SDCC 2019: ‘Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty’ Feels Like A Real Museum Exhibit!

Sadly, I’ve never been much of a Star Trek guy. I’ve seen the recent movies, and watched (and do plan to catch up with) some of Discovery, but aside from a kick-ass Super Nintendo game, the franchise has eluded me for most of my life.

Though I hadn’t heard too much about it, the idea of Captain Picard returning for a new series sounded like a super neat idea. The series is set to debut on CBS All Access sometime this year. Details for the series itself still seem fairly light, but it sounds like it has something to do with Picard being ‘haunted’ after something that occurred in 2009’s Star Trek, and EW has also learned that the series will be serialized rather than episodic like The Next Generation.

Over at Michael J Wolf Fine Arts at 363 Fifth Ave, from 11-9 on Friday and Saturday, and 11-5 on Sunday, CBS has prepared an exhibit called Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty. It’s a beautiful space that literally feels like you’re walking through a museum exhibit. There are tons of props, costumes, and other items on display, and there’s even a gift shop selling shirts, mugs, and other cool, limited merchandise (you also get a cool limited edition pin when you enter the experience). If you read the descriptions on some of the items, you’re treated to some powerful world-building that fills you in even more on what you can expect whenever the series actually decides to drop. The plaque as you enter the exhibit brings you a little into the story as well:

One of Starfleet’s most decorated officers, Admiral Jean-Luc-Picard retired from Starfleet in 2386 after more than 50 years of service, returning to a quiet life tending to his family’s storied winemaking tradition in the Chateau Picard vineyards of La Barre, France.

Many of Picard’s personal mementos and rare artifacts from his life and career are stored in the Starfleet Museum Quantum Archives located at Starfleet Command headquarters in San Francisco.

For the first time, many of these artifacts are now available for view in a special touring exhibition celebrating his career of service and lifetime of dedication to the principles of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets.

You can take a look at some of the items on display via the photo gallery below, and again, if you’re in San Diego for SDCC, the line for this one seems to move quickly, and even as someone who is not a huge fan of the franchise, I thought that it was an absolutely fascinating experience.