‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, 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 endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long 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. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 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 spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate 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 West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, 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 rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It ceases. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
