‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking television episodes you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The episode begins with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. 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 Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
