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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

This installment starts with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (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 observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It ceases. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season