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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

This installment starts with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects 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. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout 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 of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season