The Lottery

Creator Timothy Sexton has woven this story with a master’s touch, making us care about the characters even as we fear for their lives. Or, for that matter, all our lives.

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 Lottery, with otherwise sage setup and promising performances, merits its own shot at something great.

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 sets it apart, the premiere promises a lot of plot wrinkles and a fast pace, and the acting (with a few exceptions) is decent.

Its pilot was a solid start, although, despite the intriguing premise, the episode also raised a greater number of questions--more about logic than the show's mythology--than it answered.

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.

Ultimately, there’s more ambition in the concept than ingenuity in the execution.

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

When The Lottery conjectures about the scary cultural tilt that a lack of fertility could cause around the world, it’s at its best.... Unfortunately, the makers of “The Lottery,” led by writer-producer Timothy J. Sexton, who was one of the five screenwriters on the similarly themed 2006 movie “Children of Men,” are more concerned with a far more formulaic suspense story line.

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.”

Whatever potential The Lottery has to look at the connection between fertility and power, or the timely issues of women’s reproductive autonomy--or a simple dramatic fight over the future of the species--is wasted with flat characters and flimsy political intrigue that plays like a duller version of Scandal.