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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen 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 from the programme which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion 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 is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched 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, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom 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 yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, 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 program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season