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Show:		7.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		8.0
Extras:		7.0
Score:		7.0

Director(s):	Rob Davies
Writer(s):	Joseph Kuhr, Robert Goodman
Starring:	Diedrich Bader • Julie Nathanson • Kurtwood Smith • Lauren Tom • Michael Rosenbaum
Genre:	Action • Animation • Sci-Fi • Television
Website:	http://www.kidswb.com/
Release Date:	March 17, 2009

List Price:	DVD - $18.99
Amazon:

When I was the Saturday morning cartoon watching age the big attractions were the animated series of Spider-man, X-men and Batman. These were all classics. Of these three I still hold Batman: The Animated Series above for having writing that elevated it from mere children's programming to good, smart entertainment. I still watch the show on DVD to this day. By the time Batman Beyond rolled around I was long gone from the Saturday morning phase and probably saw one or two episodes at most. It was good, but nothing I was willing to plant myself down for on a regular basis.

A few years later I tuned back in to see what kids were watching on Saturday mornings and I came across The Zeta Project. At the time I was turned off by the sappy writing and "fluffy" animation style. The idea of a shape shifting robot and his wise-cracking partner on the run wasn't all the inspired. So I ignored it.

Zeta (Diedrich Bader) has denied his programming as an assassin and chosen to go on the run. Upon going AWOL, Zeta comes under the fire of Agent Bennett (Kurtwood Smith) and his strikeforce (members of which are voiced by Futurama's Lauren Tom and Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum). Along the way, Zeta befriends Ro (Julie Nathanson), a down on her luck youth, and the two set out to find the answers about their pasts. As one of the show's creators says - it's like The Fugitive with a killer robot.

The story arch is actually pretty well done revolving around Zeta retrieving a photograph of the people who built him and seeking them all out one by one to find out how he can convince his former employers that the conscience he's developed is legitimate. Every few episodes will deal with the overarching plotline while some will just be random adventures of Zeta and Ro as they run about helping folks. It's a good mixture and they develop not only Zeta and Ro but various members of Bennett's strikeforce.

As of now, I kind of wish I would have taken a bit more time to look into the Batman Beyond / The Zeta Project connection all those years ago.  In fact, I didn't even know The Zeta Project was a Batman Beyond spin-off. In all fairness, it was a minor character in just one episode - how was anyone supposed to know that's where the spin-off came from without avidly watching Batman Beyond? Furthermore, by changing the style of animation from Batman Beyond's dark, brooding downtown dystopia to a brighter, pastoral suburban setting it's no wonder the average viewer wouldn't have picked up on the connection. The whole situation is made even more interesting by the fact that the extra features on The Zeta Project: Season 1 tell us the overtly cartoonish nature of the show wasn't the original design.  Imagine if The Zeta Project would have maintained the style of its source material. That would've been one wicked cartoon. Instead, the creators were asked to dial it down in favor of the "new direction" the Kids WB was taking to get back in touch with the 6-8 audience. How unfortunate.

DVD Bonus Features

The single featurette "The Making of Zeta: How the Character and the Series Evolved" provides the aforementioned information about the original plans for the show. I watched the featurette after finishing the first disc and it's to this decision that I attribute enjoying the second half of the season even more. I was now looking at the plot points from the perspective of "okay, in the darker version - what would they have done differently?" It's really cool to hear about the initial planning - that feeling of excitement as they realized they could spin-off this seemingly minor character into a series. As the creator gushes on about his plans to make the show as badass as possible he begins alluding to the network and how they made him dial it back. It really is a shame as the concepts he talked about would've made an awesome teen-aimed show.

The second disc of The Zeta Project: Season 1 includes two episodes of Batman Beyond. The first episode, aptly named "Zeta", is where Zeta is initially introduced. The second episode "Countdown" ties The Zeta Project series back into the Batman Beyond world further down the road. Zeta's search brings him back to Gotham where he and Batman once again cross paths. The two episodes chosen are quite interesting as they show the beginning concept (where Zeta looks quite different) and the later tie-in where the animation style seems to take an odd compromise between Zeta's more cartoonish nature and the more angular style of Batman Beyond.

This one isn't really for the children, is it? The Zeta Project: Season 1 is for the people who grew up on it and should be somewhere in late high school or college. To them I say go ahead and pick this up - it's a pretty solid first season even if the writing was too cutesy for my tastes. What it lacks in dialogue it makes up for in plot and character development. Now, the trickier part of this audience is everyone like me, those who love Batman: The Animated Series and never realized this was coming from an off-shoot of that whole universe. Considering the voice cast on the show is surprisingly good - I'm surprised it's taken WB this long to bring it out. It's an interesting watch for that crowd and so at the very least I'd say rent it or just take a look. You might be surprised in what you find.