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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

This installment starts with the Spooks team locked down during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, 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 second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. 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 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