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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit confined as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I remained for the whole show 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 yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo 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 pursue re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

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 enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season