Robots are people, too. At least, that appears to be the premise of this Batman Beyond spin-off from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, The Zeta Project. The robot in question, Zeta, no longer wants to do what he was programmed for, and that doesn’t make his makers very happy.
So no he’s on the run, able to morph into a variety of human-shaped holograms to fool those who hunt him. Each episode is reminiscent of The Fugitive. A man…er, robot, who wants freedom at any cost.
Enter Zeta’s wise-cracking, orphaned, teen friend Ro, who becomes one of his only allies as he battles against those who wish to do him harm. All he wants is a life of peace, a life free from government interference, a human life.
While an interesting concept, The Zeta Project becomes tedious and as a result loses momentum after the first few episodes. I’m hard pressed to recommend this series unless you are a huge fan of Batman Beyond and really want to explore all aspects of the world it inhabits.
Bonus features include the two episodes of Batman Beyond that feature Zeta for the first time, and a featurette on the evolution of the character of Zeta and his resulting series.
The Zeta Project computes to a C. There are far better animated series for kids on DVD that are far more entertaining.