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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

This installment starts with the MI5 agents confined during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, 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, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on 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 realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It ceases. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season