‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most gripping TV episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America
The ultimate sequence of the series finale 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 vanquished. 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 difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
