‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping 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 personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. 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 (2007)
The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season