The Zeta Project

i've seen this show a few times by accident, and I have to say, I was well impressed. It's not deep by any means, but its more thoughtful than a lot of cartoons. Ro and Zeta have...chemistry? (Can you say that about a cartoon? Its almost what Roswell could have been. Very good.

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.)

"The Zeta Project" is one of my favorite TV shows--animated or otherwise--on the air right now, and is further proof that WB produces the best animated series of any other studio right now. Zeta has been featured in "Batman Beyond" before, but this series is a bit lighter in tone. But don't be deceived; action, humor and even a truly sincere moment here and there abound in "Zeta". As with all the WB's shows, there is nice animation, cool music, and a voice cast that is right on the money. "Zeta" is the most fun you can have watching a cartoon these days.

This is such a great watch. This still holds up today with the tech representation and visions of the future. Loved the overarching story. Good scripts drove it along nicely. The characters were original authentic rich and full of depth. They were great. The animation still looks and feels detailed and fantastic. Really enjoyed every single episode. Scandalous that there were only 2 seasons. This had legs to go on for a lot longer and it is a real shame it did not as I would like to have seen more. I can definitely see myself watching it all over again at some point in the not to distant future.

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.