‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, 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. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It ceases. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season