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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and gets worse 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. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

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 exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw 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 crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The concluding moment of the last installment 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 adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season