‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
This installment starts with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, 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, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, 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 show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. 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 vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
