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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed 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.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Episode five of the third series of Industry caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season