History Main / DayInTheLife

Just what it says, an episode that follows the characters around on their normal routine. Make this the focus of an entire series, and you have SliceOfLife.

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' had an episode following the exploits of a rogue Tachikoma, which basically meant helping a little girl find her dog.
* Episode 10 of ''Literature/{{Akikan}}!'' showed a day in the life of the three Akikan girls at home. Melon tried to deal with the heat, Yell cleaned up the apartment and Budoko played make-believe. No wacky harem antics, and no school scenes.
* Played for drama in Chapter 179 of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', which follows [[ServileSnarker Hayasaka]] through her daily routine and makes it abundantly clear how horrible such a life is.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/{{Dredd}}'', despite being a non-stop action film, is actually like this. The creators chose to make it a "day in the life of Judge Dredd" type story as opposed to trying to adapt one or more of the big storylines of the comic where the entire city is in peril. This is most emphasized at the end after Dredd has killed hundreds of mooks, nearly died himself, and dismantled an entire drug network, he casually notes it down as a "drug bust".

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'''s parking lot episode is probably the best example of taking observational humor into a dramatic format. ''Seinfeld'' specialized in taking the logic of a Day in the Life episode to its {{logical extreme}}.
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': The episode "Tell It Like It Is" saw Carol write about a typical day at the Bradys for the magazine ''Tomorrow's Woman''.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'': The 1973–74 season opener, particularly the opening segment which shows just about everyone in the cast for the coming season. Gordon (the second one, played by Hal Miller) ends this first segment by saying, "Just another day on Sesame Street!"
** Western Publishing issued a series of ''Sesame Street'' coloring books in the late 1970s, one of which was titled "A Day On ''Sesame Street''. Pictures and activities depict scenes from the pre-dawn early morning (Herry Monster helping unload newspapers and breaking a newsstand in the process) to late night (everyone going to bed).

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' did it in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E11DatasDay Data's Day]]".
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E14LowerDecks Lower Decks]]", the day of four junior crewmen and their interaction with the senior crew is highlighted. One of the crewmen is one of the former Academy cadets that was involved with Wesley's squadron covering up losing a man to an illegal flight maneuver.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' did one in the eighth-season episode "Zero Hour", as we get to see Jack O'Neill getting used to the day-to-day work of running the SGC just after his promotion.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** The episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS06E04WeekendAtBobbys "Weekend at Bobby's" (S06, E04)]] revolves around Bobby's general routine [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin over a couple of days]]. Given the general weirdness of happenings on the show and Bobby's prominent role in the hunter community, this involves [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer answering phones and pretending to be various government officers]], [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique hiding bodies from the police]], [[ChunkySalsaRule shoving an okami into a woodchipper]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking doling out well-researched advice to hunters in the field]]. Bobby's overarching goal of getting his soul back from [[DealWithTheDevil Crowley]] is practically a side-plot.
** The episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS11E04Baby Baby]] showed the minutia of the brothers working a case. Instead of cutting away as they get in the car and then cut back to them arriving, the episode followed them on the drive, showing their random conversations, singing along with the radio, eating as they drive. Instead of cutting away when they're ready to sleep, it showed them settling down in the car and the things they talk about as they drift off. The episode is a fan favorite because it focused on what the brothers do when they're not [[BadassNormal saving the world.]]

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' gently parodied it in the aptly-named episode "A Day in the Life" that followed the mythological hero around on a day when she wasn't getting in adventures.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' relied on this storyline for multiple episodes, most using "the letter home" FramingDevice to demonstrate the characters' lives in Korea, but occasionally other documents (Hawkeye's will, for example).
** The episode "Point of View" showed the life of a typical Army private, from wounding in the field through the treatment at the 4077th and leaving on the evac bus.
* It's a good way to spotlight a minor character, as in the episode of ''Series/TheTick2001'' where they follow Sewer Urchin around on his underground routine (which is far more fraught and dangerous than they thought). This provides a bit of RetCon and BackStory for the Sewer Urchin. Plus, very funny. This episode is also ADayInTheLimelight.

* The ''Series/LawAndOrder'' fourth season episode, 'Mayhem', which focuses on the detectives as they investigate several cases over the course of one day as opposed to just one case over the episode; the prosecutors barely appear.
** The Season 13 episode, 'Couples', does the same thing.
** The episode "Aftershock" didn't have a normal investigation ''or'' prosecution, instead following the various characters around for a day in the wake of an execution they all witnessed.

* Music/EverythingElse's "Harassing The Conman" tells the story of a day at Valley Fair in which a friend of the band has a run in with the law.
* Music/TheResidents album ''Music/{{Eskimo}}'' is a Day in the Life of an Inuit Clan.

* {{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} has "300 Big Boys" it focus on the Planet Express crew's various ways of spending a 300 dollar tax refund, which was made possible by a very unnecessary invasion commanded by [[GeneralFailure Zapp Brannigan.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' episode "Just Another Manic Mojo" is basically a day in the life of Mojo Jojo, with the girls acting like regular little girls, as three Dennis the Menaces to Mojo's Mr. Wilson.

* Done fairly regularly in ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' as the series prefers to focus on the everyday occurrences of regular people in a superheroic world.
** "In Dreams," the very first issue, follows a day in the life of Samaritan, that series' Franchise/{{Superman}} {{Expy}}.
** "On the Sidelines" covers a relatively typical problem for super-powered civilians.
** "Waltz of the Hours" does this with a transdimensional being passing through town.
** "The Sorcerer's Assistant" follows [[TheArchmage the Silver Adept's]] secretary through a normal day.

* Episode 9 of ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. It's so much a Day In The Life that there are long, silent sections of Yuki reading a book in an empty room, with the only breaks being occasional noises outside the door. Apparently, it was intentionally written as such in order to contrast with the traditional GrandFinale episodes in anime. Note that this episode is chronologically the last in the series. This is also the only episode where Kyon does not narrate, and he spends significant portions out doing errands with no view from his perspective.

* Episode 10 of ''LightNovel/{{Akikan}}!'' showed a day in the life of the three Akikan girls at home. Melon tried to deal with the heat, Yell cleaned up the apartment and Budoko played make-believe. No wacky harem antics, and no school scenes.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Just Another Manic Mojo" is basically a day in the life of Mojo Jojo, with the girls acting like regular little girls, as three Dennis The Menaces to Mojo's Mr. Wilson.

* ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' "A Day in the Life of G.Bone", which was also an example of ADayInTheLimelight.

* The episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe The Tales of Ba Sing Se]]" from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Toph and Katara bond during girls' day out, Iroh helps people and [[TearJerker mourns his dead son,]] Aang creates a zoo in about two minutes, Sokka stumbles on a poetry club and ends up in a haiku battle, Zuko goes out on a very awkward date, and Momo goes looking for Appa.

* ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody'': One episode follows My Melo's daily life.