‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking television episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
This installment starts with the Spooks team restricted during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies 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 questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and senses something is wrong. 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 practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
