‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.
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 saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
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 spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
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 – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth 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 after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
