History Main / RealTime

* ''{{Film/Titanic}}'': Everything from the Iceberg hitting to the boat fully submerging is in real time.

* ''ComicBook/TheSavageDragon''

* In the climax of ''Film/TheAvengers'', [[spoiler: two minutes and thirty seconds of screen time actually pass between the deployment and explosion of the nuke intended for Manhattan.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Karin-dou 4koma}}'': Outside of a few story arcs, most of the strips' events happens roughly when the strips are released. The series started in 2008, so this is reflected with Tamaryu slowly growing from a 8 year old girl to a 13 year old middle schooler.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with HBO's ''Series/RealTimeWithBillMaher''. [[CaptainObvious But yes, granted, the trope does apply there as well]].

* In the 1990s [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] {{Radio}} produced an adaptation of LenDeighton's ''Bomber'' that not only took place in real time, but over the course of an ''entire day''. In other words, it comprised several acts which were broadcast at various times during the entire day's schedule, with the events of each act taking place at the time of day they were actually broadcast.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E742 42]]" supposedly takes place in Real Time, however there are a few conspicuous breaks from the gimmick. Here, the title refers to the number of minutes the protagonists have in their RaceAgainstTheClock, and is a ShoutOut to both ''24'' and ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.

* In the climax of ''Film/TheAvengers'' [[spoiler: two minutes of screen time actually pass between the deployment and explosion of the nuke intended for Manhatten]]

* In the climax of "Film/TheAvengers" [[spoiler: two minutes of screen time actually pass between the deployment and explosion of the nuke intended for Manhatten]]

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with HBO's ''RealTimeWithBillMaher''. [[CaptainObvious But yes, granted, the trope does apply there as well]].

* Variation: The ''MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' manga was released in RealTime, except in chapters that were tied too closely together to be a month apart.

* The ''Maison Ikkoku'' manga also ran in real time, as the series, which was published from 1980 to 1987, spanned seven years in the characters' lives.

* Jeff Smith's third {{Bone}} graphic novel, Eyes of the Storm has a chapter which was designed to get readers to read it at a rate similar to the time in-universe.
* The [[TheDCU DC Comics]] series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' is a year-long weekly series where each issue covers a week of story time; the name refers to ([[JustifiedTitle among other things]]) the number of weeks in a year, and is a ShoutOut to ''Series/TwentyFour''.

* [[MarvelComics Marvel's]] ''TheNewUniverse'' was supposed to run in real time, but due to the whole line being canceled after only three years, the intended effects could hardly be noticed.
* ''YTheLastMan'' generally kept time passing at the same rate as it did for the reader. It generally had a few issues covering a set few days, and then a time skip filling the difference.
* JudgeDredd Dredd canonically ages in line with the strip itself (one year's worth of published stories equals one year passed within the comics).
* TheSavageDragon

* Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''{{Rope}}'' not only unfolds in real time but was actually filmed in single continuous takes, each the length of a reel of film, with reel changes disguised by having the camera pass behind an obscuring object for a second as one reel ends, and emerging again as the next reel begins.

* ''TheManFromEarth'' takes place in real time, except for the final shots. And almost completely in one room.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'' is the most notable example of "real-time", with the script writers conveniently forgetting that if the show were really happening in Los Angeles, Jack Bauer would be spending the majority of each show stuck in traffic. The very first episodes of the program featured Kiefer stating at the beginning "Events occur in real time." The show was not very rigorous about this, ignoring the limitations of the RealTime format constantly and generally using it simply to build suspense.

* The SitCom ''WatchingEllie'' was initially shot entirely in RealTime. This format was ditched after the first season.

* ''{{Friends}}'' episode "The One Where No One's Ready"
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'''s famous "The Chinese Restaurant" episode was in real time. The commercial break is spanned by a [[TheLongList Long List]] that Jerry rattles off.

* The ''AmericanGothic'' episode "The Beast Within", although with a bit of cheating at the climax.
* ''{{Frasier}}'' did two real time episodes, Season 1's "My Coffee With Niles" and Season 6's "Dinner Party". In each, the real time even continues during the commercial break, as Frasier goes to the bathroom just before the break and returns straight afterward. In the latter, he's on hold for the first intermission, giving Roz the opportunity to go down, get her dry-cleaning, and come back up. However it does not hold true for the second intermission.
* ''{{Titus}}'' was designed to imitate a play. Thus, most episodes take place on a single set in Real Time. It was even filmed in order, for the benefit of the studio audience.
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E742 42]]" supposedly takes place in RealTime, however there are a few conspicuous breaks from the gimmick. Here, the title refers to the number of minutes the protagonists have in their RaceAgainstTheClock, and is a ShoutOut to both ''24'' and ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.
* A first-season ''MyThreeSons'' episode has Steve and the boys racing to get out of the house and off to work and school after Bub mistakenly sets the clocks ahead an hour instead of turning them back at the end of Daylight Savings Time. The action unfolds against the background of a televised NASA satellite launch.
* The aptly-named ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' episode "Thirty-Eight Minutes" has been the only RealTime episode in the Franchise/StargateVerse''.

* Most episodes of ''TheRoyleFamily'' before "The Queen of Sheba" appear to take place in real time, and entirely within the Royles' house. Since then they've used a more conventional format.

* The first season finale "Johnny B Gone" of ''MarriedWithChildren'' takes place in real time, it is basically one long scene. This concept was reused ten years later for the penultimate episode "The Desperate Half-Hour".

* ''RogerAndValHaveJustGotIn'' is a bittersweet SitCom featuring two characters in a house, and every episode not only takes place in real time, but (as the title suggests) at the ''same'' time of day, as the two each get home from work.
* Rachael Ray's "Thirty Minute Meals", this is the whole point of the concept.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Triangle" is set in real time or close to it. It switches between 1939 and 1998 and covers roughly the same amount of time in each period. The episode is comprised of four 11 minute shots.

* Subverted in the ''[[GermanTVStations KiKa]]'' teen drama ''Series/AlleinGegenDieZeit'' (''Alone Against The Clock''), which has thirteen episodes per season, each covering one hour in thirty minutes (thus, [[ExtremelyShortTimeSpan each season lasts little more than half a day]]). Despite making two hours one, there is a frequent clock focus, the essence of urgency and (reasonable) passing of time is always present, and the plot is furthered greatly by various timespans and deadlines.

* In the 1990s [[TheBBC BBC]] {{Radio}} produced an adaptation of LenDeighton's ''Bomber'' that not only took place in real time, but over the course of an ''entire day''. In other words, it comprised several acts which were broadcast at various times during the entire day's schedule, with the events of each act taking place at the time of day they were actually broadcast.
* OrsonWelles' broadcast of ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' was initially presented as a live news program, with real-time breaking reports streaming in. Notably, however, while the broadcast was skillfully produced to encourage suspension of disbelief, it would be wholly impossible for the events portrayed to all occur (including, e.g., the mobilization of large numbers of troops, government cabinet meetings, and several major battles) within its mere one hour running time. Jack Bauer's ability to reach any location in 10 minutes is downright plausible by comparison.

* Among single-player video games that have an InUniverseGameClock, few also have RealTime. One that does is ''AnimalCrossing''.
* Jordan Mechner's ''TheLastExpress'' is set in real time, and the ending changes based on where you are at certain times, meaning that the player must very carefully manage where they are to get certain endings. The only time this is broken away from is when the player character is knocked out or goes to sleep.

* The SNES game ''{{SOS}}'' follows this concept. In the middle of a fierce storm, a luxury liner capsizes. In one real time hour, the ship will sink. The player character must reach the exit before then (and preferably bring a few other survivors with him). "Dying" advances the clock five minutes.

* Oddly enough, the {{Webcomic}} ''{{Narbonic}}'' used this, as opposed to WebcomicTime - while certain storylines actually did take weeks to play out for the viewers, there was considered enough 'fluff' between events that Christmas, Valentine's Day, and particularly New Years' Eve wound up being bracketed by storylines around those time frames. Most notably, it ''was'' actually 6 years between Davenport moving into Narbonic Labs and [[spoiler:breaking up with Helen]], both IRL and in the comic.

* The [[LongRunners long-running]] ''RoguesOfClwydRhan'' was supposed to be set exactly 1,000 years in the past, but that notion was eventually dropped due to ScheduleSlip, so that by 2011 the characters were living about 1005.

* The [=BBCi=] / BigFinish jointly produced illustrated ''Series/DoctorWho'' AudioPlay "Real Time".

* ''TheSimpsons'' episode "24 Minutes", with a crossover appearance of some of ''24'''s cast no less.
* The ''JusticeLeague'' episode "Wild Cards" takes place in real time, with Joker's timer in the corner of the screen keeping track for most of the events. In between part 1 and part 2 there's a minor "rewind".
** {{Lampshaded}} by SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker when the clock ''starts'' at 22:51. "Oh what were you expecting from me? A ''round'' number?" The creators obviously designed the number to be the exact time between the timer's appearance and the Flash dealing with the final bomb, rather than trying to forcibly edit the length of that time to an exact number.

* An episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'', in which {{Garfield}} has to not eat anything for five minutes. (Complete with a clock counting down in the corner of the screen.)

** Also, in a later episode, Rainbow ends up in hospital, and there is a one minute-long montage of her trying kill time. Then she looks back at the clock, only to notice that the whole montage took place in RealTime.
* The unfinished episode "Ten Minutes to Doom" of ''InvaderZim'' invokes this when Zim gets his PAK taken and has 10 minutes to get it back, or else he dies.

* The ''AngryBeavers'' are unique in that ''all the clocks update in real time''. That is, if 5 minutes pass between one scene and the next, the clocks will have advanced by exactly 5 minutes.

* In the ''{{Numb3rs}}'' episode "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin One Hour]]", the cast have one hour to resolve a kidnapping--minus Don, who's spending the hour in a therapy session and has turned off his phone at the insistence of the therapist.

* ''Series/{{The X-Files}}'' episode "Triangle" is set in real time or close to it. It switches between 1939 and 1998 and covers roughly the same amount of time in each period. The episode is comprised of four 11 minute shots.

* In the famous ''TheSpirit'' story "Ten Minutes", about the last ten minutes of a man's life, WillEisner times the comic to take approximately ten minutes of the reader's time. This was in 1949.

** {{Lampshaded}} by SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker when the clock ''starts'' at 22:51, the amount of time left in the episode. "Oh what were you expecting from me? A ''round'' number?"

* At first, so did HarryPotter. Books one through four were released one year at a time and each one covered a year in Harry's life... then came [[FanNickname the Three-Year Summer]], and the timeline was never the same again...

* ''TheDeadZone'''s episode "Cabin Pressure".

* One iconic episode of radio drama ''{{Dragnet}}'', "City Hall Bombing" (July 21, 1949), gave Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero less than thirty minutes to stop [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a bombing at city hall]].

* The climax of Tim Burton's Batman. The Joker tells his crew to meet him with their helicopter on the top of the cathedral in ten minutes. They arrive during the fight in the belltower, which is almost exactly ten minutes later.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' uses this in a vague. Seasons are pretty consistently set 1000 years after their air dates, and the periods between being [[{{Cancellation}} canceled]] and TheMovie became a TimeSkip.

** Also the episode "The New Terrance and Philip Movie Trailer" from Season5.