‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most gripping episodes of TV of all time
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003
The show kicks off with the Spooks team locked down while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, supervised by two Home Office agents. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The tension ratchets up as incoming communications show a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. Given it’s Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.
The 1984 production Threads
Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched due to its harsh realism and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently having watched the original; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades.
Severance – The We We Are (2022)
The first season finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season made my pulse quicken. I had to pause and get up and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday from 2007
Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up as Jeremy and Mark discover being compelled to falsify about the canine they accidentally run over and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
No other viewing has been as gripping 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 builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one (2018)
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female heading to the toilet and knows something is off. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The final scene of the final episode of the series was extremely nerve-wracking. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It halts. My heart dropped from my mouth around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). 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