The year was 1983. Sliced bread having been recently invented, the world hungered for the next revolutionary idea. That idea was to create a show about two guys who deliver good news to good people. The good news?...You've won the lottery!
Yes, someone gave this turkey the greenlight, to mix metaphors. The stars were two nobodies, cast as the lottery agent and his tax-man partner. I believe that the opening credits used a give-and-take cliche' to establish their relationship. So someone would win the lottery, but instead of checking the numbers at 7pm before Wheel of Fortune like the rest of the world, the only way you knew you'd won this lottery was when two yahoos showed up at your door. BAM you're rich, after taxes, etc. Who would buy a lottery ticket like that?
Much like the A-Team, the Lottery! guys helped out the little people an awful lot, but instead of using chrome-plated AK-47's that never hit a single person, these heroes delivered cold, hard cash (minus taxes). Recall the episode where a large grocery chain was squeezing out the Mom & Pop market with low prices (gross!). In step the Lottery! guys and after half an hour of searching for the winning ticket, dodging bulldozers or something and other wacky hijinx, the mom & pop folks get their cash, minus taxes, and are able to compete with the chain store. Flush with cash, they can buy new urinal cakes for the employee bathroom and can afford to forego profit in exchange for their continued solvency. Whew! What an emotional rollercoaster.
In summation, Lottery! was a short-lived show that preyed upon the hopes and dreams of math-challenged, lotto-crazy Americans. Each week, viewers were reminded that free money is just a buck away, and that the IRS man is 'just doing his job' by taking ~35% of the winnings each episode.
Author's note: I was 10 years old in 1983. My memory isn't perfect, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why I watched this show. Hopefully the only people watching were 10 year olds, which would ensure that ratings, if not common sense, would bring about the demise of this vapid speedbump in our pop cultural history.