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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates 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 potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The season one finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season