‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ The most gripping television episodes ever
Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
The show kicks off with the Spooks team restricted during a training exercise about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As things progress, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as messages indicate a catastrophe taking place outside, and gets worse when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or permitting their exit and endangering the sterile MI5 environment. As this is Spooks, the outcome is expected.
Threads from 1984
The production was inexpensive but arguably the most terrifying series I have viewed due to its harsh realism and dismal official figures. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub from the programme which underscored the actuality 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 first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – was like an eruption.
Industry – White Mischief (2024)
Installment five in Industry’s third series caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly owing to the vast degree of the wanton self-destruction I saw. 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 on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, 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 deteriorates. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, with horrifying consequences 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 can cause you to stand for the full show, riddled with anxiety. It all ramps up once Jeremy and Mark find themselves needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it is possible!
The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals
No other viewing has been as gripping 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. Superb programming. Unsurpassed.
The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode
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 observes a woman in Islamic attire heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. Anxiety builds to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001
Buffy arrives at her residence to find her mum has passed away from natural reasons, which is the most unusual type of death in this supernatural show. The show features no musical score, a somber mood, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.
The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)
The concluding moment of the last installment 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 adversaries, actual and perceived, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team cooperating with the officials. Meadow parks. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Stare at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The door chimes, a person comes in. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It stops. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.
The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016
I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, savagely teasing his prey then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season