"Remote Control" is the third episode of The Zeta Project. It first aired on February 10, 2001. An eleven-year-old science whiz named Bucky uses a transmitter to take control of Zeta, and it's up to Ro to outsmart him into letting Zeta go.
Plot[]
Act One[]
Zeta attempts to disguise himself as a relative of Eli Selig.
In hopes of finding a lead on Eli Selig, Ro and Zee visit the Sorben Institute, a scientific establishment he had helped co-found. While trying to track down the institutes current head of affairs, Dr. Donald Tannor, the security guard escorting the duo resorts to calling around on his walkie talkie as Tannor's vid-com device seems to be disabled. Heading towards Tannor's office, Ro reminds Zee of their plan. "Remember, just say you're a long lost relative or something. Like, Selig's your uncle." Thinking it would be helpful to look like the scientist, Zeta holomorphs into Selig before adjusting his appearance to be a bit younger. Ro explains this approach won't work due to the fact the security guard has already seen the synthoid's previous disguise and implores him to quickly switch back.
Finally approaching Dr. Tannor's office, the security guard has trouble prying open the door. In fact, all electronics in the room, from window shutters to light fixtures to computers, seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. Just then Michaels and Dr. Willow drag Bucky Buenaventura, the source of the problems, into the room. "Three cleaning bots are vacuuming my lab now, bumping the tables and spoiling the calibrations," complains Dr. Willow. Tannor demands that the child prodigy knock off his behavior, and the other doctors leave as their superior begins to reprimand him. Bucky stands his ground and tells Tannor he was only trying to prove to him that the inductance controller was in working condition. Unimpressed with Bucky's response, Tannor reminds him that he's banned from the Innovation Awards due to this kind of behavior. The child scientist doesn't believe Tannor's reasoning, and calling him an imbecile, suggests that the reason for the ban is because of some plot the doctor is scheming. Livid at the suggestion, Tannor demands Bucky repeats himself. Instead, Zee interjects, using his ability to play back audio. Freaking out Tannor and piquing Bucky's curiosity, Zeta is quickly pulled aside by Ro, who reminds him she'd told him not to do that. Attempting to change the subject, Ro brushes it off as a great impression and shifts towards their line of questions about Dr. Selig.
Unfortunately, the information that Zee and Ro are able to gather from the Sorben Institute's files seems to be scarce due to the fact that Dr. Selig hadn't worked there in years. Zeta apologizes to his companion for having drug her so far out on a dead end, but she shrugs it off and lets him make it up to her by renting the two a room at a ritzy hotel for the night. Excited to be sleeping in a real bed, Ro asks her friend what he thinks, but Zee tells her he'd be just as comfortable in the car. Ro hits the lights to get ready to sleep, and Zeta drops his holographic form to prepare for shutdown as well. To Ro's annoyance though, Zeta's power cells draw hydrogen from the air as a means of recharging, which causes a loud snoring sound. Trying to block out the sound, Ro covers both of her ears with pillows.
Meanwhile, at the Sorben Institute, Bucky analyzes security footage of Zee and Ro, still suspicious of his uncanny voice-mimicry. Using footage from the Sorben Institute, Bucky is able to match Zeta with footage from his previous escapades at Dyron Aerospace. From there, he's able to put together a full photo of Zee's face and finds a federal research warrant while reverse searching the picture, revealing the synthoid's hidden identity of Infiltration Unit Zeta. Realizing he could use the inductance controller to have a synthoid of his own, Bucky goes to work hacking the NSA database to download Zeta's schematics.
Zeta, under the control of Bucky, opens the hotel window to exit.
Back in the hotel room, Ro is sleeping peacefully, having covered Zeta with pillows and blankets to block out his snoring. Suddenly, the synthoid snaps back to consciousness. Having lost control of his motor functions, Zee crashes into an object somewhere in the room, waking Ro from her slumber. He attempts to explain as much of the situation as he can, but before either of them can make sense of it, Zee is made to walk out of a window, and slide down a pole to the ground. Moments after heading into the hotel's garage, Ro catches up to her friend, who is driving away in their car. Unable to ask anything more than where he's going, Zeta responds "east, I think" before being swept away entirely. Zeta finally arrives to Bucky's room and is stunned to see that the child scientist is the one pulling the strings.
Act Two[]
The kid genius looks Zeta over, commenting on his titanium alloy exterior and Cornblatt-axiom construction. To his dismay though, Zee is without all of his "cool weapons", such as the plasma rifle and the long-range grenade launcher. While Bucky is distracted reading his specs, Zeta attempt to leave, but the child returns to the inductance controller and begins manipulating Zee's hologram system, turning the synthoid into a boxer, a ballerina, and Bucky himself. Seeing his warrant on the room's computer monitor, Zeta asks Bucky what his plans for him are. Bucky assures Zeta that he won't be handed to the NSA, but instead is going to be used to disrupt whatever Tannor's plans are for the Innovation Awards. He plans to throw a wrench into the proceedings and considers Zeta the perfect tool to do it.
Donald Tannor takes the stage at the 8th Annual Innovation Awards to take credit for inventing the inductance controller.
The next day, Ro finally catches up and manages to track the pair, stepping through a Zeta-shaped hole in the fence, to the 8th Annual Innovation Awards. At the awards, Bucky is using Zeta's holographic disguises to wreak chaos, by destroying Dr. Willow's entry. Zeta complains that he doesn't want to be involved, but Bucky sends him after Michaels anyway. Ro searches the convention floor for her friend, but unable to locate him, asks Dr. Tannor if he's seen Zee around. Tannor blows her off, and directs her towards the award show's security, but just then Bucky makes Zeta, disguised as Michaels, destroy the scientist's invention. Watching the chaos unfold, Ro catches Bucky in the act of using the Inductance controller. Confirming the disguised Michaels to be her friend, Ro chases the child prodigy down. At that very moment, Dr. Tannor takes the stage to present "his" new invention: the inductance controller. Enraged by having his invention stolen, Bucky sends Zeta out onto the award show floor after the scientist, swinging at him with his buzzsaws activated.
Act Three[]
Zeta makes his plea for Bucky to allow him to live as he chooses.
As the synthoid tears his way through the panicked crowd, Dr. Tannor begins to complain, believing one of his colleagues is trying to upstage his time to shine. His gripes are cut short as Zeta arrives on stage, swinging his buzzsaws at the doctor's head. Hoping to keep Zeta's name clear, Rosalie Rowan jumps to Tannor's rescue, swiftly escorting him backstage and filling him in on what's going on. Offended at the suggestion that he's getting what's coming to him, Tannor insists that the Inductance controller is his invention. Meanwhile, Bucky's rampage roars on as the boy controls Zeta to continue his chase. Zeta pleads with Bucky not to force him to hurt anybody, but the child insists he's no more than the search and destroy programming he was born with.
The chase continues to a dead end when Tannor and Ro find themselves backed against a locked door. Doctor Tannor fumbles with a key card trying to unlock the door as Ro attempts to use his copy of the Inductance controller to hold off Bucky and Zeta's approach. Ro asks the doctor how the controller works, and he admits that he's no expert. As he fumbles to relay basic instructions, Tannor is cut off and commanded to focus on opening the door. Now with a locked door between the two parties, Bucky switches his weapon of choice to Zeta's laser cutter. With a little bit of breathing room between them and their pursuers, Ro tries to formulate a plan for the two to split up in search of the schematics. Before Ro can even finish her sentence, Tannor flees.
In Bucky's room, Ro plugs Dr. Tannor's Inductance controller into Bucky's computer to load Zeta's schematics. Elsewhere, Bucky and Zeta finally bust through the door. Using the inductance controller to tap into the institute's security cameras, Bucky finds Tannor heading for his office. Commanding the synthoid forward, the two continue their chase. Realizing he's being followed, Tannor attempts to lock himself in his office and hide beneath the desk. This doesn't shake Bucky, as he controls Zeta forward and makes him blast the doctor's hiding spot. Tannor attempts to lie his way back on Bucky's good side, but to no avail. Zeta begs him to stop, but Bucky refuses to until Tannor admits to his wrongs. This leads to Dr. Tannor admitting to not only stealing Bucky's invention, but all of his ideas. On a live feed in front of all of his colleagues, Tannor admits to being a parasite.
The apology's come too late, and Bucky plans to see the fraud gets all he deserves. But as Zeta's laser draws close to Dr. Tannor, Bucky loses control. Entering the room with an inductance controller of her own, Ro demands Bucky let go of her friend. The two battle for control of Zee, Ro imploring the child scientist that Zee is as much a person as either of them and shouldn't be treated this way. Bucky refuses to believe this, insisting Zeta is nothing more than a toy without feelings. Challenging Bucky's assertion, Ro questions his intelligence. Bucky retorts that he's smarter than her but is made a fool when Ro completely forfeits control, causing Zeta to land on the child and break his controller.
Now free, Zeta offers a helping hand to Tannor, still shaken by the chase. Bucky admits that he wasn't actually going to hurt Tannor, but only wanted to scare him as he figured it was the only way to get him to confess. Taking offense, Zeta reactivates his buzzsaws, and advances on Bucky, repeating the statement incredulously. Bucky swears to never to do this again. Hearing this, Zeta admits that he is smart. Donning his "Zee" hologram, he tells him to stay that way.
As Ro and Zee return to their car, Ro remarks that she'd forgotten Zee had it in him to be a tough guy. He responds that it felt like the right time , and Ro asks what they're going to do with the remaining inductance controller. Crushing the invention, Zeta throws it to the roadside, and the two drive off leaving the destroyed controller tumbling in the wind.
This episodes Ground Wire gag
Ground Wire Gag[]
Ro: Why are you showing me these things? |
Continuity[]
- Zeta continues his search for Eli Selig, kicked off in "His Maker's Name" when Nelson Arroyo gave the synthoid the name of Project Zeta's lead scientist.
- After Zee mimics Bucky's voice, Ro panickedly reminds him of the conversation they had when she did that to him during "The Accomplice".
- Zeta and Ro have acquired a new car after having ditched the one they stole in "The Accomplice" during the events of "Change of Heart".
- Ro invokes "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" yet again dubbing Zeta "tin man". She did so previously during the Ground Wire gag segment from "Change of Heart".
- During his analysis of security footage, Bucky checks footage from the Sorben Institute against footage from Zee's visit to Dyron Aerospace, which was seen in "His Maker's Name".
- When Bucky inspects Zeta, he comes to find all of his weapons are missing. This is because the synthoid threw them out in his debut episode, Batman Beyond's "Zeta".
- Ro's family is alluded to yet again when Dr. Tannor asks if her parents know where she is, and she bitterly calls that the "wrong question". Over the course of the show, this familial relationship becomes a subplot spanning episodes "Hicksburg", "Ro's Reunion", and "On the Wire".
Background information[]
Home video releases[]
Production notes[]
- Michaels' futuristic streamlined jet engine, and the hotel Zee and Ro stay at were designed by Paul Rivoche.[1][2]
A visible nod to California Institute of the Arts classroom A113 in Bucky Buenaventura's bedroom at the Sorben Institute.
Trivia[]
- There is an A113 easter egg in Bucky's bedroom.
- This episode, as well as "The Next Gen", both display their titles on adjacent parts of the same background art of the Sorben Institute.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Zeta / Zee | Diedrich Bader |
| Rosalie "Ro" Rowan | Julie Nathanson |
| Bucky Buenaventura | Ulysses Cuadra |
| Dr. Donald Tannor | Stuart Pankin |
| Dr. Willow | Sandra Horse |
| Michaels | John Rubinow |
| Event Judge | Earl Boen |
| Event Official | Steve McGowan |
Quotes[]
Bucky: Face it, Zeta. You were built to do one thing: Search and destroy. Or is that two things? Whatever, try not to fight it. |
- ↑ "Prop Design" by Paul Rivoche - Rocket Fiction on Blog Spot
- ↑ "Hotel Design" by Paul Rivoche - Rocket Fiction on Blog Spot (June 20, 2007)