🔗 Share this article ‘I definitely needed a lie-down after that!’ Your most gripping television episodes you’ve seen The 2003 Spooks episode I Spy Apocalypse The episode begins with the MI5 agents locked down as part of a simulation relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it appears that there really has been an attack and a chemical agent deployed. The tension ratchets up as reports reveal a crisis unfolding beyond their walls, and intensifies when the leader seems contaminated, with the two officials trying to exit, 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. The 1984 production Threads Threads was low budget yet among the scariest shows I have ever watched owing to its grim authenticity and grim official statistics. Watched it about a month ago following the initial broadcast; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield shown in the series that highlighted the truth and the casual, straightforward government details that were transmitted. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later. The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are The season one finale of Severance deserves a top spot among intense episodes. I was throughout the episode literally perched nervously, straining every sinew with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Innies on overtime, while screaming at the Innies to reveal their realities. The final climactic moment – “she is living!” – felt like an explosion. 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 depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the reckless self-harm I saw. Rishi Ramdani is in major difficulty at work and home – up to his eyeballs in 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. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, consumes excessive substances and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is brutally attacked. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it worsens. There’s hope of redemption at the end of the episode but he squanders the opportunity, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Absolutely had to relax following that! Peep Show – Holiday from 2007 The series Peep Show isn’t typically anxiety-inducing. But the episode Holiday includes such amounts of embarrassment that it will make you rise the whole episode, filled with nervousness. It all ramps up when Jeremy and Mark realize being compelled to falsify about the canine they by chance collide with and following tries to eliminate it. You then spend the rest of the episode wondering if it might be more awful than cremation, and it turns out to be! The 2001 The West Wing episode The Two Cathedrals No other viewing has been as gripping compared to my initial viewing the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the death (in a traffic accident) of the president’s personal secretary and reaches a crescendo with a crisis 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. Unsurpassed. The 2018 Bodyguard premiere episode The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train alongside his juvenile boy, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He notices a Muslim female entering the restroom and realizes something is amiss. The explosive disposal specialists are summoned, get on the train, and endeavor to coax the woman to take off her suicide vest. Tension escalates to an almost unbearable degree, until, indeed, the vest is disarmed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001) Buffy comes into her home to find her mum has passed away of natural causes, which is the most unusual type of death in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a gloomy atmosphere, and we see the episode through the experience of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother. The 2007 The Sopranos finale Made in America 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 the start – didn’t understand the cause. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, were all vanquished. Doesn’t this resemble the season one conclusion? “Recall the minor details.” However, the vibe is oddly threatening. Almost Twin Peaks levels of terror. The family sit in a restaurant. Meadow stops the car. Tony gloomily informs Carmela problems are brewing with an additional associate collaborating with the authorities. 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 rings, someone enters the restaurant. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It ceases. My spirit fell roughly 20 minutes after. The 2016 The Walking Dead episode The Last Day on Earth I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was incredibly tense following the introduction of villain Negan locating the survivors, mercilessly mocking his targets then not knowing who he killed (finished with an unresolved situation). The point-of-view shot from the victim and the subdued noises – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season