Ed Begley Jr. had an image problem. Hollywood is lousy with so-called activists, but he's a genuine back-to-the-land environmentalist and something of a rigorist. That fact has led to some mockery over the years. On one episode of The Simpsons, the writers had him refusing to board a protest bus to help save a grove of redwoods. Begley preferred to drive a vehicle that "doesn't hurt Mother Earth," a go-cart powered entirely by his "own sense of self-satisfaction."
Thus the new reality series Living with Ed, airing Sunday nights on the HGTV network. It's billed as one of those shows where opposites attract and then drive each other nuts. The title comes from his wife Rachelle's exasperated challenge: "You try living with Ed." If the first two episodes are a reliable guide, the show is really an effort to sell viewers on a vision of the world through Begley's green-tinted glasses.
The "set" is Begley's home in Studio City, in the San Fernando Valley. It's a 1930s era house on a large lot. It's also the subject of constant bickering between Begley and the Missus. He admits that the place is a shack "by Hollywood standards." However, most of the world would consider the place "a palace." His wife tells us she'd rather just "tear the whole place down and start over."
Rachelle's thumbs-down judgment isn't limited to the size of the house. After grousing about the large organic garden that takes up most of the front yard, she tells the cameraman, "Let's go inside. It's too depressing." Inside, we learn she "cannot stand" the compact fluorescent light bulbs or the track lighting. She also hates that the shop takes up a large chunk of the garage, because that means she has to park her car "on the street."
Then there's the electrical system. The roofs of the house and garage are covered with solar panels that supply enough energy to run the place. Excess juice is banked in a custom-built energy grid in the garage that is drawn on at night. Begley has also rigged his exercise bike to feed electricity into the system as he peddles. Ten minutes every morning equals enough voltage to toast his bread.
Thus the new reality series Living with Ed, airing Sunday nights on the HGTV network. It's billed as one of those shows where opposites attract and then drive each other nuts. The title comes from his wife Rachelle's exasperated challenge: "You try living with Ed." If the first two episodes are a reliable guide, the show is really an effort to sell viewers on a vision of the world through Begley's green-tinted glasses.
The "set" is Begley's home in Studio City, in the San Fernando Valley. It's a 1930s era house on a large lot. It's also the subject of constant bickering between Begley and the Missus. He admits that the place is a shack "by Hollywood standards." However, most of the world would consider the place "a palace." His wife tells us she'd rather just "tear the whole place down and start over."
Rachelle's thumbs-down judgment isn't limited to the size of the house. After grousing about the large organic garden that takes up most of the front yard, she tells the cameraman, "Let's go inside. It's too depressing." Inside, we learn she "cannot stand" the compact fluorescent light bulbs or the track lighting. She also hates that the shop takes up a large chunk of the garage, because that means she has to park her car "on the street."
Then there's the electrical system. The roofs of the house and garage are covered with solar panels that supply enough energy to run the place. Excess juice is banked in a custom-built energy grid in the garage that is drawn on at night. Begley has also rigged his exercise bike to feed electricity into the system as he peddles. Ten minutes every morning equals enough voltage to toast his bread.
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