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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

This installment starts with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.

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 wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders 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, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

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 rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens 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 series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, 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? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is 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 in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season