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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire entering the restroom and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. 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 family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season