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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

This installment starts with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and escalates 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 allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

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 sullen tone, 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 ultimate sequence of the series finale 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, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season