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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

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 spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves 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 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season