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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, 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 from 1984

The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty 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. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw 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 personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective 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 program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

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

I kept late hours to see this show during the night. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season