‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most gripping television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.
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 because of the sheer scale of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I have seen has been as tense compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
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 mystical program. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The concluding moment of the last installment 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 overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising 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 puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was so intense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (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
