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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. 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. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It stops. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

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

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season