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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the intelligence unit restricted as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed 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 arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). 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