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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

This installment starts with the Spooks team confined as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season 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 observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season