‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most gripping TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill 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 agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 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 remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders 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 alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo 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 seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, get on 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.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. 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 parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It halts. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season