🔗 Share this article

The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek 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 knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, 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 concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season