next to the Warp Core, kids. That's a violation of the OSHA Directive.
I mean at least the pointed it away from the core.
IIRC either data or Geordie were standing right next to the target box when they first it the first time. They sure trusted their aim.