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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub 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 from 2022

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, permeated with worry. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It ceases. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). 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