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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

This installment starts with the intelligence unit restricted during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. 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 catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance 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 yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

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 when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. 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 looks up. Continue. It halts. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season