‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most intense television episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The episode begins with the Spooks team locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The tension ratchets up 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, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads (1984)
The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show 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 screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures 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, gets beaten to a pulp. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it does. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it turns out to 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 personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade 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 comes into her home 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 sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze 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 looks up. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.
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 locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
