Any Sci-Fi fans out there...

[DrewandLyn]

Edit-
(It just occurred to me that, even though this is a minor plot point, some might consider this post a spoiler... I apologize for not adding this disclaimer sooner. If you just hate spoilers, no matter how minor, and have plans to watch "Caprica," don't read on. )

I'm curious what others thought about the plural marriage on the SyFy channel's "Caprica".

My wife and I were surprised to see television presenting different possible future iterations of marriage. For those who haven't seen the show- one of the main characters, a female teacher who runs a private school, (A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...) has multiple husbands and wives who share a household and a very big bed. The shows writers introduce the plural marriage when a student visits the teacher at home and no attempt is made to hide the poly relationships. The student is not particularly surprised- just a little curious about the plural marriage. In later episodes, the poly relationship is just in the background, presented matter-of-fact- the husbands and wives doing dishes, making dinner, sleeping in the big bed, etc.

I don't know where the writers will go with this- in the first season we don't really know if the teacher will be a hero or villain. She is secretly a monotheist in a world where monotheists are discriminated against by the pantheists. And the monotheists have a radical terrorist wing. I suppose if she turns out to be a villain, that might be an indictment on her poly lifestyle- hard to say. But very interesting to see a plural marriage so matter-of-fact on TV.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[Edward]

Science fiction (once it emerged from its own puritanical age) has always speculated not just on future gadgets, but future societies. I've read several posters citing Heinlein as an inspiration, and Marion Zimmer Bradley also had poly relationships in her works. I don't really watch TV, but it's a hopeful sign that this show is presenting poly as an accepted, if somewhat unusual, lifestyle. It's a way of showing the viewer that this is the future, and things have changed. To put things in a historical perspective; imagine the reaction 200 years ago if a novel presented a bi-racial couple without any comment on the relationship...

[SchrodingersCat]

D&W, you might like the books The Neanderthal Trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer, another scifi with polyamory.

Haven't seen this show, but checking it out now. Hopefully it's no good, because I'm already "behind" on my TV watching LoL!

[Ariakas]

As a geek and scifi (god I hate the new spelling arg) fan I keep seeing this on, but never catch it. One of these days I hope to, thanks for pointing it out.

[DrewandLyn]

Originally Posted by SchrodingersCat

D&W, you might like the books The Neanderthal Trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer, another scifi with polyamory.

Hey, thanks for the reco! I will check it out... I'm just winding down on a 10 book series and I'm about due for a trip to the library.

My wife and I were big fans of the new Battlestar Galactica. We both could not get enough of Starbuck... mmm. So we were very skeptical of Caprica- did not want to see just a rehashing of ideas from BSG. Prequels tend to be a disappointment, but we finally gave it a try and were pleasantly surprised. To see the addition of poly marriage was nice a little added bonus. Polyamory is definitely finding its way into our culture.

[SchrodingersCat]

So I checked out this show. It's good! I like it a lot more than Battlestar Galactica. The whole ship thing was very monotonous and I couldn't get into the storyline.

The group marriage was introduced in Episode 3. I like how it was presented without assumptions or judgement. Very matter-of-fact, like you said. I haven't gotten to the part where they all sleep in one bed. How big is this bed? I don't think I would like that. I'm a sprawler, it's hard enough sharing a queen-size with one other person and 2 cats. What if you're in the middle and you have to pee? Do you have to crawl over 5 people? Nuts to that! And as much a voyeur as I am, let's face it: if your husband and wife are fucking next to you, makes it a bit hard to get some shuteye :P

[DrewandLyn]

The scenes in bed are short- just a few seconds of footage and no sex- just sleeping- until the alarm clock goes off or someone gets a phone call- that sort of thing, very mundane, but still ineresting to see on TV.

As for sharing a big bed in real life... I love it. Of course, it's not for everyone, but worth a try at least once or twice.

A few years back, my wife and I were in a quad relationship with another couple, and we always shared the bed. It was pretty great- lots of opportunity for closeness, affection and bonding- not to mention the sex- fantastic, especially if you're a little voyeur/exhibitionist inclined. Of course there are practical matters, like, as you say, getting up to pee etc., but it's really no problem. You learn to adapt. And if someone was really having a hard time sleeping, they would just go to the other room. (and sometimes someone else would follow. )

Sharing the same bed really fits my ideal poly relationship- an intimacy shared. I'm hetero, (I don't say straight, because I'm clearly bent ) but sharing a bed with a another man who is having sex with my wife is a profound experience.

[Tonberry]

Originally Posted by Casilda

I remember once trying to develop a flow chart to see just how complex such an arrangement could get. It was possible to have a closed circle of six individuals, but it was also possible to have a tangled knot comparable to the Hapsburg family tree.

According to Phlox in A Night in Sickbay (season 2), his network has 720 familial relationships, 42 with sexual possibilities. I'm assuming he'd only count the people he interacts with, however, since technically all denobulans in existence could be linked to one another that way.

It seems he's also allowed to date outside of his three marriages, at least while he's away from home, as when a woman from the ship hits on him, he tells her he has three wives, but doesn't use it as a "so, you see, I can't date you" line, and is only informing her because he feels she doesn't realise the cultural gap between them.

[Setxfamily]

I'm a huge SciFi fan. Currently into the John Ringo series "Lie free or Die" But I and my lady have a huge range of tastes in the Scifi market. Especially the more realistic the better.