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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It ceases. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season