‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense TV episodes you’ve seen
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the intelligence unit confined during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 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 for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
No other viewing has been as gripping than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
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 installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
