Future Living 2025 (found Science Channel documentary special; 2002)

The title card of the documentary.

Status: Found

Date found: 06 Jan 2024

Found by: omeglidan and mikusingularity

"Come with us on a journey into the future, to see how we'll be living in 2025. It's closer than you think."

Future Living 2025, 2025: Future Living, or simply 2025 (according to the title card) was a documentary that aired on the (Discovery) Science Channel in 2002 (and re-ran multiple times during the 2000s), predicting technological advancements that were expected by the year 2025. The documentary showed the high-tech life of the fictitious DiMarco family, combined with real-world footage and interviews with scientists and engineers, discussing topics such as:

• Self-driving vehicles
• Tele-immersion (3D teleconferencing) and remote work
• Virtual and augmented reality
• Wearable computers (e.g. smart glasses)
• Low-cost space transportation
• Affective computing (empathic machines)
• Ambient intelligence (electronics that respond to human presence)
• Green buildings
• Home security systems
• Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
• Personalized media (music/TV)
• Ultra-thin LED displays
• Intellectual and creative games and toys

One of the reruns was once reuploaded to YouTube in five parts, with links being posted on sites like the TechEBlog and SgForums in 2007, but the YouTube account that had uploaded them had been terminated for several years.

Before its rediscovery in 2024, a description on an archived page on science.discovery.com provided one of the only direct proofs of its existence, as no physical media (such as a DVD) was released and the show was not listed on any version of the website after the early-to-mid 2000s. The documentary was listed as part of the "Digital Domain" anthology series.

"Future Living - Discover what life will be like in the year 2025. Advanced technology will enable the creation of iris-scanning security systems and refrigerators that reorder cartons of milk when the old ones expire. Meet the Robosapien who is more human than machine."

On January 6, 2024, YouTube user mikusingularity (@piplupsingularity) uploaded a recording of the documentary provided by Reddit user omeglidan in response to a request made on the r/lostmedia subreddit in December 2019, rendering the full documentary as found.

Gallery

Videos

The full documentary.

The documentary used these exact clips of the Japanese reusable rocket concept "Kankoh-maru" (at timestamp 8:52), albeit with an electronic soundtrack and no text.

Images

• 

  The interior of a self-driving car

• 

  3D tele-immersion

• 

  Jaron Lanier, a pioneer of virtual reality, demonstrates face-tracking avatars

• 

  A map displayed on augmented reality glasses

• 

  A home's artificial intelligence

• 

  A small robot cleaning a spill

• 

  Schedules for October 9, 2025

• 

  Working from home

• 

  An LED display on a patio door

• 

  Virtual/augmented reality entertainment

See Also

Discovery Channel

• Fifth Gear Europe (partially found Discovery Channel Europe motoring series; 2009)
• Land of Lost Monsters (found Discovery Channel special; 2003)
• Mythbusters (lost unaired segments of Discovery Channel science entertainment series; 2006-2015)
• PitchMen (found Discovery Channel docudrama series; 2009-2011)
• Top Gear (partially found Discovery Channel adaptation of BBC Two motoring series; 2005)

Discovery Kids

• Darcy's Wild Life (found Family Channel/Discovery Kids teen sitcom; 2004-2006)
• Kenny the Shark (partially found live-action Discovery Kids special; 2000)
• Kenny the Shark (partially lost unaired pilots of Discovery Kids animated series; 2001)
• The Paz Show (partially lost TLC/Discovery Kids animated short series; 2003-2006)

Hub Network

• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic "Spike at your Service" (found early drafts of Hub Network animated fantasy series episode; 2012)
• Family Game Night (found Hub Network game show; 2010-2014)
• The Game of Life (partially lost Hub Network game show; 2011-2012)