‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most intense TV episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, 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 was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I remained for the whole show actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw 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 escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy comes into her home to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, 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 ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It ceases. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
