‘I truly required a break after that!’ Your most gripping episodes of TV of all time

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the intelligence unit restricted during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical weapon has been unleashed. The anxiety increases as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and escalates as the boss appears to be infected, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads from 1984

Threads was low budget but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that kept the Innies on overtime, while yelling at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and depart the area multiple times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani faces serious trouble in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures on a wager involving sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. Naturally, he embarks on a betting frenzy, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode 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

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it will make you rise for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize 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 wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw the season two finale to The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s private assistant and builds to a peak involving a Haitian emergency, and the fallout from the non-disclosure regarding the president’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode

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 observes a woman in Islamic attire going into the loo and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Anxiety builds to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The ultimate sequence of the series finale of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gaze 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. Continue. 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 in the early morning. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, savagely teasing his prey and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season