‘I truly required a break after that!’ The most nerve-wracking TV episodes ever

The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse

The episode begins with the MI5 agents restricted as part of a simulation concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The anxiety increases as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. This being Spooks, the outcome is expected.

The 1984 production Threads

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed due to its harsh realism and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details which was broadcast. 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, pushing alongside Dylan to hold the switches that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I was compelled to halt and rise and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, 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, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Every time you think the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand throughout the entire episode, permeated with worry. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode 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 than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and builds to a peak with a crisis in Haiti, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, along with affirmation of his plan to seek re-election. Excellent TV. Never bettered.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Suspense rises to an almost unbearable degree, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy comes into her home 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 gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks her car. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Keep going. It halts. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims 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