| Director: | Lawrence Gordon Clark |
| Producer: | Nick Gillott |
| Executive Producer: | Brenda Reid Archie Tait |
| Starring: | John Lynch Christine Kavanagh Kenneth Cranham |
| Theme Music Composer: | "Róisín Dubh" by Chameleon |
| Composer: | Nigel Hess |
| Cinematography: | Ken Westbury |
| Editor: | Alan Pattillo |
| Company: | Zenith Entertainment Anglia Films |
| Network: | ITV AETN |
| Last Aired: | (UK) (US) |
| Runtime: | 4x60 minutes (TV version) 104 minutes (Movie version) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Chimera is a British science-fiction horror drama made by Zenith Productions and Anglia Films for ITV in 1991. It is based on the 1982 novel of the same name about genetic engineering by Stephen Gallagher. Gallagher had previously adapted the novel as a 90 minute dramatised audio drama for BBC Radio 4 in 1985.[1] The theme music of the TV mini-series was "Roisin Dubh" by Nigel Hess and Chameleon.
Although set in rural Cumbria, filming took place in North Yorkshire with the village of Kettlewell providing the outdoor scenes. The setting for The Jenner Clinic was the nearby Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre, a Grade II listed Georgian country house owned by the National Trust. Studio filming took place at Shepperton Studios in Surrey.[2]
The series was later re-edited for release in the United States, and retitled Monkey Boy.
The story focuses upon Chad, a young half-boy, half-chimp, developed by scientists as part of a top secret government operation. However, Chad becomes aggressive, strong and uncontrollable, with the inability to communicate on a human level, escaping from the lab, brutally killing several nurses and scientists in the process. The hunt is on to find and capture Chad before the public encounters this strange and dangerous creation. During Chad's escape, he wrestles with his natural child tendencies after befriending some local children and trying to control his wild primal inner instincts.
The series originally aired in Britain on ITV in July 1991. In the United States, it aired on A&E Television Networks.[3]
A heavily edited version of the series was released on VHS, with the title Monkey Boy, by Prism Entertainment.[4]
The complete series was released on DVD in the United Kingdom by Revelation Films Ltd in July 2010.[5]
The series was run for the first time on Forces TV on the 19 and 20 February 2022.