‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the Spooks team locked down as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.
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 remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 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. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate 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
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The final scene of the final episode 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 enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was extremely gripping following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, 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 – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
