‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
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, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode 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 season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. 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. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
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 somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). 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
