‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
This installment starts with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As the situation develops, it seems an actual attack has occurred and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Viewed it recently after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid 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 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw 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 escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to run for another term. Wonderful television. Never bettered.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He observes a woman in Islamic attire 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 take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
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 rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It stops. 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 during the night. It was extremely gripping after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
