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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, 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. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand for the full show, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit 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 is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). 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