‘I truly required a break after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption 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!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched 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 reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. 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 from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. 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 ceases. 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 at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
