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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, 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 survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. 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 raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart sank 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 locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season