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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with 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!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit 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 than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It ceases. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season