‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most gripping TV episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit restricted during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The first season finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series 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 saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!
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 for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit 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 is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
