“I definitely need to lie down then!” Your strongest TV episodes ever | television

Ghosts – I Spy the End of the World (2003)

The episode begins with Team Spooks on lockdown while undergoing training relating to a hypothetical terrorist attack, overseen by two Home Office officials, but as things progress, it appears that there was actually an attack and a chemical weapon was unleashed. Tensions mount when incoming communications show a disaster taking place abroad, and it gets worse when the President appears to be infected, and two Home Office officials try to leave, forcing Matthew Macfadyen’s character to choose between shooting them, or letting them go and risk contaminating the closed MI5 offices. This being ghosts, it’s no surprise which one he chooses. Poole, Sheffield

Themes (1984)

Threads was low budget but it’s one of the scariest shows I’ve ever seen due to the stark reality and grim official statistics. I watched it about a month ago after seeing the original; I used to visit the pub in Sheffield from the program which emphasized reality and the spontaneous official information that was broadcast. Still absolutely terrifying 35 years later. John Bradbury, Ilkley

Breakup – We (2022)

The Severance season 1 finale should be up there. I spent the entire episode literally on the edge of my seat, straining every chord with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that kept the Inies working overtime, while yelling at the Inies to get their truths out there. The final climactic moment – ​​“She’s alive!” – It was like an explosion. Keith Wilkinson, Stokesley, North Yorkshire

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Episode five of the third series of Industry got my heart racing. I had to stop, get up and leave the room several times due to the sheer amount of brutal self-destruction I was witnessing. Rishi Ramadani is in big trouble at work and at home – even his eyes are in debt to sharks due to his compulsive gambling, as he takes such risks by betting on the pound that he could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes gambling, does a lot of drugs and drinks and wins, loses, wins, gets beaten up. Every time you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There is hope for redemption at the end of the episode, but he squanders the opportunity, with horrific consequences at the end of the season. Definitely need to lie down then! Tanya, London

Peep Show – Vacation (2007)

Peep Show itself is not necessarily a stressful show. But the “Holiday” episode has levels of frustration that will keep you stuck through the entire episode, filled with anxiety. Everything escalates once Jeremy and Mark find themselves having to lie about the dog they accidentally ran over and subsequent attempts to get rid of it. Then you spend the rest of the episode wondering if it’s really worse than being burned, and it could be! Dan, Canberra, Australia

West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I’ve watched has been more intense than the first time I watched the Season 2 finale of The West Wing. The episode begins in the aftermath of the death (in a traffic accident) of the President’s personal secretary and culminates with the Haiti crisis, the repercussions of not disclosing the President’s MS diagnosis, and the confirmation of his intention to run for re-election. Great TV. It never got better. Ian, Sari

The Bodyguard – Episode 1 (2018)

The opening of the British series Bodyguard, with the protagonist on a train with his young son, is for me one of the most exciting episodes ever. He sees a Muslim woman entering the bathroom and knows something is off. Bomb experts are called in, board the train and try to convince the woman to take off her suicide vest. The tension mounts to an almost unbearable degree, until, yes, the jacket spreads.Heather McAndrew, Victoria, Canada

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body (2001)

Buffy enters her house to find that her mother has died of natural causes, the most bizarre kind of death in this supernatural show. The episode has no background music, a sullen tone, and we see the episode through Buffy’s experience of shock at discovering her mother. Ruth, Wales

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the show was very tense. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s enemies, real and imagined, have all been defeated. Surely this feels like the end of season one? “Remember the little things.” But the mood is strangely ominous. Almost Twin Peaks levels of horror. The family is sitting in a restaurant. Marj Gardens. Tony unfortunately tells Carmella that there is an ongoing problem with another member of his crew who works with the government. Marj Gardens. Strange people enter the restaurant. Gazing out at the tony(?) meadow gardens. Tony puts a record on the music box. Marj Gardens. The bell rings and someone enters the restaurant. It cannot be Mido, as she is still parking the car. Tony looks up. Don’t stop. It stops. My heart dropped out of my mouth after about 20 minutes. Paul Wilson, Hepburn Tyne and Wear

The Walking Dead – Last Day on Earth (2016)

I stayed up watching this episode at 2am. It was very intense after bad guy Negan rallied to find the group, cruelly taunting his victims and then not knowing who he killed (it ended in a cliffhanger). Victim’s point of view shot and muffled voices – argh! Then we had to wait for season 7 to find out the outcome. Great water cooler TV but unfortunately the show wasn’t that good again. Louise Wright, Manchester

Babylon 5 – Broken Dreams (1996)

The civil war on Earth comes to a head when loyalist forces head into the station to take over the command crew and arrest him. The battle scenes hold up, but the sheer weight of the stakes involved and the performances by Bruce Buckleitner and especially the late Mira Furlan are utterly convincing. Creator J Michael Straczynski coined the term “Wham Episode”, and this episode delivers both in terms of building suspense as opposing forces face off and in the end when the dust settles, you’re left not with a feeling of victory but instead a greater “Okay, now what?” From running the show. It gives me goosebumps even 30 years later. Gregg, Merseyside

Homicide (Danish version) – Episode 19 (2007)

The first series of The Killing (the Danish version) is considered an absolute masterpiece, and has spawned many imitations and has yet to be matched. Every episode ended on a huge cliffhanger, but episode 19 when Sarah sees Vagn’s shirt and realizes who the killer is gives me goosebumps every time. Marcella, London