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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The episode begins with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, 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 reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up 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 can be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. 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 about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season