‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most gripping TV episodes you’ve seen
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The episode begins with the intelligence unit locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As the situation develops, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or allowing them to leave and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads (1984)
Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub featured in the show which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Remaining completely frightening 35 years later.
Severance – The We We Are from 2022
The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot in terms of gripping installments. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while shouting to the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – felt like an explosion.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling that might cost his firm millions. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, does tons of drugs and drink and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Absolutely had to relax following that!
Peep Show – Holiday (2007)
The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise the whole episode, riddled with anxiety. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over and later efforts to get rid of it. You subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it turns out to be!
The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)
Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense as when I first saw the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. 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 effects of the withheld information regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Wonderful television. Never bettered.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
The start of the British program Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, board the train, and attempt to convince the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.
The 2001 Buffy episode The Body
Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “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 there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muffled sounds – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season
