‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, 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. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 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 owing to the vast degree of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, 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. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment 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 than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The concluding moment of the last installment of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
