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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents restricted during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen 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 featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on 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 it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, permeated with worry. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest 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 season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The final scene of the final episode of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season