info-4857 I recently uncovered the full miniseries of Chimera and it brought back a whole host of memories for me. I remember watching it whilst on holiday in Wales in a caravan, in the middle of a field so it really did a number on me as a kid.When struggling film critic, Peter Carson's girlfriend is killed at her new job at a research facility in Northern England he finds the countryside in an uproar and a manhunt underway as the entire research staff was brutally murdered that night.The police are brought in to track down an unnamed killed and Peter finds out that the research facilities experimentations into genetic engineering created the monstrous hybrid responsible for the deaths and now it's on the loose in the Yorkshire Dales. Two young children from a local farm make themselves a new friend...Mr. Scarecrow.This was really brave television, following in the footsteps of the early eighties 'Day of the Triffids' and 'Threads'. It tackled issues of genetic engineering and human rights when relating to 'Hybrids' and was pretty ahead of it's time really.The acting is top notch and supersedes what is on British TV these days. It is quite amusing to see a whole string of minor parts played by now massive British celebrities; Lisa Tarbuck and Paul 'O' Grady not to mention fantastic established actors such as Kenneth Cranham and 'Rita, Sue and Bob too's' George Costigan.The series is spread over six parts and is just the right length. Having not seen the Monkey Boy edit, I cringe at what that butchered version has to offer.'Chad' the Chimera himself is genuinely freaky looking, especially when he shows his teeth. The shot of him reading the 'Rupert the Bear' children's book only to turn and snarl at the camera sends chills up my spine to this day. They spent money on the creature and it looks horrific, especially in it's black and red striped 'Freddy' sweater and dungarees (trust me it's unsettling.)British TV of this calibre and genre could be gone forever down to constant big budget American TV imports which is ashame because there is no place spookier than the British countryside.If you loved, 'Day of the Triffids' and if you're a British horror fan in general, you'll love this.Don't watch it alone.

paul006 I remember watching this when I was twelve, it's one of those programmes that I remember images from, even years later I got hold of the chopped 'monkey boy' version, which, while it contained some of the scenes I remember, is simply not as good as the original mini-series. After watching that, I got hold of the complete mini-series which is simply so much better, as other users have said.In the full series, characters like Tracy and the farmer and his wife have time to develop as proper characters before they encounter the title creature. 'Chad' himself is given more time to become a sympathetic Frankensteins monster style figure.After rereading the book and listening to the radio adaption, this is the best version and captures the book as a TV drama very well.Although the rapid change in plot and genre can jar a bit (monster hunt with soldiers, x-files style conspiracy sci-fi etc) that is also one of it's strengths as its never boring. The performances, direction and even creature effects all hold up. It's now up there for me with all the great drama's such as Quatermass.Watching the full version, my childhood nostalgia is justified. Get the full version from raretelevision.com and enjoy!

ChuckTurner MONKEY BOY is a 100-minute re-edited version of the 4-part, 208-minute CHIMERA. CHIMERA was adapted from his own novel by Stephen Gallagher, a prolific, widely-respected and internationally published UK author of fantasy and speculative fiction. It is based on first-hand research into scientific experiments on DNA manipulation, and in its original form, is one of the few pieces of genuine science-fiction writing to appear on British TV screens. CHIMERA has been transmitted several times in its original version on UK ITV. It is a fine, and very frightening piece of speculative drama, recently voted one of the 20 scariest UK TV dramas ever in a recent poll by the venerable UK listings magazine 'Radio Times'. MONKEY BOY is missing virtually the entire first hour of CHIMERA, which sets up a whole host of characters, in particular the scientists conducting the experiment combining human and chimpanzee DNA to develop a cross-species animal for further laboratory experiment and possible future use as slave labor or by the military. In a shock twist - never equalled in UK TV drama - at the end of the first hour-long episode, all but two of established characters are killed by the escaped mutant beast. The story then proceeds along an entirely new line, cross-cutting between the survivors' attempts to track down the animal, and the highly intelligent human-chimp (Chad) - a ferocious but increasingly sympathetic figure. CHIMERA articulates the debate about the use of animals in scientific experiment in a powerful, compulsive drama, which attracted many admiring reviews on its first appearance on ITV.The original has never been released on video or DVD. Sadly, MONKEY BOY remains all too available.

dregen-2 This is one of those films that will have you thinking. This isn't so much a horror film, more of a 'messing with nature' story. Throughout the film I couldn't help but feel sorry for Chad, the creature who is half man, half ape.What some people don't understand about this film is that it is not some cheap, English horror, but about the type of stuff that goes on without public knowledge. It tries to say that if you screw with nature, it will screw you in return. Chad is badly treated by the scientists who created him, so it isn't a wonder that he takes out some revenge on them.!!SPOILER!! The very end of the film points out a stupidity factor in science. When Chad is destroyed, you see the remaining scientists back in the lab, along with six, newly created chimeras that get to grow up in the same environment that Chad did. How clever.