‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking episodes of TV you’ve seen

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the Spooks team locked down while undergoing a drill relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads was low budget but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed because of the stark reality and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield featured in the show that highlighted the truth and the offhand factual official statements that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying after three and a half decades.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The season one finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, pushing alongside Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – was like an eruption.

The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief

Installment five in Industry’s third series 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 wanton self-destruction I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – up to his eyeballs in debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, assuming hazardous chances with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, does tons of drugs and drink and experiences wins and losses, gets beaten to a pulp. Each instance you believe things cannot decline more, it deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes but he misses the opening, leading to terrible outcomes in the concluding part of the season. Absolutely had to relax following that!

The 2007 Peep Show episode Holiday

The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. 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 subsequently use the rest of the installment doubting if it can actually be more terrible than burning, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s personal secretary and escalates to a高潮 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. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and senses something is wrong. The bomb diffuser experts are called, board the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Suspense rises to a practically unendurable point, until yes, the vest is diffused.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the least common kind of passing in this mystical program. The show features no musical score, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

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 the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with yet another of his crew collaborating with the authorities. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It halts. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was extremely gripping after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (ended on a cliffhanger). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season