🔗 Share this article

The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, permeated with worry. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I kept late hours to see this show during the night. 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 (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season