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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month 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 which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there 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 disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season