‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense TV episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on 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 wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize 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 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 second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Superb programming. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away 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 see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
