BURTON SAYS AYE TO NEW LOOK.

For LeVar Burton, the actor who plays engineer Geordi La Forge in Star Trek's ``Next Generation'' cast, the franchise's new hit movie might just as well have been called ``Star Trek: First Eye Contact.''

Well, almost. For seven years on the syndicated ``TNG'' television series and in Geordi's first film appearance, ``Star Trek Generations,'' the guy who keeps the Enterprise warping was saddled with a goofy-looking wraparound VISOR. That stood for Visual Input Sensory Optical Reflector, and it was supposed to give Geordi seeing abilities far beyond those of mortal men.

But the silly thing looked like something a Venice Beach sunglass vendor would toss in the ocean. In ``First Contact,'' Geordi finally shows up sans VISOR. Instead, he's outfitted with ultra-cool, electronic ocular implants that spin and expand in his eye sockets instead.

``I've lobbied for that for so long,'' explained Burton, best-known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Kunta Kinte in the landmark TV miniseries ``Roots.'' ``It's a sin to cover an actor's eyes, an absolute sin. When we shot this movie, I suddenly became aware that everybody was relating to me differently. They were connecting with Geordi in a way that they never did when that VISOR was there.''

Besides improving Geordi's social life, tossing the shades has spared Burton from a lot of future migraines.

``Physically, that thing was actually painful to wear,'' Burton said. ``It was necessary to screw it into my head in order to get it to stay on - there were flanges and vice bolts - and after a while, that just became unbearable. Plus, 80 percent of my vision was taken away when I put the thing on!''

But those rotating contacts he wears now can't be very comfortable, either.

``No, no, no; I practiced for days to get my eyeballs to spin like that,'' Burton said with a perfectly straight face. ``No, of course not. The contacts are full scleral, they cover the entire surface of the eye. And they're not the most comfortable things in the world to wear. But believe me, whatever discomfort I get from the contacts is nothing compared to putting that VISOR on.''

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Photo: (1--2) In ``Star Trek: First Contact,'' LeVar Burton's Geordi La Forge is outfitted with ultra-cool, electronic ocular implants that spin and expand in his eye sockets. For Burton, it's a welcome relief from the goofy-looking wraparound VISOR he's worn for seven years on ``The Next Generation.''