‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most nerve-wracking episodes of TV you’ve seen

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The episode begins with the Spooks team locked down during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, his decision is predictable.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Saw it not long ago after seeing the first airing; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme 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 concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – buried in financial obligations to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption by the episode’s conclusion but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday contains such levels of cringe that it can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, 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 season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman going into the loo and knows something is off. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, 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 concluding moment of the last installment of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Think about the small elements.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart sank roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I kept late hours to see this show during the night. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season