‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense TV episodes you’ve seen

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

This installment starts with the MI5 agents locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it worsens. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, 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 second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Keep going. It halts. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season