‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most gripping episodes of TV ever

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The episode begins with the MI5 agents restricted while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield from the programme which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt from unscrupulous lenders owing to his uncontrollable gaming, taking such risks with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is brutally attacked. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, resulting in dreadful effects in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they unintentionally hit 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 turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the second season finale of The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, 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 most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, 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 program was incredibly anxious. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season