‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most intense episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the Spooks team locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, 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 disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.
Threads (1984)
The production was inexpensive but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode literally perched nervously, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume it can’t get any worse, it does. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and subsequent attempts to dispose of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense 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 escalates to a高潮 with a situation in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 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 adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It stops. My heart sank about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)
I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
