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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which underscored the actuality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Episode five of the third series of Industry caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, 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, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, 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 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. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It ceases. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season