‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit confined as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; 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 decades on.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes 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 includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The concluding moment of the last installment 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 enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
