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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the Spooks team restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. 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 will make you rise the whole episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program 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 heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering 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 watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.

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

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season