The Zeta Project

Not the greatest in animated series, but certainly on of the better ones. For a spin off, Zeta presented strong characters and good action. The plot lines fell a little short in comparison to Batman and Batman Beyond, but it was still a great show. The character of Ro was an especially good touch because it was interesting to see how Zeta, who went from dealing with an unusual teen in Batman Beyond, got to see the world through Ro's eyes presenting a little less violent view. Zee had a great deal of heat, like most shows about robots with personalities, but there was something else that is hard to pinpoint. Something that made me remember this show six years later. I think that if it had been allowed to last passed one season it would have reached it's full potential. In other words - I miss this show.

I love this show a lot. It is one of the best shows in the DC animated Universe. I like the idea of how a robot realizes that he doesn't want to kill anymore. Also I like the plot line where the authorities think that he has been reprogrammed by the enemies but he wasn't and the surprising twist was that he chose not to kill anymore. I like the idea of Zeta being aware and knowing what is right and wrong in the process. Another aspect also for Zeta alongside his sidekick Ro was to find the his creator as they are again pursued by the authorities. My favorite model of Zeta was the one they used in Batman Beyond where his head is shaped as a the letter U rather than the typical head he has in his own spin off show. They should have used the u shaped head in the show because it looked lot more distinguishing. The only thing I was disappointed with the show was that it didn't end properly since there was a lot of unresolved plots that weren't finished. Pretty much the story ended in a cliffhanger. I also like how they made the connection in Justice League Unlimited where the Justice league members actually use the the Zeta Prototype for there practice simulation in the battle.

A spinoff from "Batman Beyond" (or "Batman Of The Future" as it's known outside North America for some reason - happily, it's not necessary to be familiar with the show to watch this), "The Zeta Project" follows a sentient robot on the run from the NSA (National Security Agency), because he wishes to not be a robotic assassin any more (he's discovered that one of the victims he was assigned to kill was innocent, and that meant any of them could have been innocent). Using holographic disguises - mostly as a Brendan Fraser lookalike - he's joined in the search for the man who played the biggest role in his creation by another runaway, a teenage girl called Rosalie (Zeta calls her Ro, she calls him Zee)...

This premise will be familiar to anyone who remembers "Short Circuit" (and its sequel), Gene Roddenberry's pilot "The Questor Tapes" and "The Iron Giant," among others (and fans of "Robocop" and "Futurama" (home of Bender) note the respective voices of Kurtwood Smith and Lauren "Amy Wong of the Mars Wongs" Tom as two of the agents in pursuit); but fortunately that means it's pretty interesting when we're not dealing with the "Fugitive"-type aspects of the plot. Even more fortunately, we're in WB-cartoon territory - they're usually reliable when it comes to above-average animation for TV, and "The Zeta Project" is no exception, being often exciting stuff and with some good characters on both sides of the fence (particularly the likeable heroes and the eager but often hotheaded Agent West).

Sky One started showing this around the same time "Alias," "Enterprise" (both also on Sky) and "Smallville" (on Channel 4) began in the UK. Though the least hyped, this is the only one I really watch. (Incidentally, my little sister's called Zeta, though pronounced Zee-ta not Zay-ta. As far as I know, she isn't a robot, nor can she change appearance.)

As a sci-fi series, The Zeta Project takes up the ever interesting question if robots will acquire emotions of their own. In here the government infiltration unit known as Zeta doesn't want to do what it was initially programmed to, search and destroy.

He's at a constant run from government agents Bennet, Raj and West, the former being hell-bent on capturing him because of his belief in the dangerous nature of such robots.

Zeta teams up with an orphan girl on his quest to find his maker to prove him not dangerous. This girl named Ro takes advantage of Zeta's abilities while she traches him to navigate among humans. They play off each other pretty well with Ro's snarky sarcasm and Zeta's shaky understanding of human behaviour giving us some good laughs.

As a spin-off of Batman Beyond the duo also comes across Neo-Gotham and Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis in one episode which is nice.

While the animation can be rather flat with little shadow on the characters and a cliff-hanger ending without a satifying conclusion to the overall goal of the series, it is a worthy entry to the DCAU.

"The Zeta Project" is a wonderful cartoon show that I believe is very good for children of all ages. I have to admit that I'm probably a little partial because I love stories like the ones that are covered in this cartoon. The stories always keep me interested and I definitely care about what happens to the main characters. I give a high recommendation for "The Zeta Project" to anyone who likes this type of show or any of the other shows on Kids WB. It does a great job of combining action, humor, and a few sweet moments that keep the show exciting and interesting.