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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds 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, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are from 2022

The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, 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 ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Installment five in Industry’s third series 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 professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. 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 crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.

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

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season