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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The episode begins with the MI5 agents restricted during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)

I kept late hours to see this show during the night. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season