1. A computer-implemented method for presenting chronologically ordered database event information through a user interface, comprising: displaying a graphical user interface having user-selectable graphical elements associated with predefined playback controls; receiving user inputs with respect to the graphical elements to invoke the respective predefined playback controls; in response to at least one of the user inputs, visually playing back, in the graphical user interface, a recording showing graphical objects being acted upon by chronologically ordered events within a period of time, such that a user observes visually recognizable changes occurring within the graphical user interface during playback of the recording; wherein the recording is based on information captured by one or more database monitors monitoring a database system comprising a plurality of databases and tables within each of the databases; wherein the graphical objects include at least representative icons for the plurality of databases and the tables within each of the databases, and wherein the visually recognizable changes shown during playback of the recording include an animated presentation of individual rows of the respective tables changing over time according to database operations being performed on the respective databases; and receiving user input selecting a button included with the playback controls configured to halt playback of the recording at a desired point in time and allow a user to examine a state of the database system at the desired point in time through interaction with the graphical user interface.