🔗 Share this article

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

This installment starts with the MI5 agents locked down while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise the whole episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate 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 compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

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 observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank 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 locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season