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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, 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 gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath 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 of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It halts. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season