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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. 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 yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – 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 faces serious trouble professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, 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 muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season