The Zeta Project – 10taffytime

A bounty hunter named Krick traps Zee in a candy factory, eager to bring him in for the reward. When Agent Lee gets caught in the middle, she becomes Krick’s bait to force Zeta to submit.

Media by Bird Boy
Review by Matt Zimmer

Early 21st Century Artifacts
Zee: …Yes, it’s chocolate. Chocolate hasn’t changed.
Ro: I know.
Zee: Then why are we looking at chocolate?
Ro: (dreamily) I like chocolate.

Voices:
Diedrich Bader as Zeta / Zee
Julie Nathanson as Ro
Ulysses Cuadra as Bucky
Stacy Keach as Roland Deflores
Grey Delisle as Dominique
Conchatta Ferrell as Dr. Greer
Javier Grajeda as Mendes
Pepe Serna as Stevedore
Marcelo Tubert as Lorne
 

While on the run from Agents West and Lee, Zeta gets tangled up with a sadistic bounty hunter.

West and Lee are chasing Zeta and Ro and they are getting closer to cornering them than ever before. A man who seems to be part cyborg wearing a purple coat rescues them and tells them to follow him to a candy factory. Once there he explains that his name is Krick, and that he’s a bounty hunter looking to turn in Zeta for a hefty reward. He helped them escape because HE wanted to be the one to bring Zeta in.
Zeta helps Ro escape the factory and hides from Krick. Unfortunately Lee has followed them inside and Krick quickly takes her hostage saying that if Zeta doesn’t turn himself over to him he will kill her. Lee asks what makes Krick think Zeta would risk saving her life and he informs her that he has been studying Zeta and that her people are wrong about him.

Meanwhile Ro tries to get back into the factory to help Zee but Krick has set up an electric force field to block her entrance. She surmises that the only way in is through the sewers and she reluctantly goes in after West accidentally knocks himself unconscious while trying to get through the barrier.

Zeta indeed DOES try to save Lee. When Krick comes around again after a sweep of the building he sees Lee still tied up. When Zeta distracts him with a robot koala mascot he looks away and the tied up "Lee" transforms into a very free Zeta. Zeta manages to knock Krick unconscious as West storms the building. Ro manages to trip him up while Lee arrests Krick.
She tells Zee and Ro to "stay put" while she unties West and says she may be gone for at least ten minutes. Zeta and Ro escape thanks to her and West takes solace in the fact that they almost got them.

This was probably one of the better episodes of the first season. A LOT of great character stuff as Lee learns exactly what lengths Zeta will go to to save human lives and effectively lets him and Ro go. Krick is enjoyably nastily voiced by Keith Szarabajka and marks the first truly cool villain in the series. (He is voiced by Richard Moll in his subsequent appearance). It was really neat seeing Zeta struggling to save himself AND Lee at the same time as the two goals were not mutually exclusive. West was a riot as always.

The animation for this episode was as usual for the first season a little bit shaky. Fortunately Curt Geda’s direction is so competent that you don’t really notice. Definitely a step down from Return of the
Joker but I imagine in anybody else’s hands the animation and direction on this episode would have been awful.

I also like the coda with one of the only truly funny voice over wonders of the technology of the twentieth century. Julie Nathanson’s "I LIKE chocolate," was very funny. You know, I feel the same way.

Story: ****
Animation: **1/2
Average: ***1/2