‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most intense television episodes ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the Spooks team confined during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.
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 literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Episode five of the third series of Industry 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 observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand for the full show, permeated with worry. 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 subsequently use the rest of the installment 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 as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment at 2am. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
