‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most nerve-wracking television episodes ever

Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse (2003)

The show kicks off with the MI5 agents locked down during a training exercise relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, supervised by two Home Office agents. As things progress, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place with a chemical weapon released. The suspense builds as messages indicate a disaster happening externally, and intensifies as the superior shows signs of exposure, and the government agents endeavor to depart, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to decide between shooting them or letting them go and potentially infecting the secure MI5 headquarters. As this is Spooks, it is unsurprising which one he chooses.

Threads from 1984

The production was inexpensive yet among the scariest shows I’ve ever seen because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Saw it not long ago having watched the original; I frequently went to the Sheffield pub shown in the series which underscored the actuality and the casual, straightforward government details that aired. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

Severance – The We We Are (2022)

The first season finale of Severance ranks highly in terms of gripping installments. I spent the entire episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to hold the switches that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to disclose their facts. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – resembled a outburst.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry made my pulse quicken. I was compelled to halt and rise and exit the space repeatedly due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty in his job and domestic life – overwhelmed by debt to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, assuming hazardous chances with a bet on sterling 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 it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption as the installment closes yet he wastes the chance, leading to terrible outcomes in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show itself isn’t necessarily a stressful show. Yet the installment Holiday features such degrees of awkwardness that it can cause you to stand the whole episode, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize having to lie about the dog they by chance collide with 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 can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals from 2001

Nothing I have seen has been as tense as when I first saw 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 confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a situation in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, with confirmation of his intention to pursue re-election. Superb programming. Never bettered.

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 knows something is off. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, enter the train, and attempt to convince the woman to discard her bomb jacket. Tension escalates to a practically unendurable point, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

The 2001 Buffy episode The Body

Buffy arrives at her residence to realize her mom has deceased of natural causes, which is the least common kind of passing in this paranormal series. The show features no musical score, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s astonishment upon finding her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America from 2007

The final scene of the final episode of the show was pants-wettingly tense. And if you viewed it when it first premiered, you – initially – were uncertain of the reason. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, had all been defeated. This seems similar to the first season’s finale, right? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is bizarrely ominous. Nearly Twin Peaks-like fear. The family gathers in a diner. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with an additional associate working with the government. Meadow secures a parking space. Odd persons arrive at the eatery. Look at Tony(?) Meadow continues to park. Tony plays a track on the music machine. Meadow finds a spot. The bell sounds, an individual enters. Can’t be Meadow, she’s still parking. Tony glances upward. Continue. It stops. My spirit fell about 20 minutes later.

The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth

I kept late hours to see this show at 2am. It was incredibly tense after the buildup of bad guy Negan locating the survivors, cruelly taunting his victims and then leaving the victim unknown (finished with an unresolved situation). The first-person perspective of the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season