Documentary Episode: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[MASH|M* A* S* H]]'' did this several times, and tried to make the episodes seem like they were archival footage, including black and white film and people sending heartfelt messages home to their loved ones via the camera.

* ''[[ER]]'' took this approach for their [[Live Episode]] with the effect of having a built-in [[Lampshade Hanging]] should anything go wrong.

* This plot was also used in a fifth season episode of ''[[Homicide: Life On the Street]]'', appropriately titled "The Documentary." It had a cameo by the ''actual'' ''Homicide: LoTS'' camera crew, appearing as a production crew filming a cop show in Baltimore that the detectives run into while chasing a suspect. Brodie (a Homicide videographer) gives the cameraman verite pointers, and (mimicking real life) a petty crook surrenders to the tv cops.

* This plot was also used in a fifth season episode of ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'', appropriately titled "The Documentary." It had a cameo by the ''actual'' ''Homicide: LoTS'' camera crew, appearing as a production crew filming a cop show in Baltimore that the detectives run into while chasing a suspect. Brodie (a Homicide videographer) gives the cameraman verite pointers, and (mimicking real life) a petty crook surrenders to the tv cops.

* ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'' episode "[[Rockumentary]]," chronicling the band Zack Attack.

* ''[[Even Stevens]]'' also did a ''Behind the Music''-style documentary, and a faux DVD "Making of" featurette for a film the characters were making.

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* ''[[The West Wing]]'' episode "Access" went so far as to add a fake PBS-style dedication sequence, thanking fictional trusts "And viewers like you", for their sponsorship.

* The ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' episode "Final Cut" told a story from the perspective of the regular camera as well as a documentary camera from a reporter on board the ship.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "X-Cops" used the real-life production crew of the long-running show ''[[~~Cops~~ (series)]]'' to follow Mulder and Scully around for a night.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "X-Cops" used the real-life production crew of the long-running show ''[[COPS (series)|COPS]]'' to follow Mulder and Scully around for a night.

* An episode of ''[[Yes, Dear]]'' was filmed as if the cast were on the TLC reality show.

* An episode of ''[[Third Watch]]'' had a camera crew following "Doc" Parker as he won "Paramedic of the Year"; however Doc made a mistake which was caught on the tape.

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* The [[Framing Story]] of the ''[[Ace Combat Zero ~~the~~ Belkan War]]'' single-player campaign is about an Osean journalist investigating the war ten years later. As such, it features frequent shots of (de-)classified documents and makeshift interviews, which range from orderly talks with respected professors, through visiting a wanted war criminal's hideout, to a session with a footsoldier in a ruined house in the middle of a war zone.

* The [[Framing Story]] of the ''[[Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War]]'' single-player campaign is about an Osean journalist investigating the war ten years later. As such, it features frequent shots of (de-)classified documents and makeshift interviews, which range from orderly talks with respected professors, through visiting a wanted war criminal's hideout, to a session with a footsoldier in a ruined house in the middle of a war zone.

** Shades of this were there in the previous game, ''[[Ace Combat 5 The Unsung War]]'', since [[The Narrator]] of the game was a [[Tagalong Reporter]] recounting the battles of the Wardog Squadron.

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* The episode "Krusty Krab Training Video" of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' was presented as an informational video for a new employee at the Krusty Krab restaurant.

* An episode of ''[[Recess]]'' featured a child psychologist filming the kids, who later found out her film advised banning recess. The main characters reorganised the film to promote recess instead.

* ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'' episode "Heroes" features a ''[[~~Cops~~ (series)]]''- style [[Day in the Life]] documentary where the interviewer gets kidnapped, and needs to be rescued. And there's a discussion on the benefits of spandex.

* ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'' episode "Heroes" features a ''[[COPS (series)|COPS]]''- style [[Day in the Life]] documentary where the interviewer gets kidnapped, and needs to be rescued. And there's a discussion on the benefits of spandex.

* The ''[[Animaniacs]]'' episode "Ten Short Films about Wakko Warner". [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|It's exactly what it says]].

* The "Blackfoot and Slim" episode of ''[[Dexter's Laboratory|Dexters Laboratory]]'' is like a nature documentary.