GUINAN

'Guinan', played by Whoopi Goldberg, is a recurring character on ''.
The character first appears in the second-season opening episode "The Child", and she appears several times each season until the series' conclusion.

Contents

Casting

Overview

References

External links

Casting

According to Whoopi Goldberg, she approached the producers of ''TNG'' with her desire to be on the show, due to her childhood admiration of Uhura, a character from the original Star Trek, played by actress Nichelle Nichols.^[1] At first they did not think a suitable role for such a highly rated actress could be created, until Goldberg said that she didn't care how big or small the role was. It was from this they decided to give her the role of a bartender.

Overview

Guinan is originally from El-Auria. Her people, sometimes called "listeners", were scattered throughout the galaxy after the Borg invaded their homeworld.
As a refugee aboard the El-Aurian vessel ''Lakul'', she is rescued from the Nexus by the USS ''Enterprise''-B.
Her species is long-lived, and she is somewhere between 500 and 700 years old at the time she joins the ''Enterprise''-D. "Time's Arrow, Part I" reveals that she visited Earth in 1893, and "Rascals" establishes that her father was 700 years old during that episode.
Her wise counsel proves to be of great value to the crew at times. However, the full nature of her close relationship with Picard is never revealed, although she does indicate that Picard stood by her at a time when she was in serious trouble. Also she reveals that one of the first things she sees in men are their heads, having a fondness for bald men.
Guinan reveals in '' that she has been married 23 times. She states in "Evolution" that she has many children, including a son who went through a phase when "he wouldn't listen to anybody" - something unusual "in a species of listeners".
In "Yesterday's Enterprise," which involves a disruption of the timeline, Guinan is able to sense the disruption, even though everyone else believes it to be the natural course of events.
In "Q Who?", Q retorts, after hearing her called "Guinan" in the Enterprise-D's Ten-Forward lounge, "'Guinan' -- is that what you're calling yourself now?" He claims that Guinan "is not what she appears to be." As well, when Q reaches out his hand towards Guinan and offers to Picard her extradition from the Enterprise, Guinan holds her two hands up at Q in a threatening manner. Whether this gesture was an arbitrary defense reflex or if she has secret powers is unknown.

References

1.

External links