‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most intense TV episodes ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. 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 glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak 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. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
