Guinan

Guinan is a character in the Star Trek universe played by Whoopi Goldberg. She first appeared in the ' second season premiere The Child. Due to a long friendship with Captain Picard, she was invited to serve as the host of the Ten-Forward lounge, a bar aboard the Enterprise-D where her wise counsel proved to be a valuable asset. She appeared occasionally in various episodes of the series, as well as two of the movies: and .

Related Topics:
Character - Star Trek - Whoopi Goldberg - The Child - Captain Picard - Ten-Forward - ''Enterprise''-D

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Guinan is an El-Aurian from El-Auria. Her people, sometimes called "listeners," were scattered through the galaxy when the Borg invaded their homeworld. As a refugee aboard the El-Aurian vessel Lakul, she was rescued from the Nexus by the Enterprise-B.

Related Topics:
El-Aurian - El-Auria - Borg - Nexus

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Her species is long-lived, and she herself is over 500 years old, though less than 700 years old. (The TNG episode "Time's Arrow Part I" reveals she lived on Earth in 1893, and the teaser of the episode "Rascals" established that her father was 700 years old at the time.) Guinan has been married 23 times, as she tells Enterprise-E Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge at the wedding reception of Commander William Riker and Counsellor Deanna Troi in the beginning of Star Trek: Nemesis.

Related Topics:
Time's Arrow Part I - "Rascals" - Geordi La Forge - William Riker - Deanna Troi

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Guinan apparently has some unspecified abilities beyond what is associated with humans or other El Aurians, as Q seemed to treat her as an equal in his encounters with her. In the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", which involved a disruption to the historical timeline caused by the Enterprise-C of 2344 traveling through time and emerging into the Enterprise-D's present of 2365, Guinan was able to sense the disruption to the timeline, even though everyone else believed it to be the natural course of events.

Related Topics:
Q - "Yesterday's Enterprise"

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According to Whoopi Goldberg, she approached the creators of Star Trek with her desire to be on the show. At first the creators did not think they could create a role suitable for such a highly rated actress, until Goldberg said that she didn't care how big or small the role was, even if all she did was sweep the floors. It was from this the creators decided to give her the role of a bartender. The character was named for famed saloonkeeper Texas Guinan.

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