The Lottery

If The Lottery can keep up the promise of its premiere, it will punch a winning ticket.

The pilot is a little uneven. There’s a villain (played by Martin Donovan) within the government, but his agenda is extremely unclear, and the story of the recovering alcoholic dad seems to have little connection to the lottery. Still, the premise is intriguing--a “what if” kind of science fiction story that makes you think.

The action is active, the suspense tense, the actors game. It seems a little silly at times, but meet it halfway and the hour passes painlessly.

The premise is actually more promising than the one in HBO's The Leftovers, in which a portion of Earth's population just vanishes. But The Lottery is not as well-cast or -produced as that other 10-episode series.

It's a brazenly cloned Children of Men, raised dull. [18 Jul 2014, p.61]

Overall, the pilot stalls with the usual introductions, setup, and by-the-numbers twists. There’s a dogged sense of purpose behind it that could, if thoughtfully explored, become a low-budget thriller for a network that’s taking some steps into a brave new world, but there’s an awful lot hanging on that “thoughtfully.”

It’s a pretty lame ending to a fairly odious premise.