‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most intense TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at 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
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, 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. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand 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 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 turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.
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 observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, 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 clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
