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The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads from 1984

Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.

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 most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, 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? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It stops. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets 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