‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the intelligence unit locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played 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.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to 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 had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling 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, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest 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 (2001)
No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. 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 overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. 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 glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
