🔗 Share this article

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the MI5 agents locked down while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates 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 allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, his decision is predictable.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Installment five in Industry’s third series 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 observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with 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 turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire entering the restroom and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and endeavor to coax 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 from 2001

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 show features no musical score, a sullen tone, 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 series was extremely nerve-wracking. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season