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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the Spooks team confined as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover 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 questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 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 reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard 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 senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens 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 watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It ceases. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season