‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking television episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the Spooks team restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a disaster happening externally, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads (1984)
Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry caused my heart to pound. 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 is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances 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 alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise 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 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
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience 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 series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It ceases. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
