‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most gripping episodes of TV ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the intelligence unit restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that aired. Still absolutely terrifying decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, pushing alongside Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Installment five in Industry’s third series made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, taking such risks with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There is a chance for salvation at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, resulting in dreadful effects during the season’s final episode. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up 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 then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the passing (in a road incident) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 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 seek re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)
Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, 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 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 foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
