‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The episode begins with the Spooks team restricted while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew 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 from 2024
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. 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 can cause you to stand for the full show, permeated with worry. The tension escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, 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 show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Superb programming. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 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 paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony looks up. Continue. It halts. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
