"The Zeta Project" (2001) TV series 2001-2003

Creator:

Bob Goodman

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

27 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A robot rebels against its creators, refusing to kill, and goes on the run.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Android | Futuristic | Spin Off | Shape Shifter

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Julie Nathanson	...	Rosalie Rowan (26 episodes, 2001-2002)
Diedrich Bader	...	Zee / ... (13 episodes, 2001-2002)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (26 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Warner Bros. Animation

Quotes:

Zeta: My name is Zeta. I was built as a weapon to destroy, but I will not destroy anymore.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from "Batman Beyond" (1999)

About as trailblazing as it's unwatchable. The good news is, it's far from unwatchable...

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.)