File photo: A woman tries on earphones and a headset used for virtual reality at the Venice Virtual Reality a competition during 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, August 29, 2017. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)
Most people dread being stuck in a coffee shop with a bad first date — let alone outer space.
But that’s just one of the new frontiers of awkwardness that singletons face in “Virtually Dating,” a new show by Condé Nast Entertainment.
The series, which launched Wednesdayon Facebook Watch, sets people up on blind dates that take place in virtual reality worlds. Backdrops include the aforementioned cosmos, a post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world and ancient Egypt.
At the end of the date, couples are asked if they want to see each other again — this time, in the real world.
The first episode follows John and Shelby, an attractive, happy-go-lucky pair. They don’t exactly have the smoothest greeting: Bound by VR goggles, they fumble as they find one another to shake hands.
ohn, gazing at his VR self in a VR mirror, decides that he looks like a “creepy doll.” But at least some of his assets look good: “Look at my booty in this thing!” Shelby agrees, and laments that hers isn’t as good (“That’s not fair!”). The two proceed to knock over some VR tables.
If this is what the future of romance looks like, there is a real reason to worry about the continuity of the human race.
John and Shelby do seem to forge a connection as they slow-dance on the moon. Sadly, it comes to an abrupt end when Shelby accuses John of looking like a “weird alien.”
But it wasn’t all a wash: The couple ultimately decides to go on a second date, and they get a good selfie out of it.
Still, dating is hard enough in this dimension. Do we really need to take it to a literal other realm of complication?
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.