The Babysitter is a 1980 American made-for-television thriller film[1] directed by Peter Medak and starring Patty Duke Astin, William Shatner and Stephanie Zimbalist about a young girl hired as a live-in nanny who infiltrates and tries to destroy a suburban Seattle family.

The film originally premiered as The ABC Friday Night Movie on November 28, 1980.

The Benedicts' neighbor Doc Lindquist watches Joanna warily one day as she pushes Tara to exhaust herself swimming.

At a party, he overhears Joanna tell his grandson Scotty that she had lived in Seattle prior to working for the Benedicts.

A clerk at the counter refuses to give Doc the information because Joanna at 18, is past the age to be considered a child.

Mrs. Welford acknowledges that she fostered Joanna some years ago, and issues a strong warning to Doc to send her to someone else, and to stay away from her, or otherwise he will regret it.

Further, she considers the investigation by Doc to be a malicious attempt to spread gossip about a teenage girl.

As Tara pleads for Joanna to help Scotty, she silently sails the boat away from his floating body.

Doc urges the police to investigate Scotty's death, but there is no compelling evidence that it is anything other than an accident.

The next day, Joanna serves Tara and Jeff raw, whole beef tongue for dinner.

Meanwhile, Doc arrives at Joanna's last house to find the bodies of three people in the master bedroom wrapped in plastic.