I watch almost all of the DC animated series and movies. Selectively though. I mostly just watch the highest rated movies and episodes. Apparently this series is based on an episode of Batman Beyond that I didn't see.
Originally I skipped The Zeta Project because it's not very highly rated. Nor is it something that is talked about a lot. And seeing as it was seemingly cancelled after two seasons I naturally just skipped it.
For some reason that I don't really know myself I gave it a shot anyway and I'm glad I did.
Even though I like watching animated series, it's mostly just easy entertainment. Something I watch while eating or just put on the background while doing household chores. I'm never really invested in the story much and I feel no connection to the characters. Definitely not superhero's as it's just not a believable concept. Since it's DC I expected Zeta to be kind of like a superhero as well. I was wrong.
It's almost an anti-superhero story as Zeta has actually removed his own weapons. We can all read the synopsis but Zeta Project is about a robot names Zeta, made to be a killing machine by the government, that doesn't want to kill or destroy anymore. Off course government agents are always on his, and his accomplice's, tail while they try to find a way of convincing the government that he's harmless.
Yes it's scifi and obviously there's always going to be suspension of disbelief. It is still a cartoon and it's aimed at kids, but I can somewhat believe in these characters. They are not just one dimensional characters. They could be real people. I find myself actually rooting for "Zee" and "Ro".
It still has moments of humor, action, drama etc... everything you'd want from a cartoon but with people you can actually care about putting this one a step above other animated shows.
A few plot-holes/goofs bring the show down. One in particular. Zeta can change appearance to basically any human being he wants. The flaw in the design being that he doesn't actually change shape. He creates a hologram. Meaning that if he touches anything he'd be exposed as solid matter would go through the hologram, exposing the illusion, right? That actually makes for an interesting dynamic as the government agents sometimes start poking people to see if they aren't a hologram.
This concept could create tension throughout because as constantly has to remain vigilant of not touching or grabbing anything while in disguise. Problem is that it's mostly ignored. Zeta constantly touches people, grabs stuff like normal without exposing the hologram. That's actually a huge goof as it's such an integral part of the whole presentation. Zeta constantly changes appearance. It's part of every single episode. I don't understand this oversight at all and I can only attribute it to laziness of the writers. I can't see any other reason.
The same laziness applies to another pet peeve. Somewhat related. In the first episodes whenever Zeta changes appearance he always has to change to robot form before changing to another human appearance. This also, could be an interesting dynamic. It could create difficulties for Zeta as he needs a second longer to change appearance. However, in some episodes this is also dropped. Suddenly he can change appearance from one human form to the next without hiccups.
Another example: Zeta says in one of the first episodes that he disabled his own weapons because he doesn't want to destroy/kill. That's why he doesn't use any weapons, not even to get out of a jam. In episode 9 he suddenly uses a some type of (laser)gun. Not only that but he drops a heavy bell on his opponents head. What happened to not wanting to hurt anyone? Just because it's a cartoon show doesn't mean the laws of physics and biology shouldn't exist. If you're telling the story of a killer robot who doesn't want to hurt anyone than stick to that story.
It is so frustrating for there to such huge gaps in continuity. It would have been an easy thing to do right.
Originally I skipped The Zeta Project because it's not very highly rated. Nor is it something that is talked about a lot. And seeing as it was seemingly cancelled after two seasons I naturally just skipped it.
For some reason that I don't really know myself I gave it a shot anyway and I'm glad I did.
Even though I like watching animated series, it's mostly just easy entertainment. Something I watch while eating or just put on the background while doing household chores. I'm never really invested in the story much and I feel no connection to the characters. Definitely not superhero's as it's just not a believable concept. Since it's DC I expected Zeta to be kind of like a superhero as well. I was wrong.
It's almost an anti-superhero story as Zeta has actually removed his own weapons. We can all read the synopsis but Zeta Project is about a robot names Zeta, made to be a killing machine by the government, that doesn't want to kill or destroy anymore. Off course government agents are always on his, and his accomplice's, tail while they try to find a way of convincing the government that he's harmless.
Yes it's scifi and obviously there's always going to be suspension of disbelief. It is still a cartoon and it's aimed at kids, but I can somewhat believe in these characters. They are not just one dimensional characters. They could be real people. I find myself actually rooting for "Zee" and "Ro".
It still has moments of humor, action, drama etc... everything you'd want from a cartoon but with people you can actually care about putting this one a step above other animated shows.
A few plot-holes/goofs bring the show down. One in particular. Zeta can change appearance to basically any human being he wants. The flaw in the design being that he doesn't actually change shape. He creates a hologram. Meaning that if he touches anything he'd be exposed as solid matter would go through the hologram, exposing the illusion, right? That actually makes for an interesting dynamic as the government agents sometimes start poking people to see if they aren't a hologram.
This concept could create tension throughout because as constantly has to remain vigilant of not touching or grabbing anything while in disguise. Problem is that it's mostly ignored. Zeta constantly touches people, grabs stuff like normal without exposing the hologram. That's actually a huge goof as it's such an integral part of the whole presentation. Zeta constantly changes appearance. It's part of every single episode. I don't understand this oversight at all and I can only attribute it to laziness of the writers. I can't see any other reason.
The same laziness applies to another pet peeve. Somewhat related. In the first episodes whenever Zeta changes appearance he always has to change to robot form before changing to another human appearance. This also, could be an interesting dynamic. It could create difficulties for Zeta as he needs a second longer to change appearance. However, in some episodes this is also dropped. Suddenly he can change appearance from one human form to the next without hiccups.
Another example: Zeta says in one of the first episodes that he disabled his own weapons because he doesn't want to destroy/kill. That's why he doesn't use any weapons, not even to get out of a jam. In episode 9 he suddenly uses a some type of (laser)gun. Not only that but he drops a heavy bell on his opponents head. What happened to not wanting to hurt anyone? Just because it's a cartoon show doesn't mean the laws of physics and biology shouldn't exist. If you're telling the story of a killer robot who doesn't want to hurt anyone than stick to that story.
It is so frustrating for there to such huge gaps in continuity. It would have been an easy thing to do right.