🔗 Share this article

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it does. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate 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 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 private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I remained awake to view this installment at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, 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 muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season