‘I truly required a break after that!’ The most gripping episodes of TV ever

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

This installment starts with the intelligence unit locked down while undergoing a drill 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 suspense builds 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, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or allowing them to leave and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. Given it’s Spooks, the outcome is expected.

Threads (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 often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Remaining completely frightening decades on.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly as a tense chapter. I remained for the whole show quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that allowed the Innies to remain active, while yelling at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she survives!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

Episode five of the third series of Industry caused my heart to pound. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit professionally and personally – up to his eyeballs in debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, taking such risks on a wager involving sterling that might cost his firm millions. Inevitably, he starts a gaming binge, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is brutally attacked. Every time you think things cannot decline more, it worsens. There is a chance for salvation as the installment closes but he squanders the opportunity, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Definitely needed a lie-down after that!

Peep Show – Holiday from 2007

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode includes such amounts of embarrassment that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover having to lie about the dog they accidentally run over 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

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense compared to my initial viewing the season two finale to The West Wing. The episode starts with the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and builds to a peak with a situation in Haiti, and the effects of the withheld information of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train with his young 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, board the train, and try to persuade the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this paranormal series. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s adversaries, actual and perceived, were all overcome. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate cooperating with the officials. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow is parking. Tony selects a song on the jukebox. Meadow parks her car. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My heart dropped from my mouth roughly 20 minutes after.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment during the night. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan discovering the characters, cruelly taunting his victims then not knowing who he killed (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The first-person perspective of the victim and the muted audio – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season