‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense television episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it does. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective 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 watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season