🔗 Share this article ‘I absolutely had to rest after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking TV episodes of all time Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003 The episode begins with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, overseen by two Home Office officials. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack 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 two Home Office officials attempt to leave, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable. The 1984 production Threads Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I have viewed because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago having watched the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the programme which emphasised the reality and the offhand factual official statements which was broadcast. Remaining completely frightening after three and a half decades. Severance – The We We Are (2022) The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode actually sitting tensely, straining every sinew with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while screaming at the Innies to get their truths out there. The concluding高潮 – “she survives!” – was like an eruption. The 2024 Industry episode White Mischief Episode five of the third series of Industry had my heart racing. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times because of the sheer scale of the reckless self-harm I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt from unscrupulous lenders due to his addictive betting, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which may result in huge losses for his employer. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, uses copious drugs and alcohol and experiences wins and losses, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode yet he wastes the chance, resulting in dreadful effects in the concluding part of the season. Definitely needed a lie-down after that! Peep Show – Holiday (2007) The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it’ll have you standing up throughout the entire episode, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it can be! The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals No other viewing has been as gripping as when I first saw the second season finale of The West Wing. The show opens with the fallout 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 of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unsurpassed. Bodyguard – episode one (2018) The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train accompanied by his small son, is personally a top tense installment. He notices a Muslim female going into the loo 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. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed. The 2001 Buffy episode The Body Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The installment lacks any soundtrack, a somber mood, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s shock of discovering 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 viewed it when it first premiered, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow finds a parking spot. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with yet another of his crew working with the government. Meadow parks. Strange people enter the restaurant. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow finds a spot. The bell rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony glances upward. Keep going. It ceases. My heart sank about 20 minutes later. The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016) I stayed up to watch this episode during the night. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the subdued noises – ugh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season