‘I truly required a break after that!’ The most gripping television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the Spooks team confined as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
The 1984 production Threads
The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations from unscrupulous lenders because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest 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 compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to run for another term. Superb programming. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective 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 program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
