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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry 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 professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling 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, is severely assaulted. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after 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’ll have you standing up the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season