‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most gripping episodes of TV ever

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the Spooks team locked down during a training exercise concerning a fictional terrorist event, overseen by two Home Office officials. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as incoming communications show a disaster happening externally, and gets worse as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the two Home Office officials attempt to leave, compelling the character played by Matthew Macfadyen to choose between firing at them or permitting their exit and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but one of the most frightening programmes I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and dismal official figures. Viewed it recently following the initial broadcast; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the glib matter-of-fact official information which was broadcast. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance has to be right up there as a tense chapter. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, straining every sinew with Dylan to maintain his grip on the controls that sustained the Innies’ extended time, while screaming at the Innies to disclose their facts. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief from 2024

The fifth episode of Industry’s third season caused my heart to pound. I needed to stop and stand and leave the room several times due to the immense extent of the wanton self-destruction I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit at work and home – overwhelmed by debt to loan sharks owing to his uncontrollable gaming, engaging in dangerous ventures with a bet on sterling which may result in huge losses for his employer. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and wins, loses, wins, is severely assaulted. Each instance you believe the situation cannot deteriorate further, it worsens. Redemption seems possible as the installment closes but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences during the season’s final episode. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. However, the Holiday episode contains such levels of cringe that it will make you rise throughout the entire episode, riddled with anxiety. The situation intensifies as Jeremy and Mark discover needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit 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 turns out to be!

The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the season two finale to The West Wing. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s private assistant and escalates to a高潮 with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to seek re-election. Wonderful television. Unequaled.

Bodyguard – episode one from 2018

The beginning of the UK show Bodyguard, with the hero aboard a train alongside his juvenile boy, ranks among the most gripping episodes I’ve seen. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and realizes something is amiss. The bomb diffuser experts are called, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until yes, the vest is diffused.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy comes into her home to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we witness the episode via the perspective of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The concluding moment of the last installment of the program was incredibly anxious. And for those who saw it during its initial broadcast, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela problems are brewing with another member of his team working with the government. Meadow parks the vehicle. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Gaze at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It cannot be Meadow, she is still parking. Tony raises his gaze. Continue. It stops. My heart sank around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth from 2016

I remained awake to view this installment in the early morning. It was incredibly tense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The victim’s POV shot and the muted audio – oh no! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season