Maybe "novelty" isn't the best word. ;-)

"The 7 Year Itch" and all that - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048605/

I was just thinking of a former friend at work. He lived in a commune in West Virginia for a while. Lots and lots of sharing of everything. It eventually broke up over jealousy and the usual things.

The BBC story is a little confusing. Charlie was going on "this first date yesterday" with someone outside the group, apparently, but most of the story was about how the four of them interact with each other.

Cheers,
Scott.