‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ The most nerve-wracking episodes of TV ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The episode begins with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening decades on.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The season one finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode actually sitting tensely, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling which could lose his company millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!
The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday
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 throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the second season finale of 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 involving a Haitian emergency, and the effects of the withheld information about the president’s MS condition, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.
Bodyguard – episode one from 2018
The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to realize her mom has deceased due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this supernatural show. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007
The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sorrowfully notifies Carmela difficulties are arising with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks the vehicle. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It halts. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
