‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling 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. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves 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 doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The ultimate sequence of the series finale 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
