CLEVELAND, Ohio — CBS All Access provided TV critics access to the first three episodes of “Star Trek: Picard,” which the streaming service will launch on Thursday, Jan. 23. That should be enough data to chart the flight course for this ambitious drama with Patrick Stewart beaming back to the role he played for seven seasons on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Jean-Luc Picard.

But it isn’t. Indeed, a certain Vulcan might have cautioned that evaluating the latest “Star Trek” series on the basis of these three episodes would not be logical.

And that’s because these three episodes are all about getting the space vehicle ready to blast into space. This is hour after hour of setup and establishing scenes and exposition and introductions. Indeed, it all feels like one big three-hour pilot episode for the series.

It feels like a starship revving its engines, trying to get the warp drive to kick over. It feels like a colossal 10 to zero countdown to ... well, to what?

To the last seconds of the third episode, when it seems like the adventure actually is about to take flight. Liftoff? Do we have liftoff?

What comes next will tell the tale, and how well that tale is told will depend on how effectively the “Picard” production team uses the many pieces gradually put in place during the long return of Picard.

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker in the CBS All Access series “Star Trek: Picard.” Trae Patton/CBS All Access

Although the pace is at times too deliberate and many of the story elements seem familiar (earning the dubious raised eyebrow Mr. Spock put to such good use), it’s not difficult getting to the end of this third episode. For one thing, the series looks terrific. For another, you’re in great company all the way.

The cast is marvelous, starting with Stewart, the finest actor ever to wear a Starfleet uniform. His aging and conflicted Picard is an endlessly intriguing revival of the character. He not only keeps you involved but also (to borrow the captain’s trademark phrase) engaged.

That’s one of his great gifts as an actor. He packs decades of emotion into the slightest tilt of the head or subtle gesture.

When we catch up with Picard, he is living a life of peaceful retirement on his beautiful chateau, overseeing the wine vineyards, writing history books and spending time with his faithful dog, No. 1. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

He is, by his own description, playing the role of “a benign old codger.” But he dreams of playing poker with his old friend Data (Brent Spiner) on the deck of the Enterprise. He dreams of the past.

When it is suggested that he’s being haunted by nightmares, Picard replies, “The dreams are lovely. It’s the waking up I’m beginning to regret.”

The illusion of peaceful retirement is completely shattered by the appearance of Dahj (Isa Briones), a mysterious young woman with a puzzling link to his past. It’s something of a wakeup call for Picard, who realizes, “I haven’t been living. I’ve been waiting to die.”

And we’re waiting for the storytelling to match the dramatic firepower Stewart is bringing to the futuristic table. CBS All Access must like what happens after these three episodes, because it already has renewed “Star Trek: Picard” for a second season.

Along for the ride with Stewart and Briones are series regulars Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway and Evan Evagora. And keep scanners at the ready for appearances by Jonathan Frakes (also on board as a director), Spiner, Marina Sirtis and Jeri Ryan.

In the early poker-game dream sequence, Data accuses Picard of stalling. When Data asks why, Picard says it’s because he doesn’t want the game to end. “Picard” the series also is stalling, and we can’t wait for the adventure to truly start.

OK, time to fire up those engines and start playing this game for real.

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