Name this TV show

December 17, 2018 8:36 AM

There was a TV show in the 90s about a guy who lived in a house by himself for 30 days and could only use the internet to support himself - groceries, clothes, food, etc. We thought it was a radical idea at the time and it was heavily criticized - what was it called? - thanks!
posted by FireStyle to Society & Culture (13 answers total)

Susunu! Denpa Shōnen featuring Nasubi?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:04 AM on December 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: @alvy - not this one... it was an American show, kind of documentary styled... almost like a mini-series you'd see on 60 Minutes or 20/20 or something
posted by FireStyle at 9:19 AM on December 17, 2018

Unfortunately I don't remember the name, and I don't think I watched it, but I have a vague memory that he was able to acquire pizza but that getting other foodstuffs proved more challenging. Does that sound familiar?
posted by jocelmeow at 9:41 AM on December 17, 2018

Here's a short article on a 1999 event set up by msn. "Four people were abandoned semi-naked in the spartan conditions of a central London youth hostel yesterday, forbidden to leave their rooms for five days and equipped only with a credit card and access to the internet to feed, clothe and entertain themselves.

All four have agreed to temporary incarceration as part of an experiment to assess whether it is possible to survive using only the internet."
posted by jocelmeow at 9:58 AM on December 17, 2018

i remember a stunt where a guy was trying to live for a year on internet deliveries only, but I don't remember a TV show. I'll try to find it.
posted by rhizome at 10:43 AM on December 17, 2018

Response by poster: @jocelmeow - that is a very similar premise and may have been inspired from or is a derivative of the American show. I believe the US version had just 1 guy by himself though
posted by FireStyle at 10:58 AM on December 17, 2018

I recall that it was one guy. I thought maybe the msn stunt might help indicate about when what you're remembering took place.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:08 AM on December 17, 2018

Are you perhaps confabulating something with the Morgan Spurlock F/X series 30 Days?
posted by Countess Sandwich at 11:28 AM on December 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

I remember a show/doc about a whole group of people living in some hostel or something, where they only had internet access, and not allowed to leave? Or maybe they were under 100% video observation at all times? Now I can't even remember if that was real or fiction.
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 11:33 AM on December 17, 2018

Best answer: Was it DotComGuy? I don't think he had an actual show, though he had a bunch of webcams set up in his DotCompound.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:04 PM on December 17, 2018 [4 favorites]

I feel like I remember this, but my sense is that it was not a TV show, but a web-show of some kind.
posted by QuakerMel at 1:05 PM on December 17, 2018

Response by poster: @Metroid Baby - I think this is it!!! great find!!
posted by FireStyle at 7:02 AM on December 19, 2018

Good one Metroid Baby, that's the one I was thinking about. A bit earlier than I thought, though!
posted by rhizome at 9:28 AM on December 19, 2018