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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid 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 compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” 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 the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

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

I kept late hours to see this show during the night. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season