Dept. of Prophesy

Douglas Adams, in 1999:

I expect that history will show 'normal' mainstream twentieth century media to be the aberration in all this.

'Please, miss, you mean they could only just sit there and watch? They couldn't do anything?
Didn't everybody feel terribly isolated or alienated or ignored?'

'Yes, child, that's why they all went mad. Before the Restoration.'
'What was the Restoration again, please, miss?'
'The end of the twentieth century, child. When we started to get interactivity back.'

Thanks to Kevin for the pointer.