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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the Spooks team locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up 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, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

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’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode 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 have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Wonderful television. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It ceases. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season