DVD Review: The Zeta Project Season One
Robert Goodman's Cartoon Spinoff From Warner Bros.' Batman Beyond
Mar 17, 2009
In 2001, Warner Bros. decided that they needed to shake things up in their Saturday morning cartoon programming. After a decade of darker fare like Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, network brass wanted a brighter, more child-friendly show that linked to the latter series. Enter The Zeta Project from Batman Beyond writer Robert Goodman, who billed it as "The Fugitive, but with robots."
Spun off from the Batman Beyond episode of the same name, it featured the titular robot, an infiltration and assassination synthoid that suddenly developed a conscience. Unfortunately, fans weren't ready for a less-Gothic Batman spinoff, and The Zeta Project only lasted two seasons.
The Zeta Project Starred Dietrich Bader, Julie Nathanson, Kurtwood Smith
Infiltration Unit Zeta (voiced by Dietrich Bader) was a synthoid originally programmed to perform covert assassinations for the NSA. However, upon discovering that his latest target was innocent, Zeta realized that taking human life was wrong.
Unfortunately, NSA agent Bennett (Kurtwood Smith, AKA "Red" Foreman from That 70's Show) decided that Zeta's change of heart was a sign that some terrorists had managed to reprogram the synthoid, and detailed a team to hunt down Zeta before he reached his "target." However, Zeta managed to befriend a plucky 15-year-old orphan named Rosalie "Ro" Rowen (Julie Nathanson), who helps him get in and out of jams.
What follows is a Fugitive-type series where Zeta (or Zi, as Ro calls him) hunts for the scientist who created him, and Ro seeks to connect with her family, with Agent Bennett hot on their trail.
As mentioned before, The Zeta Project was designed to be more "kid-friendly" than either Batman Beyond or Batman: TAS while keeping the look and feel of those beloved cartoons. It took a while for the series to find its feet writing-wise: some of the earlier episodes relied on deus ex machina moments to get the characters out of, or into, peril.
However, the scripts slowly got stronger as the writers developed the characters, and added new ones. One of the most interesting was Infiltration Unit 7, an improved synthoid assassin that became obsessed with destroying Zi.
DVD Extras
Given that this show never really went anywhere, there's not a lot of extras on this DVD. There's a "creators remember" featurette on Disc One which has Goodman, Nathanson and other people involved in the show and saying how awesome it was. Then there are several trailers for recent Warner Bros. shows, including Batman Beyond, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Wonder Woman.
Disc Two has the two episodes that crossed over with Batman Beyond: "The Zeta Project," which introduced the character – albeit with a very different look – and "Countdown" which featured both the current incarnation of Zi, plus Ro, in an adventure with the futuristic Batman, Terry McGinnis.
The Final Analysis
The Zeta Project was a decent show, but not a great one. Season One had its teething problems, but it showed the potential to develop into a compelling series. It's a shame it never really got the chance.
However, there's more good than bad in The Zeta Project Season One, and that's why it gets a 6/10.
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