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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

This installment starts with the Spooks team restricted while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

The 1984 production Threads

The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have viewed due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, 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 final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – 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, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit 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 (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 confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Excellent TV. Unequaled.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire 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. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding 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 – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.

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

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season