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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences 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 effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom 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. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

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