‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense TV episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
This installment starts with the MI5 agents locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads (1984)
Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
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 episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy arrives at her residence 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 somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth 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 establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
