They’re Putting Silver Underwear on Their Heads

Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: 3 Body Problem, game of thrones, Liu Cixin, netflix, silver underwear, VR headsets

The Netflix version of 3 Body Problem might have a problem – no matter how serious the story gets, those VR headsets look like silver underwear!

Article Summary

Netflix’s 3 Body Problem adaptation draws mixed reviews for VR headset design.

Showrunners promise book faithfulness while tailoring the story for global audiences.

Viewers mock headset design likening it to silver-plated underwear worn on the head.

Chinese social media started a trend joking about the series’ VR headset appearance.

Netflix is building buzz for their adaptation of 3 Body Problem, lifting the embargo for two whole weeks for reviews to be posted. So far, the reviews have been a bit mixed. Ex-Game of Thrones Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are on the redemption tour interview circuit talking about how they’re staying faithful to the books while making big changes to make it palatable to international viewers. There’s just one issue: the slick design for the Virtual Reality headsets in the Netflix series looks like chrome-plated underwear.

3 Body Problem: They're Putting Silver Underwear on Their Heads — “3 Body Problem” still: Netflix

The Netflix version of 3 Body Problem has a massive budget – a single episode probably cost more than the entire budget of the 30-episode Chinese version. You can understand the Hollywood mentality of making everything look as slick and futuristic as possible, but with the VR headsets here, I cannot help but go, “What were they thinking?!”

I haven’t watched the series, so I couldn’t comment on the story until after watching the premiere. However, I’ve seen the trailers and the clips every time I see the bits where the characters put on the VR headsets. Did any of them know it looked like they were wearing silver underwear on their heads? They all look like they lost a bet at a party.

You Can’t Unsee the Upside-Down Silver Underwear!

At any stage of preproduction on 3 Body Problem, no one stopped and said to the design department, “Guys, don’t you think they look like silver-plated panties?” Or “knickers” if they were in the UK. Considering those VR headsets have become the signature image of this version of 3 Body Problem, didn’t even an executive at Netflix have that thought? Don’t get me wrong, I think this is hilarious! I have no idea if this iteration of the 3 Body Problem is good or bad. Still, I will never get over the fact that no matter how serious and important (or portentous) the story gets, these guys are going to put silver underwear on their heads!!

Am I being cruel about a lot of people’s hard work? Maybe, but I can’t unsee it. And this isn’t my idea; Chinese social media pointed it out months ago when the first trailer came out. They’ve been laughing their asses off ever since. I know it’s been a long, hard road to adapt Liu Cixin’s epic trilogy of highly dense and difficult novels. But, you know, it’s kind of embarrassing that all that expensive work to bring 3 Body Problem will be defined by, well, upside-down silver underwear. This could become a new drinking game. Every time someone in the series puts on those silver underwear, take a sip. You could quickly get drunk since they play a big part in the first season. If you like drinking games, this could be your new idea of fun! The big question is, can we get #silverunderwearonthehead trending when the series premieres?

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