‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most gripping TV episodes of all time
The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse
The show kicks off with the MI5 agents confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it seems an actual attack has occurred with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief from 2024
Episode five of the third series of Industry 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 saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. But the episode Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand for the full show, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The show opens with the fallout of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo involving a Haitian emergency, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, 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 final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
