A fax-machine tone connected to a Backrooms-related number immediately establishes the simple curiosity driving this experiment: what actually happens when viewers dial numbers deliberately shown on screen? Rather than merely compiling famous fictional phone numbers, the group calls them in real time, follows whatever clues they encounter and reacts to the results. Some calls lead nowhere, but the uncertainty over whether each number will still work gives the concept enough suspense to carry the video.
The Backrooms sequence provides the most elaborate example. After the first number produces what sounds like a fax connection, the group follows another number associated with it and reaches a recording for the South Bay Bulletin Board archives, which directs callers to a website. Finding the same number there gives the segment a satisfying trail to follow. The hosts lean heavily into ominous reactions and suggestions that something strange is happening, but nothing presented establishes anything genuinely paranormal or dangerous; the entertainment comes from treating an unusual promotional trail like a miniature mystery.
The Stranger Things calls demonstrate both the strengths and limitations of the format. A Surfer Boy Pizza number no longer produces the expected recording, so the hosts play what they identify as the original audio instead. That preserves some interest, particularly because the recording fits the fictional business, but it also removes the spontaneity that makes successful live calls appealing. Murray Bauman's number works much better, delivering an extended in-character message involving his mother, Joyce and unwanted callers. It is easily one of the experiment's best payoffs because dialing the number actually produces additional material connected to the show.
Other franchises produce similarly uneven results. A missing-person number associated with Stranger Things fails, while the Super Mario Bros. number reaches a themed voicemail that prompts an excited argument over whether they have technically "talked" to Mario or merely heard Luigi's recording. The distinction is played for comedy, and the group's willingness to mock one another keeps unsuccessful or modest results from becoming completely flat. The calls are ultimately less about uncovering secrets than experiencing small pieces of promotional world-building that were designed for curious fans.
The Breaking Bad portion is comparatively disappointing. Attempts to reach a Better Call Saul number encounter a busy signal and then an unassigned-number message, leading the group to joke that Saul must actually be occupied as a lawyer. There is no meaningful discovery to compensate for the failed connection, illustrating the central weakness of the premise: promotional numbers can disappear, change or simply stop functioning, leaving the hosts with little beyond their reactions. A tighter edit could have reduced some of the repeated dialing and speculation when a number clearly was not producing anything useful.
Comedy increasingly takes precedence over the experiment as the video progresses, culminating in the supposed opportunity to call Shrek. Instead, the number rings one of the participants' phones, revealing the setup as a prank and provoking the expected frustration. It is a lightweight ending rather than another genuine test, but it suits the group's energetic, teasing dynamic. Across the video, exaggerated fear, interruptions and recurring jokes can become noisy, yet the successful Murray and Mario-related recordings show why calling fictional numbers remains an entertaining idea when the studios have actually left something for fans to discover.
Pros
- The live-call format creates genuine uncertainty about which fictional numbers will still produce a response.
- Murray's Stranger Things recording provides a substantial and entertaining in-universe payoff.
- Following the Backrooms numbers through a recording and associated website gives the opening experiment more depth than a simple series of calls.
- The group's playful chemistry helps maintain momentum when several numbers fail.
Cons
- Multiple disconnected, busy or unassigned numbers inevitably produce stretches with little payoff.
- Ominous reactions to the Backrooms material exaggerate the mystery beyond what the calls themselves establish.
- Repeated dialing and extended joking occasionally slow a premise that benefits from quick pacing.
- The final Shrek call abandons the movie-number experiment for a predictable prank.
Successful character recordings make the concept worthwhile, particularly when dialing a familiar on-screen number reveals an extra piece of fictional world-building. Too many dead numbers and repetitive reactions keep the experiment from delivering consistently, but the group's humor and a few genuinely satisfying connections make it an enjoyable curiosity-driven watch.
