A nuclear clear up, a bloody massacre, an extremely fraught game of marbles … From The Bear to Blue Lights, here are television’s most heart-pounding outingsTelevision is supposed to be relaxing. Flop on the sofa, lose yourself in your favourite show and feel your shoulders unknot themselves. Yet sometimes the best episodes are the most stress-inducing. Nerves jangle. Anxiety levels spike. Before you know it, you’re perched on the edge of your seat, quietly whimpering and clutching a cushion for comfort.We select the dozen most intense TV episodes of all time – two of which aired in the past fortnight. Well, it’s been a turbulent time. Press play and feel those knuckles whiten … Continue reading...
Tuesday 28 October 2025
.theguardian - 12 hours ago
‘A 66-minute stress bomb’: TV’s most intense episodes ever
Latest News
Quelling public disquiet worth extra cost of housing refugees in barracks, says No 10
- .theguardian Man who won damages over Richard III film calls for more regulation of fact-based drama
- .theguardian The Guardian view on press freedom in Italy: at a low ebb on Giorgia Meloni’s watch | Editorial
- .theguardian The Guardian view on state failure: Britain’s crisis is not just one of investment, but also of upkeep | Editorial
- .theguardian Man charged with rape of woman in Walsall after ‘racially aggravated’ attack, say police
- .theguardian ‘Perfection’: how Prunella Scales’s Sybil Fawlty is one of TV comedy’s best characters
- .theguardian Reform wheels out Danny Kruger, the ‘brains’ of Nigel Farage’s operation | John Crace
- .theguardian Journey, bond, quiet strength... 14years and counting : Gautam Gambhir pens down anniversary message for wife
- newzealandnews Some of the earliest written notes in western musical history discovered in Pennsylvania
- .theguardian Period Parrrty review – angst, fumbling and turmoil for a non-binary Tamil British teen
- .theguardian Physical: Asia review – some of these super-strong contestants look like barrels wrapped in muscles and hair
- .theguardian Hurricane Melissa: a visual guide to the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in almost two centuries
- .theguardian Middle East crisis live: Benjamin Netanyahu orders immediate ‘powerful strikes’ on Gaza
- .theguardian Brendan Rodgers and Celtic were heading for divorce but acrimony was avoidable | Ewan Murray
- .theguardian ‘Dangerously outdated’: high court overturns ruling implying domestic violence would not affect children
- .theguardian Who is Lily Allen’s Madeline about? Wait, I don’t actually want to know – pop needs its mysteries
- .theguardian Trump’s third term? Don’t laugh. He’s never let the rules stop him before | Arwa Mahdawi
- .theguardian ‘I spoke complete twaddle for four minutes’: Meera Syal, Larry Lamb and more on the terror of stage fright
- .theguardian What will Labour sacrifice for its housing targets? A standoff in south London is putting it to the test | Anna Minton
- .theguardian Australia names Ben McDermott as standby for T20Is against India after Short undergoes surgery
- newzealandnews Tattoo fixers on removing Nazi symbols: ‘You don’t know if they’re changing or hiding’
- .theguardian Celebrate this Halloween with Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and an evil iceman on a train
- .theguardian Marine wildlife fleeing to poles due to global heating as Australian oceans face ‘uncharted’ future
- .theguardian AI psychosis is a growing danger. ChatGPT is moving in the wrong direction | Amandeep Jutla
- .theguardian The Piper Alpha oil rig exploded and collapsed – and I made a desperate 175ft jump into the sea
- .theguardian Trump and new Japanese prime minister share praise and vow to strengthen ‘remarkable’ relationship – US politics live
- .theguardian ‘I flew to Luxembourg to see the gig there instead!’: music fans on how they cope with high UK ticket prices
- .theguardian It s the noblest battle of our new free-speech age: Sarah Pochin s anti-woke couch crusade | Marina Hyde
- .theguardian Kindling review – all-female ‘anti-friendship’ play gets boozy and primal in the woods
- .theguardian Kenny Dalglish review – Liverpool’s everyman football hero who took the city’s woes on his shoulders
- .theguardian Elon Musk launches encyclopedia ‘fact-checked’ by AI and aligning with rightwing views
- .theguardian House of Dynamite writer ‘respectfully disagrees’ with Pentagon’s complaints about nuclear missile thriller
- .theguardian Palestine 36 review – impassioned epic set during the Arab revolt against British colonial rule
- .theguardian Want to go to a UK university? Don’t ask me to help you write your personal statement | Zoe Williams
- .theguardian Some tenants can now force landlords to make their home liveable. What about the thousands who can’t? | Kwajo Tweneboa
- .theguardian How do you move a village? Residents of France’s last outpost in North America try to outrun the sea
- .theguardian An ex-Intel CEO’s mission to build a Christian AI: ‘hasten the coming of Christ’s return’
- .theguardian The Breakdown | Farrell’s return boosts Ireland for Autumn Nations Series with plenty at stake
- .theguardian Woman in her 80s found dead on Great Barrier Reef’s Lizard Island after failing to return to cruise ship
- .theguardian Trump tariffs will lead to abandoned freight at ports as cash-strapped businesses reject orders
- newzealandnews Honkai- Star Rail Version 3.7 will finally bring the epic Amphoreus saga to a close in November
- newzealandnews
Down Cemetery Road to Jimmy Carr’s Am I the A**hole? The seven best shows to stream this week
- .theguardian‘The Rushmore story is hard to tell’: how an Indigenous park leader revealed the monument’s dark side
- .theguardianTrump plans to send federal agents to San Francisco ‘right out of dictator’s handbook’, says Newsom – US politics live
- .theguardian‘It sounds like witchcraft’: can light therapy really give you better skin, cleaner teeth, stronger joints?
- .theguardian‘Quiet as a whisper’: German firm launches campaign after lift was used in Louvre heist
- .theguardianWe like to keep it pretty simple : Pratika Rawal on her 212-run stand with Smriti Mandhana
- newzealandnewsThe Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits audiobook review – an American road trip with a twist
- .theguardianSilly inflatable costumes are taking over anti-Trump protests. What are they actually saying?
- .theguardianKing Charles becomes first British monarch to pray with pope in 500 years – Europe live
- .theguardian
‘DeepSeek is humane. Doctors are more like machines’: my mother’s worrying reliance on AI for health advice
- .theguardian Why young women are having facelifts: ‘I couldn’t even open my eyes. That’s how swollen I was’
- .theguardian Donald Trump and Japan’s Sanae Takaichi sign agreement to ‘secure’ rare earths supply
- .theguardian Ukraine war briefing: Russian drones hunt civilians in crime against humanity, UN inquiry finds
- .theguardian Trump news at a glance: president floats a third term as Democrats vow ‘no way in hell’
- .theguardian Trump and Xi talks: what will be on the agenda when US president meets China’s leader?
- .theguardian Cyclist fitted with printed 3D face after drunk driver left him with third-degree burns
- .theguardian More than a million people every week show suicidal intent when chatting with ChatGPT, OpenAI estimates
- .theguardian It: Welcome to Derry review – the demonic, liver-eating baby in this Stephen King prequel is horrifying
- .theguardian Once Upon a Time in Space review – the fascinating, intimate tales of the people who climbed inside the shuttle
- .theguardian Vogue World 2025: Hollywood stars turn out to raise money for LA wildfire victims – in pictures
- .theguardian At least 174 racehorses died from racing or training injuries in past 12 months in Australia, report finds
- .theguardian F1 title run-in: Who will win the drivers’ championship in three-way tussle? | Giles Richards
- .theguardian Immigration system in crisis: sky-high hotel bills and a convict on the loose – podcast
- .theguardian Nige thinks Pochin’s comments were ugly and unpleasant. But he agrees with them | John Crace
- .theguardian The Guardian view on global aid cuts: a malaria resurgence could be the canary in the coalmine | Editorial
- .theguardian The Guardian view on Labour’s new deputy leader: Lucy Powell can help a floundering government reconnect | Editorial
- .theguardian IASV Triveni docks at Fremantle as India s all-women Tri-Service sailing expedition reaches Australia
- newzealandnews Women s World Cup: Agenbag, Redfern named on-field umpires for India s semi-final clash against Australia
- newzealandnews Nigel Farage defends MP’s complaint about TV adverts as ‘ugly’ but not ‘deliberately’ racist
- .theguardian Milei’s win in Argentina had Trump’s fingerprints all over it. But just how long will their friendship last? | Jordana Timerman
- .theguardian Referees at Manchester United and Brentford got heat but there is much to learn from the decisions
- .theguardian Rage against the Lamine: Real Madrid revel in clásico win after cheap talk | Sid Lowe
- .theguardian ‘All roads lead to Grace Jones’: visual artists on the music that fires them up in the studio
- .theguardian Jack DeJohnette was more than a jazz drummer – his staggering range made him a superhuman force in music
- .theguardian At least 49 relatives and colleagues of Afghans in data leak have been killed, study suggests
- .theguardian NHS trust pleads guilty after teenage girl absconded from 24-hour care and killed herself
- .theguardian The one change that worked: I adopted a one-in, one-out wardrobe policy and rediscovered my love of clothes
- .theguardian Linh giới gọi tên Dịch Dương! Kẻ ác thách 100 triệu người! VML được đề cử ‘100 nam nhân cuốn hút nhất’; Trình Thanh Tùng hóa thân trong game ‘đập chuột’!
- dkn Sananda Maitreya review – the former Terence Trent D’Arby returns in astonishing vocal form
- .theguardian ‘We were fitted with remote control penises’: Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke on Kevin and Perry Go Large
- .theguardian Confessions of a serial leaf stealer: the garden gadget that actually made tidying fun
- .theguardian Rajnath Singh calls for doubling private sector role in defence, stresses indigenisation amid rising global uncertainty
- newzealandnews Sources