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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

This installment starts with the MI5 agents confined during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks 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 the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences 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. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover 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 wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season