‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the Spooks team restricted as part of a simulation about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character 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 senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. 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 due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “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 gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
