History Main / DayInTheLife

** "The Sorcerer's Assistant" follows the Silver Adept's secretary through a normal day.

* The first issue of ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' was a day in the life of Samaritan, that series' Franchise/{{Superman}} {{Expy}}.

* ''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.

* The ''ComicBook/{{Noob}}'' comic does this for one on the players of the {{MMORPG}} the story takes place at the beginning of each comic.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined'' has an episode ''entitled'' "A Day in the Life," although the events taking place in it are something less than typical; a better example might be the episode "Final Cut" (which is also ADayInTheLimelight for a few characters).

* Music/TheBeatles' song quoted above, the climax of ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', is both an example and the TropeNamer. Things Lennon drew on included the fatal car accident of Beatle friend Tara Browne (heir to the Guinness beer fortune), Lennon's own experience acting in ''Film/HowIWonTheWar'', and a news story Lennon read about potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire.

* The innovative 1929 film ''Film/ManWithACamera'' is a visual document of a day in the life of city folk in the Soviet Union. There are no characters, story, or plot, just a feature-length collage of regular people going about the business of life. Director Dziga Vertov's wildly experimental use of [[CameraTrick camera tricks]], {{Montage}}, and editing, result in a movie that's much more interesting that the preceding description makes it sound.

* A number of the chapters in the Ayla stories in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse are like this: she goes to classes, gets powers testing, tries to get really good food in the cafeteria, chats with side characters...

* The 19th chapter of the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'' crossover fic "FanFic/OriginStory'' is entitled “Things to Do in California When You're On Vacation”. For the most part is all about Alex and Louise Harris going on their honeymoon after being “married' in a Domestic Partnership ceremony.

* Music/TheBeatles' song quoted above, the climax of ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', is both an example and the TropeNamer.

* ''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 1973-1974 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).
* The last episode of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' is a Day In The Life episode that underscores the goofiness of its milieu. Another series that ended with such an ep was the short-lived WB cartoon ''WesternAnimation/RoadRovers''.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' did it in "Data's Day."
* ''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.
* For a Creator/MutantEnemy example, go to the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Harm's Way''. If you see the secondary character Harmony get up in the morning, work, go to Happy Hour, then wake up the next day with a hangover and a dead stranger, you have a Day In The Life. The episode is also ADayInTheLimelight.
* ''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).
* It's a good way to spotlight a minor character, as in the episode of ''Series/TheTick'' 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.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined'' has an episode ''entitled'' "A Day in the Life," although the events taking place in it are something less than typical; a better example might be the episode "Final Cut" (which is also ADayInTheLimelight for a few characters).
* 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.

* A number of the chapters in the Ayla stories in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse are like this: she goes to classes, gets powers testing, tries to get really good food in the cafeteria, chats with side characters...
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' had the episode "[[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/092.html A View From The Gallery]]" about two maintenance workers' workday.

* ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' "A Day in the Life of G.Bone", which was also an example of ADayInTheLimelight.
* ''Series/{{House}}'' episode 6x14 "5 to 9" follows a day in the life of Lisa Cuddy. Arguably, 6x10 "Wilson" does so for Wilson as well.
* ''Literature/OneDayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich'' is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one day in the life]] of a gulag ''zeke''.

* 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.
* ''{{Ulysses}}''.
* In first chapter of ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'', April goes about a rather normal day of her life, during which the player can get familiar with the setting. Only a couple of strange things happen, but the first one doesn't break the flow much and the other ones happen in choice-dependent ending cinematics of the chapter.
* The first issue of ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' was a day in the life of Samaritan, that series' Superman {{Expy}}.
* The "Diamond and Vindicator Adopt a Baby" (in which the superheroine Diamond and her partner, the superheroine Vindicator, both feeling their biological clock ticking, adopt a baby girl), "Rebound and the Nosy Reporter" (in which Rebound romances a reporter who at first seems only interested in digging up dirt about him and his teammates), "Achilles Has a Heart-to-Heart With His Dad" (in which heroic Achilles has an emotional discussion about life with his father, the EvilOverlord known as Lord Doom over a game of chess) and "Ultra-Man Builds a House" (in which Ultra-Man [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin returns to his home town to do just that]]) storylines from the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''.

* Issue 8 of ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans The New Teen Titans]]'' featured a story titled "A Day in the Lives" which followed all the Titans except Robin during a normal day. It's widely agreed that it was this issue which helped launch ''The New Teen Titans'' to the best-seller list (where it would remain for ''sixteen years'').
* ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4UqMyldS7Q&ob=av2n It Was A Good Day]]'' by Ice Cube describes a good day for a gangster.
* 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.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', there have been sixteen comics named this, each focusing on different characters. For the purpose of this article, the most famous are:
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2196 Pooch's and Percy's.]]
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4646 Absinthe, the green succubus]], ending with the reveal of her name and her suffering from attacks of conscience.
* The ''ComicBook/{{Noob}}'' comic does this for one on the players of the {{MMORPG}} the story takes place at the beginning of each comic.

->''Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head''\\

''Found my way upstairs and had a smoke, and somebody spoke and I went into a dream...''

* ''{{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.
* ''TheBradyBunch'': The episode "Tell It Like It Is" saw Carol write about a typical day at the Bradys for the magazine ''Tomorrow's Woman''.
* ''SesameStreet'': The 1973-1974 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!"

* For a MutantEnemy example, go to the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Harm's Way''. If you see the secondary character Harmony get up in the morning, work, go to Happy Hour, then wake up the next day with a hangover and a dead stranger, you have a Day In The Life. The episode is also ADayInTheLimelight.
* ''[[XenaWarriorPrincess Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' 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).
* It's a good way to spotlight a minor character, as in the episode of ''TheTick'' 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.
* Episode 9 of ''[[SuzumiyaHaruhi The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. It's so much a Day In The Life that there are long, silent sections of a character reading a book. 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.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' has an episode ''entitled'' "A Day in the Life," although the events taking place in it are something less than typical; a better example might be the episode "Final Cut" (which is also ADayInTheLimelight for a few characters).

* ''GhostInTheShell :Stand Alone Complex'' had an episode following the exploits of a rogue Tachikoma, which basically meant helping a little girl find her dog.
* A number of the chapters in the Ayla stories in the WhateleyUniverse are like this: she goes to classes, gets powers testing, tries to get really good food in the cafeteria, chats with side characters...

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

* ''OneDayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich'' is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one day in the life]] of a gulag ''zeke''.
* ''{{Clerks}}'', ''{{Mallrats}}'', ''ClerksII''.

* The "Diamond and Vindicator Adopt a Baby" (in which the superheroine Diamond and her partner, the superheroine Vindicator, both feeling their biological clock ticking, adopt a baby girl), "Rebound and the Nosy Reporter" (in which Rebound romances a reporter who at first seems only interested in digging up dirt about him and his teammates), "Achilles Has a Heart-to-Heart With His Dad" (in which heroic Achilles has an emotional discussion about life with his father, the EvilOverlord known as Lord Doom over a game of chess) and "Ultra-Man Builds a House" (in which Ultra-Man [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin returns to his home town to do just that]]) storylines from the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse''.
* In the ''KungFu: The Legend Continues'' episode "May I Ride With You?" Caine tries to get to know his son Peter better by spending a day accompanying him on his rounds as a cop. Peter returns the favor a season later in "May I Walk With You?"
* Issue 8 of ''TheNewTeenTitans'' featured a story titled "A Day in the Lives" which followed all the Titans except Robin during a normal day. It's widely agreed that it was this issue which helped launch ''TheNewTeenTitans'' to the best-seller (where it would remain for ''sixteen years'').

* 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.
* In ''{{Sinfest}}'', there have been sixteen comics named this, each focusing on different characters. For the purpose of this article, the most famous are:

* OneDayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* NightCourt had four episodes titled "Day in the Life", "Another Day in the Life," "Yet Another Day in the Life," and "Still Another Day In the Life," all of which involve the gang trying as many cases as possible before a deadline.
* WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons had "22 Short Stories About Springfield" which is about what various characters do over the course of a day.

* Night court had four episodes titled "Day in the Life", "Another Day in the Life," "Yet Another Day in the Life," and "Still Another Day In the Life," all of which involve the gang trying as many cases as possible before a deadline.

* The last episode of ''TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' is a Day In The Life episode that underscores the goofiness of its milieu. Another series that ended with such an ep was the short-lived WB cartoon ''WesternAnimation/RoadRovers''.

* In first chapter of ''TheLongestJourney'', April goes about a rather normal day of her life, during which the player can get familiar with the setting. Only a couple of strange things happen, but the first one doesn't break the flow much and the other ones happen in choice-dependent ending cinematics of the chapter.

* ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' 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.

* In ''{{Sinfest}}'',
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2196 Pooch and Percy have one.]]
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4646 Absinthe, the green succubus, has one as well]], ending with the reveal of her name and her suffering from attacks of conscience.

* ADayInTheLifeOfIvanDenisovich is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* The first issue of ''AstroCity'' was a day in the life of Samaritan, that series' Superman {{Expy}}.

* In ''{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2196 Pooch and Percy have one.]]