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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. 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 then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode 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 vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season