DVD Review – The Zeta Project Season 1

The Zeta Project: Season One

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Synopsis: Zeta, a robot programmed by the U.S. government to fight the countrys enemies using weaponry and a holographic self-projector, evolves to the point where he acquires both emotion and a conscience. As the value of human life became evident, he flees the government, who believes he has been reprogrammed by a foreign power. On the run, Zeta encounters Rosalie Ro Rowan, a street orphan who is wanted by the law herself. Join Zeta and Ro in The Zeta Project: The Complete First Season as they set out across America to find both Ros parents, and Zetas creator who can prove the robot is acting of his own free will.

Own it on DVD March 17th, 2009

“My name is Zeta. I was built as a weapon to destroy, but I will not destroy anymore.” So begins the humorous adventures of a former robotic assassin and his young female human partner, Ro.

Season one of The Zeta Projectestablishes the relationship between the shape shifting synthoid and the orphaned/runaway teenager. The first episode provides insight and does a good job and setting up the story for the many adventures that will unravel during the season. Zeta and Ro are in search of Zeta’s creators, who they hope will help them prove that he is no longer an assassin. Of course, along the way he encounters his former NSA (National Security Agency) employer, led by Agent Bennett, whom is in hot pursuit of capturing Zeta (who they think has been reprogrammed by terrorists he was supposed to destroy). Their journey takes them to futuristic cities and introduces many interesting characters, like the boy genius, Bucky. Included in this season, is a great episode that features Terry McGuiness from Batman Beyond. Overall, season one shows what is necessary for Zeta and Ro to prove his innocence and allow him to be free. Now, call me a sucker, but when it comes to anything Batman-related, I’m in hook, line, and sinker . Heck, I even saw and appreciated Mystery of the Batwoman for the unique profile of an unfamiliar character. After seeing Return of the Joker, I was more than willing to give The Zeta Project, another Batman Beyond spin-off, a chance.

Before I began the first season, I was expecting a show similar to the dark and gothic atmosphere that’s present in all Batman-related shows. Though I was surprised to see a bright and vibrant show, this only added to Zeta and Ro’s dynamic personalities. In fact, watching the show reminded me of one of my favorite childhood cartoon, Inspector Gadget. Well, that is if you combine a robot detective with another cyborg, like the Terminator.

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Adult animated shows for me to be action-packed with mature themes, which Zeta and company do not provide. However, it is an entertaining and refreshing alternative to help reminisce on childhood memories of Saturday mornings. I enjoyed watching season one and agree with the creators of the show, which aimed for their target audience of 6 to 11 year olds. Their approach is two-fold. First, portray a sharp contrast to the darkened gloominess of any animated Batman show. Second, have a young, strong and independent character like Ro, who can reach the younger female audiences. A smart move to bring something to the table that is female friendly and can broaden their audience. As for humor, Agent Bennett and his cohorts provide more than enough examples of simple mishaps. Agent West, one of Bennett’s second in command, is the typical dimwit who does not know his laser pointer from his plasma blaster! Furthermore, listening to Zeta and Ro try to explain 20th century relics at the end of each episode provided another example of comic relief.

It was nice to see Zeta’s origins on two bonus episodes of Batman Beyond, and that fleshed out the DVD set. In the first bonus episode (which is a bit darker than the season episodes), we get to see Zeta with a different body kit and without Ro. In addition, we see Zeta as a gun slinging and more violent synthoid, which while does not appeal to the demographic gives the character depth. It was an added bonus to get a more thorough explanation of the events that made Zeta reprogram himself and become a peace loving machine.

While I was not the demographic being targetted for this show, I still enjoyed watching it, both for the Batman Beyondangle as well as a stand alone show. I found myself chuckling on various occasions, which proves that I’m either easily amused, or it was genuinely a witty show. I’ll go with the latter and wish Zeta and Ro the best of luck in their future endeavors!

The Zeta Project Season 1 is a thumbs up for the children, especially if they are already fans of Batman Beyond.