‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking television episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the Spooks team locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The anxiety increases as incoming communications show a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series which underscored the actuality and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief
Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise for the full show, permeated with worry. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy arrives at her residence to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
