‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 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 knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
