Line #55 ParanoiaFuel/LiveActionTV


1	The following works have their own pages:
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3	* ''ParanoiaFuel/OneThousandWaysToDie''
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7	* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
8	** Outside of the main characters that survive for more than one season, nearly anybody can turn out to be TheMole, or be aiding the terrorist plot, even people in CTU or politicians in the White House.
9	** Given how regular the terrorist attacks on the country here, imagine being one of the people in the show living their mundane everyday lives. Only to be infected with a lethal virus outbreak that will kill you in hours in the most agonizing way possible. Or the plane you're on to have its route hijacked and crashed into another plane. Or for a nuke to go off and reduce you to ashes.
10	* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
11	** The Season 3 Inhumans arc contains a healthy dose of it: It's basically the ''Series/{{Alphas}}'' example but worse because not only could anyone around you turn out to have some terrifying superpower, YOU could turn to have some terrifying superpower and you wouldn't know until it manifested. This power may or may not be something you can control and it can be unlocked by something as mundane as taking the wrong fish oil supplement.
12	* ''Series/AlexRider2020'': [[spoiler: The duplicate of Alex, on soooo many fronts.]]
13	** [[spoiler: We first see him after Alex survives the explosion that kills Eva Stellenbosch. He's rescued and taken home, but is acting strangely; he's cold and distant towards Jack and Tom. Probably PTSD, right? Cut to the ruins of Point Blanc, where another Alex emerges from the rubble. Wait... did they rescue the right Alex?!]]
14	** [[spoiler: The first half of the final episode, where the duplicate is working to destroy Alex's life. He's wandering through Alex's house, wearing his clothes, talking to his loved ones who have no idea who he is. He easily lures Tom away somewhere to attack him and take him hostage.]]
15	** Ian Rider's death. From Alex's point of view, his only living relative has just suddenly died, and he's clearly being lied to about how it happened. When he investigates, he finds that his uncle has been lying to him all his life.
16	* ''Series/AirCrashInvestigation'': Rationally we know that air travel is the safest form of mass transportation. And yet there are just so many things that can go wrong. And it doesn't help that these things happen even despite some of the strictest safety regulations and training in any industry.
17	* ''Series/{{Alphas}}'': Is your cell-phone ringing in your pocket right now? The guy on the other end is waiting to brainwash you. See that autistic guy gesturing with his hands? He's secretly reading your texts, e-mails, and social media postings. The beautiful woman chatting you up on the bus? She's hypnotizing you right now and you don't even know it.
18	* On ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}'', anyone you know could be a Cylon android infiltrator. You could even be a Cylon and not know it. Unless you can confirm the existence of human parents (memories, photos, and data files are not enough), because they don't copy people. Just themselves. [[MesACrowd A lot]]. While you're snuggling up to your hubby, thousands of his duplicates could be working to destroy you.
19	** For that matter, the existence of the Head Six and Head Baltar entities. They could be watching you right now, and making snide comments.
20	* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
21	** Walter White's character exemplifies how someone with the proper motivation (in his case, a lung cancer diagnosis), can do a complete 180 in character and go into a highly self-destructive path. How the people who you see as very timid, normal, shy etc. could be wearing a mask to hide their true self, good or bad.
22	** Jack Welker and his gang of sociopathic Neo-Nazis are pretty much Paranoia Fuel made flesh. If you’re on their hitlist, no matter if it’s in prison or out, they will kill you. Even if you live far away and don’t even know them, they’ll be able to track you down and either kill you or threaten to come back if you talk…
23	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
24	** There was an episode called "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E18KilledByDeath Killed by Death]]", featuring a demon that a.) could only be seen by sick little kids and b.) ''kills them by sucking out their life through its eyes''.
25	** The episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E17NormalAgin Normal Again]]" from season Six. Buffy couldn't tell whether the world where she was in a mental institution or the world where she's the Slayer was the real one. The episode ends it ambiguously.
26	** Hansel and Gretel's power in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E11Gingerbread Gingerbread]]" is Paranoia Fuel itself.
27	** That person you've met online may be a demon that will kill you by offering love...
28	* ''{{Series/Chuck}}''. No joke. Not only does the government have a massive database of ''everything'', but it can be stored in a human brain. That guy on the subway who just looked at you funny? Better hope your parking tickets have all been paid. And this database can be put in ''your'' head through the simple act of opening an email from an old friend.
29	** This database will most likely kill a muggle like you.
30	* From ''Series/CriminalMinds'' - aside from the "anyone can be a serial killer" thing, there's also the [=CDC's=] ''virus vault''. Imagine the warehouse from ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', only instead of mysterious artifacts it's filled with bio-engineered viruses that can kill you quickly and/or horribly.
31	** Also, if you leave your door open at night for only as long as it takes to check the water valve, an arsonist can get into your house. Oh! And you know your webcam? If you've ever called customer service, someone could be watching you through it ''right now''.
32	*** Are you currently connected to the internet? Do you use social networking sites? Yeah, not only are you being stalked and filmed right now, the killer's using your wireless signal to do it. You're also going to be murdered.
33	*** A lot of webcams have a handy little light that tells you the camera is on, specifically because of stuff like this. In fact, it's how the team realizes what's going on. Riddle me this; if they know who you are, where you live, and what type of computer you have, what's to stop them from sneaking into your house and physically disabling that little light? Oh, and remember that the computer's microphone ''doesn't'' tell you when its operating.
34	** You would be extra careful in letting in a suspicious person into your house, whether they look nice, or offer special service; you'll never know that they turn out to be psycho who wants to kill you, or is installing hidden cameras around your house to spy on you and kill you in your sleep.
35	** If you have kids you would never take your eyes off them, because you never know that in a split second, someone would snatch them in a flash, the moment you look away.
36	** You see that quiet guy siting over the other side of the room you're in. You'll never know he turns out to be a [[AxCrazy paranoid psychopath]] waiting to attack in order to fulfill his delusions.
37	** Whatever you do, don't lick any envelopes, the [[AxCrazy paranoid psychopath]] might have put poison in the seal.
38	** This example has been spoilered for {{Squick}} and horrific reasons: [[spoiler:Remember kids, when at a volunteer event where food is served, don't eat any chili because it might have been made from a murder victim!]]
39	** Remember that nondescript stranger you briefly talked to once and then never saw again? No? Well, he remembers you and he's absolutely convinced that you are the love of his life. The fact that you have no recollection of ever meeting him and that you are terrified and moved across the country to get away from him, (and that you also already have a significant other) is irrelevant. This guy is not going to stop stalking you until you realize that the two of you are made for each other.
40	** The UNSUB from the episode "Normal" is made for this: Remember that guy you nearly got in a fender bender with on the freeway? He ''might'' be planning to gun you down later in order to compensate for his own lack of self-esteem. Pleasant dreams.
41	** Peter Lewis from the episode "Mr. Scratch" and a few sequel episodes is ''made'' of Paranoia Fuel. He likes to mess with people's perception and memory, first planting hallucinogenic drugs to make his victims see monsters and attack their own families, then brainwashing a random person into stating he's Tara's brother so he can lure the team into a trap, and finally making Hotch see his own worst fear, namely that the team are all being killed and he's powerless to help them.
42	* The season 2 ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Stalker". If you are nice [[spoiler:to the guy fixing your cable TV, he might decide that you're his best friend, move into your attic, watch you and videotape you through the ceiling,]] and ultimately try to kill you.
43	* ''Series/CSICyber'' '''runs''' on this fuel, the premise being the world of technology is out to get you. Use a baby cam? Your child will be kidnapped and sold online, said criminals will hack online gaming (which, by the way, is a hot bed for pedophiles) and threaten to kill a little boy or girl if the FBI continues investigating. This is the ''first'' episode. To the show's credit most of the show's characters are themselves internet users and avid gamers with the exception of [[BigGood Simon]] and even if he's not he wants to learn not just for the job but himself.
44	* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': The "Cabbie Killer" turned his cab into a mobile gas chamber, which virtually shut down the taxi industry in the city for weeks, while stretching the bus and subway lines to their limits.
45	* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': Not only could your dull as ditchwater friend be a monstrous SerialKiller, but almost everyone around you is a killer in one form or another. And the police are so inept that the aforementioned friend is probably the only thing standing between you and a hideous death.
46	* Any show along the lines of ''Diagnosis: Unknown'', which feature true stories of bizarre (and often fatal) diseases people get, often living for years without knowing they're inflicted. Imagine sitting for a nice, relaxing evening of watching television, only to hear something along the lines of "John Doe collapsed a month after developing a mild cough, which turned out to be an incurable disease which horribly kills the sufferer over the course of five years."
47	** This also happens when you get sick and try to research your own symptoms on medical websites. Oh sure, the mild headache you're having could just be caused by eyestrain, or it could be some ''hideous tumor trying to explode its way out of your skull!'' These sites are doubly traumatic if you happen to be a natural hypochondriac. Perhaps fittingly, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberchondria it's now a medical condition.]]
48	* ''The Doctors'' (essentially a talk show focusing on medical topics) will sometimes have topics like [[http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/home_page?init_type=Feature&init_id=3726 "Surprising Health Dangers You Never Knew"]]. The promo is ''loaded'' with high-octane Paranoia Fuel ("No one is safe... ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN") that is either [[{{Narm}} laughably over-the-top]] or just really creepy.
49	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' is well known for having ostensibly started off as a somewhat [[EdutainmentShow educational]] sci-fi series that would be fun for the whole family... but [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment instead provides prime examples of every kind of terror there is.]]
50	** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E1TerrorOfTheAutons "Terror of the Autons"]], plastic-based objects came to life, including killer plastic daffodils, a plastic chair suffocating a man, a plastic-coated telephone line strangling the Doctor and, of course, the truly infamous "troll doll" that, when it got warm, would come to life and kill people.
51	** The terror of the Autons is amplified in Series 5: In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens "The Pandorica Opens"]], [[spoiler:they have been so perfected that no-one, not even ''yourself'', can tell if you are an Auton until the LegionOfDoom decrees that it is time for your Auton programming to act, by which time it is too late...]]
52	** Season 8- Moffat seems to be determined to make you scared of everything. Ever. The monster under the bed just got a whole lot creepier...
53	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]] has statues that move behind your back. To quote the Doctor, "Your life could depend on this -- don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you could believe. DON'T turn your back, DON'T look away, and DON'T BLINK. Good luck." The episode ends with a montage strongly suggesting that the MonsterOfTheWeek is everywhere, and that the viewer isn't safe either. What makes it worse is that the episode establishes that the angels cannot move when someone is watching them. Watch the episode again, and notice the various times where an angel is stationary even though none of the characters are looking at it. Why is it not moving? [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou YOU are watching it!]]
54	** In Series 5, we learn that [[spoiler:anything that bears the image of a Weeping Angel becomes a Weeping Angel in and of itself. So, if you're watching a Weeping Angel through another medium, like, say, ''your television set'', then eventually it's going to crawl out and come after you... And looking into its eyes will ''burn it into your mind and start to MindRape you''. And since it's ''an image burned into your vision receptors,'' it will come out of your eyes!]]
55	** Creator/StevenMoffat essentially said he's done "there really is something under the bed" ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace"]]), he's done "there really is something wherever you aren't looking" ("Blink") and "there really is something in the darkness" ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]]).
56	** The Vashta Nerada. Turns out, there's a reason all sentient species have an instinctive fear of the dark. They're not in every shadow, but they could be in ''any'' shadow.
57	** Even once you can get the Vashta Nerada out of your head, the Library double episode also uses another reliable source of Paranoia Fuel: a particularly terrifying variant of the LotusEaterMachine. Donna is "saved" by the planet's computer, and her mind is placed in an artificial world. The frightening thing is how well Creator/StevenMoffat captures the idea of a "dream-world": Donna notices that she is at any destination as soon as she expresses a desire to go there, only for false memories of the journey to implant a moment later, just as happens in dreams, making the feeling very relatable. It gets worse when we are treated to her "waking up." Sounds like a good thing, right? But just because she knows about her situation doesn't mean she can escape - and now the children she thinks she's been raising for years ''disappear right in front of her'' because she can no longer retain the [[YourMindMakesItReal belief]] required to keep them in existence in her dream-world.
58	** The Silents. They look as creepy as hell, [[spoiler: may kill you [[ForTheEvulz for the lulz]], ''and you forget about them the moment you stop looking at them.'' It is helped by "the Day of the Moon," in scenes which seem to run continuously... and then you realise something has happened off-camera between frames. The camera hasn't shown everything... Or has it? Are you sure you haven't just forgotten?]] Ever watch footage of the moon landing? How many Silents have [[spoiler: you killed]]? Especially with the ArcWords "Silence will fall".
59	** Just the fact that someone as psychotic as the Master could show up and ''run for office'' in your country while hypnotizing you with your ''phone'' should scare you more than just a little bit.
60	** From [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour "The Eleventh Hour"]], we are given the "wonder" that is Prisoner Zero. [[spoiler:It could be right behind you, or hiding in your house for ''years'', and you'd never notice.]]
61	** Have a look at the walls in your bedroom. Or anywhere in your house. See that little crack? Yeah. Sweet dreams. Basically, one story arc involved a crack in Amy Pond's bedroom wall, which turned out to be a rift in the space-time continuum.
62	** Watch your step. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E8TheHungryEarth The ground might eat you]].
63	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]] has a monster that only [[Creator/VincentVanGogh one person]] can see? For a delightfully dark alternative interpretation, consider this; you are an unsuccessful and unstable artist. You are convinced a monster is stalking you. Then a man shows up who tells you ''there really is'' an invisible monster, and it is responsible for all the inexplicable murders that happened in your area. Then he says there are ''packs'' of these things in space and they randomly fall to Earth.
64	** The little girl in the mirror. Every mirror.
65	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersofMars "The Waters of Mars"]]. Water that will turn you into a martian zombie-thing with one drop; just one drop. Anyone thirsty?
66	** The Zygons. Classic shapeshifters who can take on the form of any living being. You'll never know if the person you're talking to is the real deal or a Zygon in disguise. Doesn't help that their default form is {{Gonk}} personified.
67	** The Shoals of Winter Harmony, parasitic alien brains that can take over any lifeform. While they do need to cut the skull of the victim open and remove the original brain and eyes belonging to their victim, they can do that really fast, as seen at the end of ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]'', where the leader of the operation takes over a UNIT soldier in a matter of seconds. They're also quite apt at hiding their scars. Creator/StevenMoffat absolutely loves flooding the minds of the viewers with paranoia fuel with sadistic glee.
68	** One episode involves an alien that feeds on faith. Any faith, from religious faith to UndyingLoyalty.
69	* ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'': Your entire life — everything you've done, everything you've experienced, everyone you know, have spoken to, or loved, cared about, or hated, all of your lifetime experiences and ambitions and beliefs and goals — in short, everything that makes you who you are — could be a complete fabrication, ''and you would not be able to tell.''
70	** And then we get to the other capabilities of the Dollhouse technology. For example, the very next phone call you receive could be [[spoiler: a weaponized signal that reprograms everyone who hears it into a psychotic killing machine.]] Or [[spoiler: the next burst of sound from a speaker could erase your personality and replace it with someone else's, or simply erase it period and leave you a barely functional doll.]] Or even worse, [[spoiler: you could suddenly end up in ''anyone's'' body without warning.]]
71	* The ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' episode "The Red Team", where a group of civilians figured out a way for terrorists to strike the US so hard that it would be a disaster for the whole nation (''way'' worse than 9/11). Oh, and someone is possibly trying to get them to sell that knowledge. And it takes Sherlock mere seconds to figure out what it is, and he's not exactly the most stable individual. What about someone who's as smart as Sherlock but without any moral qualms? Say, [[spoiler:Moriarty]]? The scariest part is they never mention exactly what sort of damage the country would sustain.
72	* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' used Harvey the neural clone to generate a deep chilling sense of paranoia in the second season: long story short, Crichton has a copy of the main villain inside his brain, and it can take control of his body at any moment- even switch off his vital functions if it feels like it. And it doesn't get any better when Crichton actually finds out, because Harvey simply erases all memory of the encounter and vanishes into the shadows.
73	-->'''Harvey:''' I won't trouble you again... until I need to. There's an exit to your left which will no doubt take you back to the surface of this commerce planet. I leave you to your shipmates, John. But rest assured, '''I'll be with you always. Keeping you safe.'''
74	** In season two, it's revealed that the Nebari infect their rebels and dissidents with an extremely communicable sexually transmitted disease before sending them out into the galaxy. It has no effects on its victims... until the Nebari Establishment are ready to invade en mass. Chiana claims to have been purged of it, but that doesn't stop anyone from shitting bricks when she showed up on Earth in the eighties and, well... It's implied that the Nebari don't ''need'' the STD to soften up its targets. They're a HigherTechSpecies with the power to rival the Peacekeeprs and the Scarrans. It's demonstrated when one of the most powerful ships in the Peacekeeper navy is destroyed by a run-of-the-mill Nebari transport. They don't have dedicated warships because they don't ''need'' them. But don't worry, you won't mind them in control of you, as they have perfected MoreThanMindControl techniques that will make you serve them in blissful ignorance.
75	* ''Two by two... hands of blue...'' That's River's MadnessMantra in ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. It refers to two men who are out to find her, who can monitor communications to find where she's been and will track her ''anywhere.'' In one episode, it's revealed that they have no problem using a harmless-looking device to kill anyone who's had any contact whatsoever with her. They just pull out what looks like a pen, and a minute later the man they were talking civilly to has ''bled to death through every orifice.'' And it's every bit as painful as it sounds.
76	* Certain episodes of ''Series/Goosebumps1995'' and ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark''. The intro sequence for ''Goosebumps'' is one example.
77	** ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' traumatized a generation of children, in particular making some afraid of the shower for years after seeing ''The Tale of the Dead Man's Float''.
78	** For a show that jumped into the Narm territory often, ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' went on record of having one of the most creepy introductions. It's a string of normally harmless objects, but with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jitg-3xbmKU blue filter and creepy music]], it made rowboats, swings, shuttered windows, skateboards, clowns, dolls, fans, and closed doors spooky. [[SchmuckBait Never watch that intro alone.]]
79	** Just one of the tie-in books is paranoia-inducing. Specifically, the "weird new neighbours" variety. It ends with [[spoiler:the entire town but the protagonist being turned into vampires, and she only being able to save them by the lead vampire not being able to tell time.]] It's a PG-version of ''Literature/SalemsLot''.
80	** "The Tale Of The Silver Sight." Up until that story, The Midnight Society has always been considered the real world; as it was just kids telling scary stories with no hints whatsoever on anything supernatural or suspenseful on their part. Then one day said society gets caught up in a scary story of their own. This could happen to you.
81	* Watch ''Series/{{House}}'' too much and you'll turn into a hypochondriac every time you so much as sneeze.
82	* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'', If your best friend is randomly called down to the principal's office, they are not coming back. They are getting kidnapped by all the teachers in the school, her existence erased, because she is the Chosen One.
83	** Does your Grandmother have a headache? An evil ghost is cursing her, and will kill her if you fail to fulfill your mission given by the ghost.
84	* Creator/InvestigationDiscovery channel. Anyone, including your neighbors, loved ones, or friends, could end up killing you. Living in a small town will not help you.
85	* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' thoroughly explores the idea of how terrifying it would be to have a StalkerWithACrush who also had mind control (or MindRape) powers after you. ''Anyone'' could be a hidden sleeper agent and you'll never know.
86	* ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'' has this. The Worm can become an almost perfect copy of anyone, are stronger than you, can spit goo on you to kill you, can slow down time and can only be detected by smell or by Tendou being Tendou. So, if you know Tendou, stay close to him as much as possible; he might turn you into a rider as a bonus.
87	** ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'' is actually ''worse''. The Phantoms are born when someone nears the DespairEventHorizon and proceeds to tear them apart from the inside out, bursting out of them and killing them. That's ''not'' the paranoia inducing part. That part is Phantoms can ''perfectly'' imitate the person they killed. Your trusted partner who you'd trust with your life? Your family member who you love and trust? Your best friend? Your boss? They could've been killed and replaced by a monster now seeking to drive you over the DespairEventHorizon and kill you to make another one.
88	** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' also has this way before the above two. Their version are monsters who exist in a parallel universe which can interact with ANY REFLECTIVE SURFACE, and will hunt you down until your're dead. No escape unless you have a advent deck, but [[BlessedWithSuck even that has its side effects, ]] or be the sister of the main big bad.
89	** ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' manages to pull off the trope as well, but in a different manner than it's predecessors; people are being infected with a mutating disease unlike any currently known, going comatose while slowly being wrapped in vines emerging from previously contracted wounds. There is very little information on the nature of this condition, making it nearly impossible to create a cure without first gaining some insight into its origins, which you've personally discovered. Too bad the local MegaCorp solely responsible for the economic boom of the city doesn't want the knowledge to go public, has already used you as a scapegoat to turn the the citizens against you, and is completely willing to either kill you or endanger your family to keep you subservient.
90	** ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' deals with an A.I. seeking to impose its vision of its {{utopia\|JustifiesTheMeans}} without human malice. But does it to a [[NothingIsScarier frightening extreme]]-- said A.I. has the power to put the entire world under [[BigBrotherIsWatching mass surveillance]] as a means of policing its idea of {{order\|IsNotGood}} to the point of putting active villainous organizations like Foundation X on its watchlist. This creates an environment of suspicion and threat, subjecting people who are not even engaged in any wrongdoing to unwanted scrutiny and allow said A.I. to upend their lives on the basis of [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill human freedom as the root of evil]].
91	* Original flavor ''Series/LawAndOrder'' usually deals with murders, which while horrible are usually over quickly. Now, watch ''[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order: SVU]]'' while you're a woman alone in the house and you'll be sleeping with a knife under your pillow just in case someone breaks into your house to torture and rape you.
92	** The ''SVU'' episode "Confrontation" ensures that you will never sleep soundly again. It opens with a rapist leaving the apartment of his most recent victim. When she calls one of the SVU detectives, we find out that this is not the first time this woman was raped by that man. She follows the guy down an alley where he looms suddenly out of the shadows and they fight. Then Detective Stabler shows up to a crime scene and finds her dead body. ...Did I mention this is only the pre-credits teaser?
93	** It's also bad if you have, or take care of, any kind of child.
94	** You think that's bad? In another ''SVU'' episode, "Perverted", Olivia Benson is framed for murder. How? By replacing the DNA in a blood sample with hers using a standard laboratory centrifuge! The only way the culprit is discovered is because of his poorly-timed [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter speech]]. But, to quote the lab technician responsible, "Any biology undergrad can do it. It's a whole new world. Guess your free ride is over." Or so you would think. The very next episode Olivia Benson proceeds to threaten a suspect (unsuccessfully) with ... [[FridgeHorror DNA evidence]].
95	*** Here's the worst part. That's ''absolutely'' TruthInTelevision. And it's [[http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/dna-samples-used-by-crime-labs-faked-in-research-lab.ars been done before]]. Have a nice day.
96	** One episode featured a woman who was raped by the same man multiple times, despite her having moved to a different state ''more than once'' to escape him. It doesn't matter how far she goes; he always catches up to her. By the time of the episode, she's basically become a shut-in. And the cherry on top? The reason he's still walking free is because ''none'' of her rape kits have been processed in the literal ''years'' since she's reported the attacks. This is horrifying TruthInTelevision, as is the fact that she now refuses to submit to a rape kit or report anymore. She's gone through so much trauma and gotten no significant help; why would ''this'' time be different?
97	** Yet another episode features a woman who was raped by a man who wore a mask, disguised his voice, and was never caught. Years later, she's recovered and been able to enter a happy marriage... with her rapist. She learns that for years, she has been married, living with, having sex with, and raising a ''child'' with the bastard. And she's not his only victim.
98	* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': Those nightmarish Temple Guards could be hiding virtually anywhere in the temple. Special mentions go to the Dark Forest and the Room of the Ancient Warriors where the Guards could be hidden in the rooms' props. Kids frequently screamed in terror finding them during the show's run.
99	* ''Series/{{Liquidation}}'': A merciless terrorist conspiracy planning a takeover of the city, with its members hiding among law-abiding people, is scary enough, but Antonina's tragic storyline is probably the most horrifying example. Imagine finding out that the nice and charming man you love, the father of your unborn child, is actually the head of the terrorist organization with Nazi ties that [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusts]] even the ordinary criminals and has already caused a bloodbath in the city during the recent months.
100	* ''Series/Millennium1996''. There is a secret organization devoted to stopping ''some'' vague, never specified threat. All we know about it is that it will be very, ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt very]]'' bad.
101	* A flavor of medical paranoia: Go watch ''Monsters Inside Me'' to meet amoebas that eat your brains and worms that live in your eyes. OrificeInvasion is horrific.
102	* The true-life ''Series/MysteryDiagnosis''! At least for House's victims the symptoms just suddenly "appeared" - imagine living with mysterious, disfiguring, incredibly painful and seemingly incurable symptoms ''that all your doctors dismiss'' for '''decades''' because the diseases that cause them are so rare that most doctors never even know they exist. Even worse, many of the diseases are autoimmune diseases -- a kind of illness where the immune system, which protects the body from disease, [[MinorInjuryOverreaction gets its programming scrambled and mistakes body parts and organ tissue for foreign pathogens]], causing it to attack those parts and tissues to horrifying effect. The thought that the system that protects you from disease could suddenly go haywire and start destroying your body in so many ways ought to keep you up for many nights.
103	** Oh, and sometimes the problem has no cure and you're stuck with painful lumps/disfigured body parts (unless they're amputated)/[[NightmareFuel your muscles turning into bone and slowly becoming paralyzed]] until you die.
104	* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' now has the MemeticMutation of "EVERYONE IS CORA"... because, at some point, she ''has actually posed as everyone''. The paranoia fuel is working out if it's ''actually'' the character... or her in disguise.
105	** Occasionally, Rumple gets in on the act, but that's much less common.
106	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' is teaming with this. [[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S1E7Obit "O.B.I.T"]] features machines that can track down and monitor anyone, and has this chilling MotiveRant by the villain:
107	-->'''Lomax''': The machines are everywhere! Oh you'll find them all, you're a zealous people. And you'll make a great show of smashing a few of them. But for every one you destroy, ''hundreds'' of others will be built. And they will demoralize you, break your spirits, create such rifts and tensions in your society that no one will be able to repair them! Oh, you're a savage, despairing planet, and when we come here to live, you friendless, demoralized flotsam will fall without even a single shot being fired. Senator, enjoy the few years left you. There is no answer. You're all of the same dark persuasion! You demand, ''insist'', on knowing every private thought and hunger of everyone: Your families, your neighbors, ''everyone'', but yourselves.
108	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
109	** "Free Spirit" is a prime example of this, as a [[TheDisembodied disembodied person]] with a grudge goes after the scientists responsible for his state by [[BodySurf possessing all sorts of people]] to off them one by one, his victims never being able to know where the danger might come from. In the end he reveals [[spoiler:that he framed the protagonist for several murders by taking control of her body, then visits her in prison to assure her that he'll be tormenting her for some time to come.]]
110	** The ending voiceover of "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S1E10CornerOfTheEye Corner Of The Eye]]" suggests that beings such as aliens in the episode may now be walking among us, and even be someone you know...
111	* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''
112	** You are being watched. There is a government surveillance system that sees everything. Every security camera, cell phone, webcam, and everything you do on the internet are all being monitored. If you ever find out anything about they try and kill you. Just try and walk anywhere around security cameras without thinking about this.
113	** Season 4 kicks it up to eleven with Samaritan. Samaritan has all the capabilities of the Machine, but unlike the Machine which [[BenevolentAI is protecting the world for humanity]], Samaritan is determined to remake the world in its image. And it's winning.
114	* ''{{Series/Pretty Little Liars}}'': Imagine being stalked by someone who knows all of your dirty little secrets, someone who is apparently watching your every move. Most likely someone you know, someone you trust. If that's not scary enough, imagine identifying the perpetrator and having them locked away ... only for the stalking to continue. Yep, there's more of them out there. Oh, and this new one makes a point of letting you know that they're more dangerous and depraved than the first. Sleep tight.
115	* ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' will change the way you look at:
116	** Assignment 1 - nursery rhymes
117	** Assignment 3 - pillows
118	** Assignment 4 - photographs
119	* Played for laughs on a recent episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in a fake insurance company commercial called "Thomas Peepers Insurance".
120	* Elaine's (and by extension Kramer and Uncle Leo's) subplot in the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Package" can count, especially the ending. Think of it this way: you get a rash that goes from mildly irritating to incredibly painful, and the doctors refuse to help you, [[WeAreEverywhere no matter which office you go to]]. The phone call Elaine got in the middle of the night didn't help either. Plus the doctors' motivation for refusing them treatment seems to be nothing more than [[ItAmusedMe petty revenge]]. [[FictionIsntFair Doesn't that go against the Hippocratic Oath]]?
121	* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
122	** Cecile the ball sings a song called "I'm Gonna Get to You", about how she's going to find her way to the viewer no matter what they do. She's not a villain but it's still pretty creepy.
123	** The Lead Away PSA meant to teach kids about lead. They teach kids that there's a very dangerous substance that could get inside their bodies and could be anywhere.
124	--->''Lead could be hiding anywhere/On the window in the dust, it might be there.''
125	** The episode where Luis hurts his back can be Paranoia Fuel to kids who don't know that throwing out one's back is rare for kids, because of how ''suddenly'' it happened and he couldn't even move one bit without making pain noises.
126	* Creator/StevenMoffat strikes again with the BBC series ''Series/{{Sherlock}}''.
127	** Anybody want to watch "[[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink A Study in Pink]]" while waiting for a cab? Cab driving is the perfect job for a serial killer; people will jump into your arms without a thought of caution, you can drive them to a quiet and isolated place without them noticing, and no one will ever connect your face to the crime because no one ever bothers to look at a Cabbie's face. Jeff even wonders why "more of us don't branch out." Feel like taking a cab now? And that's just the beginning. And to top it all, this is actually TruthInTelevision in several countries. Yeah, when you're visiting a friend in another country and he tells you to not take a cab, ''don't''.
128	** "[[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall The Reichenbach Fall]]"... What if everything you read in newspapers and watch on television and accept as accurate is as ''far from the truth as you can get?'' [[spoiler:How many people watching the episode were horrified at themselves for starting to doubt who Sherlock really was?]]
129	* ''Series/{{Six Feet Under}}'' features many unexpected or unusual deaths that will make you see everything as a potential way to kill you.
130	* The final scene from ''Series/TheSopranos''. Including the suspicious guys we can see during the restaurant scene (an Italian-American looking man walks into the bathroom, [[Film/TheGodfather does not he remind you of something?]]). The scariest part is that we are not even sure what will happen after the SmashToBlack. Also doubles with NightmareFuel.
131	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
132	** The [[ShapeShifter Changelings]] of the Dominion infiltrating TheFederation. The fact that they were able to push a galaxy-spanning, peaceful society to the brink of collapse with something like ''four'' moles sowing suspicion and mistrust is ''deeply'' unsettling. Plus the [[WhamLine classic line]] from Odo:
133	--->"He said, 'it's too late; [[WeAreEverywhere we're everywhere]]'."
134	** Section 31 is a secret organisation that randomly interrogates and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslights]] people they think might be suspect. The Cardassians have a similar organisation, the Obsidian Order.
135	** In one episode, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Miles O'Brien]] was a clone all along and ''he himself didn't know''.
136	** In "Equilibrium", Dax suddenly knows how to play a certain tune. She and her friends initially think it's just beginner's luck or a memory of an old childhood song, but it turns out to be because of suppressed memories of a past life.
137	* ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': Ash Tyler is revealed to have been [[spoiler:a genetically-altered Klingon]] all along without even knowing.
138	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
139	** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose [[DystopianEdict seemingly-utopian]] peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and are administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this (e.g. due to being a visitor from another planet and [[YouDidntAsk not being informed of this specific custom until you ask]]). Wesley learns all of this the hard way.
140	** "Schisms", in which crew members are abducted by aliens from another universe in their sleep and subjected to bizarre experiments. This is even more terrifying than it sounds because a) episodes are usually shown late at night right before bedtime, and b) [[spoiler: some unknown thing manages to escape into our universe before the rift is closed. This cliffhanger was never resolved, so that thing could still be out there!]]
141	** One line from "Ensign Ro" mentions that some protesters sabotaged the community replicators (a replicator in ''Star Trek'' is a usually innocuous device that is used to create objects on a molecular level, usually food) and this led to several people being hospitalized.
142	** In "The Game", Riker brings a game that's like a video game but you wear it on your head. However, it turns out that there are many things wrong with it: it shuts down the part of your brain that makes you able to use logic, and it also brainwashes you into wanting to play the game all the time and force everybody you know to play it.
143	** "Coming of Age" establishes that with the entrance exam for Starfleet Academy, ''anything'' could be a test, so you could score a low grade because you didn't know that it was a test, even if you would've gotten it right had you known.
144	** In "The Survivors", Deanna Troi has music psychically put into her brain to block out her [[TheEmpath empathic powers]]. What makes it paranoia fuel is that initially she thought the music was just an EarWorm and the inability to concentrate was just because she needed a nap.
145	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
146	** At the beginning, ''two'' characters turned out to be EvilAllAlong: Seska, who was [[TheMole a Cardassian spy]] (and who was the ex-girlfriend of Chakotay and best friend of B'Elanna), and Suder, who was a sociopath.
147	** In "Scientific Method" some aliens experiment on the ''Voyager'' crew. They're invisible, and give the crew symptoms that could initially be mistaken for stress or SleepDeprivation. Tom and B'Elanna even start to wonder if they only fell in love because of those aliens.
148	** "In The Flesh" involves [[AlienAmongUs Species 8472 impersonating humans and planning to infiltrate Starfleet Academy]]. They don't go through with this plan, but still.
149	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': You or someone you love could become possessed by a demon, who will use your body and let your mind be unconscious (if they're feeling generous), or alternatively, ''keep you awake to watch the horrible things they do while you're unable to move your body''. And don't hope for help from the CouncilOfAngels and/or the CelestialBureaucracy--they couldn't care less about you.
150	** Try looking in a mirror and ''not'' expecting to see Bloody Mary standing behind you.
151	* ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'', especially the OpeningNarration: "Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit... ''a darkside''."
152	** More specifically, how about the Grither? It will hunt you down and kill you for "taking its name in vain", as it hates to be talked about. The only way to stop it is for someone to tell its story and finish before it arrives... and it already killed seemingly the only people who know the story -- although they thought they had made it up -- before they could finish. Just never, ever say "Grither" and you should be safe.
153	* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''. There might just be a time-traveling, implacable killing machine hiding inside the walls, floors, or ceiling of your house, right now, with a weapon, waiting to burst out and kill you. Or, if not in your house, in someone else's. Or inside any other building. Waiting. Waiting...
154	** In a more general sense, anyone from the future can send someone or something back to kill you or enslave you because of things you didn't do yet. You can be [[{{Squick}} your own grandpa]]. Your future self may be [[MagnificentBastard ruthless bastard]], either good or evil, and send your father to make you, then get killed, or your future self may be sent by the bad army to do things that will frame you and land you in prison.
155	** If you live in the specific Terminator world, if you happen to see John or company do things that would alert future machines on their space-time whereabouts, they are forced to kill you. If they spare you by some miracle, you will still be visited by a Terminator in a few hours, milked for all you know through ColdBloodedTorture, might hold and give information that will endanger the future of mankind, ''[[FailureIsTheOnlyOption and then killed anyway]]''.
156	** As ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'''s Sheldon pointed out, if Skynet were real, an excellent strategy would be for it to send Terminators to pose as actors that have played Terminators. Such as the Governor of California, for instance. The one who is frequently rumoured to be taking a shot at the White House sometime soon.
157	* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' managed to pull this off with TheFairFolk in "Small Worlds." They exist outside of time, so they can never truly be tracked down. They can kill invisibly. They control the weather, and can possibly drown the world if they're ever angry enough. Every so often, they get attached to a human, and will do anything to get her to "play" with them. By the way, shouldn't your kid be back from school by now? How would you feel if you found out that your elected government is perfectly willing to let 10% of its children be forcibly taken from their parents and handed over to aliens to be kept in an AndIMustScream state, so their bodies can be pumped for substances that get said aliens high? Also, how do you know that any person around you isn't affiliated with [[spoiler:the Families]]?
158	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' ''delights'' in this. Your friend could be a mannequin! Technology is alive! Aliens are screwing with you [[ForTheEvulz for the lolz]]! Death is stalking you ([[DontFearTheReaper but can also be kind]])! Dead loved ones will call your children from ''beyond the grave!''
159	** There's one episode which uses High Octane levels of this. A woman has credit card debts and is warned by a representative of the company in a CreepyMonotone to pay her debts... or else. She ignores it, and soon, things around the house begin disappearing, without other people noticing. Then the family pet. Then ''their children''! [[spoiler: Then her husband. Then her.]]
160	* The third episode of ''Series/UnnaturalHistory'' gave us the idea of Soviet/Russian sleeper agents in America. It doesn't seem like Paranoia Fuel at first, ''until news of actual Russian spies in the US came shortly after.''
161	* ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'', which most certainly could make you suspicious of EVERYONE in your neighborhood.
162	* ''Series/{{V\|2009}}'': This trope looks to be the remake's bread and butter. Not only do the humans have to worry about anyone being a Visitor, but the Visitors have to worry about anyone being part of the Resistance, even other Vs. It gets even worse in "It's Only yhe Beginning". You know that swine flu cure that everyone's been so desperate to get? There might be V chemicals in there that will eventually turn you into a mummified, desiccated corpse. And there's no way to tell if the chemicals are present or not. See also the Vs tagging humans.
163	* Cheerfully lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/TheWestWing'', where the following exchange takes place when President Bartlett, (who is AfraidOfNeedles) goes to get a flu shot.
164	-->'''President Bartlet:''' I don't need a flu shot.\
165	'''Navy Doctor:''' You do need a flu shot.\
166	'''Bartlet:''' How do I know this isn't the start of a military coup? I want the Secret Service in here right away.\
167	'''Navy Doctor:''' In the event of a military coup, sir, what makes you think the Secret Service is gonna be on ''your'' side?\
168	''beat''\
169	'''Bartlet:''' Now that's a thought that's gonna fester.
170	* In ''Series/TheWorstWitch'', one episode involves a video game that seems like just a fun, popular game, but then it turns out that the reason it's popular is because it's ''literally addictive''. And even the ''teachers'', were hooked on it, up to and including H.B., who's both in quite a high position of authority (second only to Miss Cackle) and usually a no-nonsense SternTeacher who wouldn't even ''play'' video games. What makes this paranoia fuel is that there was no indication that it wasn't just a normal game.
171	* ''Series/TheXFiles''. A good 80% of all '' The X-Files'' episodes involved Paranoia Fuel of some sort.
172	** Watching the episode "Wetwired" at two o'clock in the morning may cause general paranoia.
173	** "F. Emasculata" and "Brand X" for your corporate conspiracies, for example.
174	** The man who starts turning into a Chupacabra in the El Mundo Gira episode. Everything you touch starts turning to mold, ''including people'', and you don't know what's happening or why your sweat is suddenly turning yellow.
175	** One of the show's taglines was "Trust No One." ''There was a reason for that.''
176	** In-Universe Example: For Scully, big-time. Scully had spent a good part of the series denying the existence of paranormal phenomenon and a goverment conspiracy, for that matter. She knew she was rendered infertile from her abduction in season two. Season eight rolls around, only to find her pregnant. The question then becomes: how? And why? And what is she carrying? Is it a human child, or an experiment to create an alien/human hybrid? Cases like "Per Manum" and "Essence" don't help, and she becomes almost Mulder-like at times with her paranoia.
177	** "Pusher": Not a grotesque monster but a totally ordinary looking man who can ''talk'' people into killing themselves, or their loved ones, or do just about anything he wants them to do. Not helped because it's only a few steps up from what some illusionists (like Creator/DerrenBrown for example) can really do to suggestible or vulnerable people.

Context ParanoiaFuel / LiveActionTV