‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most intense TV episodes ever
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit confined as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and escalates as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The concluding高潮 – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances on a wager involving sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, 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 second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series 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 heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens 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 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. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It ceases. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season