‘I truly required a break after that!’ Your most intense television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The episode begins with the Spooks team restricted while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Excellent TV. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It stops. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, 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 – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
