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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, 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 alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid 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 than the first time I watched 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 personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Superb programming. 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 notices a Muslim female going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It ceases. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season