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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the MI5 agents restricted as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

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. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. 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 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell 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 incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season