"If it's the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?"
About this Quote
It lands like a one-line magic trick: Robin Williams makes you laugh, then leaves you staring at the trapdoor he just opened under a whole industry. The setup is almost childishly literal - if theyre psychic, why the phone number? - but thats the point. By taking a paranormal claim at face value, he exposes its dependence on the most ordinary, billable technology imaginable. The joke isnt about psychics as mystical figures; its about infrastructure, marketing, and monetization. True omniscience should not require toll-free access.
The intent is classic Williams: puncture pretension with a burst of common sense delivered at manic speed. The subtext is sharper: a culture hungry for certainty will accept absurd contradictions as long as theyre packaged as comfort and sold as service. The Psychic Network, a late-20th-century cable-TV staple, sold intimacy at scale - lonely people calling in for reassurance, a soothing voice on the other end, the future reduced to a per-minute rate. The phone number is the tell. Not for the viewer, but for the business model.
Williams also sneaks in a critique of media-era gullibility. Psychic hotlines flourished in the same ecosystem as infomercials and televangelism: charismatic promises beamed into private living rooms, asking you to suspend disbelief and pick up the phone. The punchline restores the audiences skepticism without scolding it. He doesnt argue; he simply points at the receipt.
The intent is classic Williams: puncture pretension with a burst of common sense delivered at manic speed. The subtext is sharper: a culture hungry for certainty will accept absurd contradictions as long as theyre packaged as comfort and sold as service. The Psychic Network, a late-20th-century cable-TV staple, sold intimacy at scale - lonely people calling in for reassurance, a soothing voice on the other end, the future reduced to a per-minute rate. The phone number is the tell. Not for the viewer, but for the business model.
Williams also sneaks in a critique of media-era gullibility. Psychic hotlines flourished in the same ecosystem as infomercials and televangelism: charismatic promises beamed into private living rooms, asking you to suspend disbelief and pick up the phone. The punchline restores the audiences skepticism without scolding it. He doesnt argue; he simply points at the receipt.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|
More Quotes by Robin
Add to List
