‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most nerve-wracking television episodes ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that aired. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures 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 wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with 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 can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train with his young son, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, 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 if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look 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 glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
