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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents restricted as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season