‘I truly required a break after that!’ The most gripping television episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, 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 disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which underscored the actuality 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 first season finale of Severance ranks highly among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. Redemption seems possible by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies 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 occupy the remainder of the episode doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure about the president’s MS condition, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience 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 show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “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 problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth
I kept late hours to see this show in the early morning. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
