EDITOR’S NOTE: The Henderson Monster was on the CBS Late Movie on April 18, 1982.

Dr. Tom Henderson (Jason Miller) is in the midst of genetic engineering experiments with his ex-girlfriend and current assistant Dr. Louise Casimir (Christine Lahti) when the town’s new mayor, Frank Bellona (David Spielberg), bans their work. The problem is that Henderson is so close to a major breakthrough and doesn’t really have any ethics. There’s also the issue between Louise and her husband Pete (Stephen Collins), a drunk reporter given to drama any time there’s a society party.

This brings in a former Manhattan Project scientist Professor Leo Tedeschi (Nehemiah Persoff) who tries to bring in some oversight to what was, in 1980, the Wild West of genetic science.

Waris Hussein directed plenty of TV movies, including Copacabana and The Possession of Joel Delaney. The script is by Ernest Kinoy, who worked on big moments in TV like The Defenders and Roots.

If you see the title, you may think you’re watching a horror movie. The truth is, you’re nearly watching a stage play, a talk-heavy one, but I found myself fascinated by it. The science that the doctor is working on is common today, but the idea that someone would just flush a sample into the water supply is still scary.

You can watch this on YouTube.