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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the MI5 agents restricted during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew 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 concluding高潮 – “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 needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). 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