‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking episodes of TV ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit confined as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads (1984)
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I have viewed because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, 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 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It ceases. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
