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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

This installment starts with the Spooks team locked down during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting 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. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. 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 Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season