‘I truly required a break after that!’ Your most intense television episodes ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the MI5 agents locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse 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 potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It ceases. 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 during the night. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season