An environmental activist actor, his "long-suffering" wife and a fence made out of recycled milk jugs. Let the hilarity begin!

For someone who is Mr. Conservation, Ed is really quite dim when it comes to matters of energy efficiency. His kitchen sucks, and it should be remodeled.

First of all, those appliances are ancient. Replace them all with Energy Star-rated appliances, and they'll probably use around half the electricity. And Ed should also look into Energy Star-rated home computers.

Also, the stove being right next the the fridge like that makes the fridge have to run that much harder to keep the food inside cold. If he let Rachelle remodel, they could reconfigure the layout for a more efficient use of space.

And there are tons of resources online to find out everything from appliance recycling in the area to remodelers who practice green building principles. He could have a ball finding Earth-friendly, attractive things.

He does know that which does make it seem odd. Of course, it could also indicate that they really just don't cook at home that often.

Why did they bother to make a series out of this? Maybe a one-time half-hour special but this 'Ed's green/ wife isn't' deal is stretched out way too thin and even makes 'Gene Simmon's an insatiable moneygrubber' deal seem more interesting!
Now if they Ed and his wife actually did a 'Green Acres' remake instead of just redoing the theme, that may be entertaining

But if you remodel you toss lots of stuff into a landfill. Even if you offer it for free (like on Freecycle or Recycler) most of it won't be reused.

From what I've read, it costs more in resources to wash dishes by hand than to run them through the dishwasher.

Ed had me going along with him, until the kitchen show.

That's part of finding a contractor who knows about green building. There are ways to recycle or repurpose much of what is tossed. Here's some info on it.

I’ve became so disappointed with this show. What a missed opportunity. There has been growing consumer interest in eco-friendly products and energy efficiency for a long time now. Go to a Lowes and you see magazines such as Mother Earth News, Dwell, Smart HomeOwner, and Innovative Home showcasing a wide range of eco-smart designs and products. A television show spotlighting green products and practices and demonstrating how they can be incorporated in our everyday lives is long overdue. But instead of an informative how-to show like that we get a show like this.

Did anyone else read Inc. magazine’s recent article on 50 cutting edge companies? One of the companies, IceStone, makes countertops and flooring and wallcovering from recycled glass. Perhaps that was the company Ed and Rachelle got their countertops from. However, we can’t be sure because no one mentioned the company’s name and I couldn’t read the logo on the sales rep’s shirt.

If it is IceStone, then it really is a eco-smart business. In 2006 the company recycled 2.6 million pounds of glass. Their manufacturing plant is designed to use daylighting and greywater recycling. Their machines even use soy-based lubricants. I’d rather learn something informative like that by having the sales rep take Ed to the factory rather than that pointless scene with Ed greeting the bewildered guy who arrived with the countertops.

The show does a disservice for green manufacturers. It was bad enough that they didn't mention the countertop company's name, but longer shots might have showcased the materials better. If I made rainbarrels I’d be so pissed off by the rainbarrel episode. Rainbarrels come in different shapes and colors and you can even paint them. Here was an opportunity to demonstrate that for homeowners. Perhaps also include info about how much water you can save. Instead we have wacky ol’ Ed buying an orange barrel and then watching Rachelle screech about it and later try to figure out how to use a saw to reinstall the gutter.

I’m still trying to figure out why Rachelle is on this show, except to remind us that she is a certified Pilates instructor. I didn’t understand the point of her scenes with the real estate agent (unless the agent was a friend of hers who wanted to be on tv) because the scenes with Ed in Jay Leno’s amazing garage were much more entertaining and educational.

Thanks for resurrecting the thread, Ms. Chicklet.

I wish your previous suggestions for the show hadn't been lost, torgoman. I recall them as being excellent, and like you say now, this show has a lot of unrealized potential.

The Living with Ed site has some product information, and a link to the Vetrazzo, the countertop manufacturer.

There's a page on Ed's landscaper with info from him.

I didn't see last week's kitchen show, but I did catch most of the ep that had Jay Leno. I thought the discussion about the cars was really fascinating. (Sidenote: Jay Leno seems duller in his off time than on his show.) That episode especially reinforced for me how I don't care about the reality show aspects

Here's the synopsis for tonight's show:As far as the hand-dishwashing vs. dishwasher topic, I don't know how things balance out. I chatted with the serviceman who came out to repair our dishwasher and he said it might use less water, but they can also use a lot of energy to heat up the water. Newer models apparently have thermostats and heat the water up to that temp and that can sometimes take a while depending on what your water heater's set at. (So we make sure to run the dishwasher only when full, use the energy-saver setting, wipe any clumpy stuff off before putting in the dishwasher because of the sensors in washer, etc.)

Ita with all other sentiments about Ed being clueless about the fact that his old appliances need to be replaced.





According to this, the right dishwasher beats handwashing in terms of environmental-friendliness.


It is still better to upgrade to newer, more energy efficent appliances. Take a look at this FAQ.

I think Ed is just an easygoing good guy and goes along with whatever his wife wants (mostly). Perhaps Rachelle still has a manager and they came up with a good idea for some exposure--trying to restart her acting career. Was there really ever a career?

So great to see Bill Nye on this week's episode! He and Ed have such a fun, friendly rivalry.

If this was, in fact, the last episode of the show, then it was a big disappointment. There was a lot of unrealized potential there, in terms of diseminating(sp?) information on living a green or greener lifestyle. Instead, they just did a lot of reality show shtick, and tried to turn the Begleys into the green Osbournes (but without the swearing.) HGTV really missed the boat on this show.

I heard that this coming Sunday is the "finale".

I totally don't understand how its greener for Ed to drive on person in a car to Sundance, than his wife to fly there. Its not like the commercial airline flight is going to be cancelled without her on it. She wasn't going by private jet. Maybe if everyone drove instead of flew then the flight would be cancelled. But, then that would be many more cars burning gasoline than jet fuel used. Maybe everyone should just travel by covered wagon. I also did not understand what Ed was talking about when he talked about carbon imprinting.

How many times during the show did they show the scene of Ed getting his suitcases out of the closet. Way to recycle footage.

Exactly! it was such a moot argument. I suppose in Ed's ideal reality, everyone would cancel the flight to drive, but they're not gonna. He could argue that "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem," but really, what can you do? Sit back and ask the flight attendant for a Diet Coke, is my vote.

Based on calculations given in this Google Answers thread,


Ed, driving alone in his hybrid, was consuming approximately 55 miles per gallon, so it's about even. Also, air travel emits more carbon directly into the atmosphere than car travel. It would have been a lot more efficient if he could have convinced Rachelle to drive with him, but driving wasn't a bad choice.

I've only caught the last couple of episodes, but I've enjoyed the show. It's nice to see a richy-rich guy be so gung-ho about the environment. It even inspired me to take the bus to work today and walk home, instead of sleeping later and driving my car. The show is entertaining without being too preachy, which I appreciate.

I hope they rerun the first few episodes at some point, so I can see them all.

I'd really love it if this is a springboard for Ed to host a green home show - one that shows form and function, new products and ways we can all make a small difference. Signs are that green building is going to start moving from being a niche product into the mainstream in the coming years in new construction.

I caught the first three episodes this week.

I liked seeing how the solar panels worked. I didn't realize that people actually had homes that were "off the grid". From my limited reading about solar technology, I thought most people had a setup similar to Bill Nye's, where they collected solar power from the sun and sold it to the city, which then sells power back to you (at a cheaper rate? I'm really not sure on how that works).

I thought the rain barrels were very cool also, although I agree with the poster upthread who said that you can get much prettier ones. Or Ed could've painted the ones that he bought.

I thought the episode with Jay Leno was a snooze.

MS Chicklet is right. It should be "Mr. Begley builds his dreamhouse." They could show how to build a house that is both green and attractive and if they could do it in a way that was affordable it would be good for all of us.

The environment-friendly 'Living with Ed' show is coming back in August.

Season 2 Schedule:
And they still have that open casting call going on:
Website link to apply to be on the show: http://www.livingwithed.net/castingcall.asp

I'm glad this show is coming back, and hopefully there'll be improvements.

I'm glad its coming back too... Because Ed really does 'walk the walk'.
And for Hollywood, that's nothing short of amazing. Ed even inspired the
folks running the show's production company to start conserving.

The producers weren't even recycling paper or cans (at their main
production office) before they took on Ed's show:
http://www.livingwithed.net/theproduction.asp

That means a few more tons out of the waste stream just from that one office. Thanks Ed.
eta:
activist Ed Begley Jr. will serve as grand marshal when
the village of Palos Park holds its annual parade and
chili cook-off on Saturday, Sept. 15.



- Wonder if he will walk the route, since he said he prefers walking as transport?
Can't see him being willing to ride in a conventional convertible, at any rate.

I had no idea this show existed until I saw the listing on tonight's schedule. I have read about Ed's "green" work a few times over the years and wanted to see what he does.

I don't hate his wife, but I don't think she adds much to the show. Does it jar anyone else that a show about a natural way of living features a woman who has had so much plastic surgery? If you're going to get work done, be like Cheryl Tiegs, who looks flawless yet not like a space alien.

The wife seems to play up to the cameras a lot, especially about her wanting more than what she currently has. I wish she'd tone it down.

I agree. Sometimes it feels more like "Rachelle Whines About Ed." They have been together for quite a while, though, so I guess the greedy wife/stingy husband thing is their shtick.

Ed is great! When I hear Jennifer Anniston or Cameron Diaz talk about how they turn off the water to shave their legs in their bazillion square foot homes, it's a total joke to me, but when I see Ed's modest lifestyle I'm truly impressed.

Article on new season

Bill Nye! Nice to see him again. I still remember his "Almost Live" days. He looks a bit like Lady Elaine Fairchild now.

The dick-measuring contest between Bill and Ed was very entertaining, especially when they had the scenes of Ed and Rochelle in their garden, picking up the giant cucumbers. It felt like the editors were in on the joke. Then Ed joking that he wanted to pawn Rochelle off on Bill.

Did the first season have so many fast clips from confessionals? Rochelle says 2 words and they cut away. Or Rochelle says something and you get a shot of Bill rolling his eyes in a confessional which was totally unrelated. It becomes dizzying.

I rolled my eyes when Rochelle justified her complaints about Bill's house with "I tell the truth. I say it like I see it." That's a tired excuse used by someone who has no manners. Just because you're being honest doesn't mean you aren't being rude.

I did feel for her when she called him because the air was not coming on and he gave her the brush-off. My favorite part was when she said it was boiling hot, and he said no, then gave her the exact temperature of what boiling hot would be.

Paul McCrane. Romano! I'm always happy to see him. He's as cute as ever. He was the main reason I stuck with "ER" for as long as I did.

Ed Begley is terrific, and I’m enjoying the show’s new format. The quick clips give Rochelle something other to do than play up her materialistic wife shtick. I prefer her when she addresses the aesthetics or user-friendliness of a green product, such as when she asked the Solatube installer about how hard it might be to change the light bulb. I can see viewers at home having those concerns.

I also want one of those Pacwind turbines, especially after watching Ed talk about the product in further detail here. Not only do they look beautiful but they seem more practical for citydwellers compared to horizontal turbines.

I also wouldn’t mind seeing them do more energy audits.

I like Paul McCrane, but the bit with him dropping by just to check in on the ecological goods felt a bit forced. It was nice seeing Cheryl Tiegs' house, though, but for a man I feel must be a feminist (I base that on various things) the constant portrayal of his wife as someone begging for a new house or to redecorate, just smacks so much of Lucy and Ricky. It stands out glaringly in a supposedly socially aware reality show such as this one claims to be.

I was also offended when Ed got irritated at Rachelle for not properly oohing and aahing over turbines and solar panels for what was probably the millionth time in their life together. If this show is any indication (and I know it may not be), he seems to cram it down her throat night and day. It may have hurt Bill Nye's feelings when she was indifferent, but sometimes your patience just runs out.

Do they do anything besides talk about how better to go green? Because if not, they should have an educational show on PBS instead of a reality show about their domestic life. I'd love to see Rachelle get to do something other than watch Ed hang solar panels or whatever. And I'm all for ecology and solar panels (My dad was into those in the '70s, not that anyone else was in our town). I would just like to know what else they are interested in. And what type of people they are.

Last - if Ed wants to be married, he should compromise a bit more! For instance: He says he wants to live totally "off the grid" one day. She says she wants a newer, bigger, prettier house. Yet, he's trying to force multiple apparati onto a midcentury bungalow in overpopulated Studio City. They could buy a much larger house somewhere like Phoenix, which by the way incorporates solar power into its architecture all the time. For instance, Frank Lloyd Wright built Taliesin West and lived there. He used found materials and believed in incorporating design into its surrounding landscape, etc. Today Taliesin West houses a school for architects. I'm sure they could find green-minded architects there. Ed could have his windmills and solar panels, in a new dwelling, and Rachelle could have her big house with a decent sized yard - all pretty and all green. Maybe they could rename the show "Living Green Acres" or something.

If nothing else maybe they could visit Taliesin West next season? (I don't work there; I just think AZ would be a good aesthetic and green match perhaps; and Wright is cool.)

I don't know if the indifference bothered him as much as her being somewhat rude and criticizing the things in Bill's house (without giving much of a reason). Then her "oh I'm just honest" excuse did not help.

I think it was staged for the cameras anyway, as most of their tiffs probably are.



He was married to another woman for a number of years, I wonder how she felt about his green lifestyle.

Have they ever shown their child? I've only seen a few episodes, so maybe he or she was in the first season.

He's still a working actor, so it makes sense to me that he's living where the work is. I don't think he'd have this show if he wasn't in LA. It also seems like a part of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra to live beneath your means in existing structures rather than buy and create something new, which is going to have a negative environmental impact as part of the construction alone.

Their daughter was shown a few times last season.

I drove by a wind farm recently so it's fascinating to see the home-sized turbines.

It feels like the producers took some of our suggestions. :D

I hear ya, plk, but, a lot of working actors (who have a name going, that is) live in Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle, even Wyoming...Phoenix and some other places are a very short plane ride. (Of course, I guess he's against planes.)

I just hope Rachelle gets her house soon. I feel her pain - I live right next to Studio City in a cramped apartment with my hubby. He refused to buy a home when prices were still low enough. It has caused a LOT of friction so I may be projecting. For all I know this is just a badly overemphasized schtick for their show. But I think there has to be something of truth in it also, as she does seem irritated over it.

A marriage should value BOTH perspectives.

lulee: I love driving by the wind farm on the way to Arizona. Sooo pretty - and about time someone began doing things like this. There was a major ecology movement in the 1970s (I still remember it) but nothing seemed to come of that.

Yeah, I think that he is just not a huge name, though, so living really far away would definitely preclude having his own reality show, at least. He's a recognizable celebrity, but isn't doing movies or anything, and doesn't seem to be running after all the work he could possibly get, so I think that living in a house he's already paid for is a pretty smart financial move. And he's said in one of the episodes that his hierarchy of transportation choices are walking first, followed by biking, then I think public transport or the electric car. If you take one of those ecological footprint tests, you can see how your commuting and other transportation choices have an impact, and he just seems to be the kind of guy who would be aware of that and try to reduce it.

I am glad to see the show return and think the tweaks have improved it. It get the feeling that in addition to being "green" Ed is "cheep". The comments earlier about his kitchen were on the mark. Not to have modern energy saving appliances is probably wasting all his efforts with the solar stove and rain barrels etc.

His house at 1700SF is cozy, esp w/o a basement, but not an excuse for a dump. Fix it up Ed!

Perhaps fixing up Ed and Rachelle's house could be the focus of the third season. That is, if they're not going to start fixing it up this season.

I sort of watched this.... what is the point of seeing some million dollar modern house with "strawboard" kitchen cabinets, so cheap at 89 cents a foot? It's the new vogue, just having a bunch of green conversation starters. How tiresome to see the Beverly Hills set cooing at each other over how green they are.

If celebrities want to try to look good by being more environmentally-friendly, it doesn't bother me. It's a big improvement over the days they would look good by talking to Robin Leach about their huge pools filled with champagne or their fleet of Rolls Royces. Ed at least does seem to be someone who walks the walk and talks the talk.

I guess those complaints on pages 1 and 2 must have also been reflected in some letters to Ed, because he said what you guys said, that he found out certain dishwashers conserve more energy than hand washing.

I can see why Rochelle gets frustrated about his lifestyle, but sometimes I hope the shrillness is just for TV. She probably knew what he was like before they got married, so I hope she wasn't expecting them to go get a dream house. He is cheap, but I do wonder how much money her cosmetic surgery costs; that could go to saving up for a place she wants. I do think they must force a lot of the conflict on the show just for the sake of drama.

I really don't like Jay Leno, never have. He seemed nice enough on here. I like the chance to see the various celebrities in the green setting, and in some cases, like his, it's probably genuine, because he is rich enough and famous enough to not need to make up something just to get on an HGTV show watched by 10 people.

What did you think of the green office woman? I'm glad Rochelle at least talked to her.

She seemed strident to me. Maybe it's because she didn't smile very often. She kept saying she takes the person who lives there into account but all I saw her do was make Rachelle sort things and then the organiser did the rest. I didn't see much teaching going on. Maybe that was on the cutting room floor (or, I guess, the imovie clip bin).

I loved that 'green mansion' but wow, did those people seem anal retentive. Everything was organised. It was beautiful to look at but is anyone ever allowed to just make a mess?

Did anyone hear what they did for a living to afford that place? Although, in some cases people here just kept trading houses up and up and selling and selling up to a higher real estate bracket. They seemed wealthy somehow, though. Maybe it was how relaxed they seemed in all that space, as if they were used to it/not surprised to findi themselves there. Contrast it with Rachelle's reaction. It seemed to embarrass Ed actually. That disappoints me about him; he should have just let her enjoy the house without feeling it reflected negatively on his ability to provide or something. I could be projecting, but that's how it came across, to me.

As for Ed and Rachelle and their little girl being able to live better. Well, real estate prices are just beginning to drop here in L.A. But there were probably a few times she tried to get him to sell that place. That house probably could easily still sell for nearly $900,000. Think of the huge green mansion they could build elsewhere. Now I have two ideas on that - not mutually exclusive ones either.

1. Some network could fund or help fund that project. Ed and Rachelle could build the model green home for the 21st century. He could bring the knowledge (and keep finding more) and she could design the aesthetics. Now that would be a show I'd love to watch.

They could spend an entire season building it, a la Dream House.

2. Why doesn't Ed have a show on radio about how to live green. He could do that from anywhere. Doesn't Sirius still need people to fill up their lineup?

I think he's just stuck in his ways. He could probably live more ecologically in a place like that and he could certainly live in a greener city (I'm not judging him, just thinking out loud). He seems to want to prove some point about taking an existing home and making it green. But for a logical person a lot of his choices and habits seem illogical or seem to have become counter productive at this point.

That's just my opinion. On the positive side - they both seem like nice people and it's good to have good people with good intentions on television.

Jay's bit with the magnifying glass was pretty funny. They must be old friends to tease each other that way. =)

From the article I found, Ed likes living where he is.

Because the house is smaller and, with the improvements, less expensive to operate, it means he has more career freedom. He doesn't have to take what he thinks are lousy jobs just to pay for the house. He can bike, walk, take public transportation or drive the electric car almost everywhere he goes.

I'm glad Rachelle got new appliances. Ed at least admitted he was mistaken about the hand-washing thing. But he also should have figured out how much the new stove and microwave will save in terms of gas and electricity over the old ones. Considering his old appliances looked at least 20 years old, the new ones will probably pay for themselves in less than two years. He also should have looked into appliance recycling.

Yes, it's a reality show, but it is on HGTV, so I really don't want to see a lot about their domestic life, actually most of the criticism of last season was that it focused too much on their domestic life and given that it was on HGTV it should focus more on Ed going to help people fix up their houses or what they can do to make the show green.

In the first episode, the woman in the "normal" family was killing me because I knew she was an actress but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was Lisa Howard from Highlander and Earth: Final Conflict and a bunch of other guest appearances. Her husband is Daniel Cerone writer/producer of Charmed and Dexter.

I love Ed Begley and this season is definitely more enjoyable to me than last season. The green house they went to was amazing. The tile work, the light, the views. All fantastic. I wish they would have told how much more of it cost. I suspect, except for the straw cabinets, it's out of my price league.

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but Rachelle's forehead is really distracting. When she raises her eyebrows, the creases in her forehead only appear on the margins. It's frozen in the middle. That must feel uncomfortable. I hope she outgrows the vanity and just lets nature take it's course.

I've really enjoyed the last few episodes. They have a good blend of fun household drama mixed with meeting other celebrities to talk about green living. The Ed/Bill Nye feud is really amusing, and I enjoyed in the last episode how Rochelle pretended to not know how to do something because that way he would do the work for her. It was great to see Larry Hagman again, because I had no idea if he was dying somewhere, given how sick he was a few years back. I was amazed when he said his electric bill is only $13!

My biggest complaint about the show is one I have about most of this type of reality show, which is the monotonous narration. Random talking head says, "And then we had to go to..." "We were still at..." "Meanwhile, back at..."

I do love seeing all these fabulous houses, and the big push solar panels are being given. I also want to say that I felt hugely relieved simply watching a show in which sane people talked about positive things. It was like a little oasis of sanity when television seems to reward famewhoring and sociopathy more and more.

It was great 'spending time with' Larry and Maj Hagman. They seemed like lovely people. The pool in a grotto brought back memories of (seeing) the one at Hearst Castle. It wasn't nearly as ornate of course, and much, much more ecological. And how great would that indoor pool be? I'm not sure what the 'water storage' was about, though. Earthquake preparedness? Natural cooling system? Anyhow, Maj did a great job designing that home. A lot of thought went into it obviously. It was great of Larry to donate energy to nearby families. It was cool the way Maj noticed Rachelle thrilling over every little thing in the Hagman home.

Wherever they build it, I hope Rachelle gets her dream home soon.

I've tried to watch this show a few times but I honestly find my self so distracted by Rochelle's bizarre face I can't hear what anyone is saying. Why did she have so much work done? Maybe I haven't seen enough shows or know enough background but I don't find her attitude endearing at all. Is she okay? I can't stand her at this point.

So far the only thing I like about the show is that they go to someone else's house.

Last year showed more of Rachelle. She talked about how they met, etc. This year her main function to the plot, seems to be to continually lust after other people's houses. ;-)

To answer your question, I think she is OK, yes. She probably has a fairly good sense of humor, and endless patience, since they seem to be opposites in some ways. I like their gentle kidding back and forth.

Ed Begley Jr. was on the Colbert Report today. Stephen Colbert had some fun goofing on him about environmentalists "flaunting" their greenery, about why can't we just build big walls to keep the seas from flooding, etc. Ed was a good sport.

Did anybody else see Bradley Whitford this week? He was so snarky but you can tell he's a fan of Ed's lifestyle and the show.

Yes. Whitford was pretty funny. I love that he called Ed out on his cheap ways and the 'marital tension'. Ha.

It was nice of him to gift them that chair, too. I admire someone who tries to use things as long as possible, but furniture breaks down and can cause health problems from misalignment if you're sitting in a broken-down chair while working daily. Every time one of Ed's stubborn notions bite the dust I smile a little.

The new chair looked like a Herman Miller. It would've been nice to at least mention the manufacturer, especially if it's Herman Miller because they operate a sustainable factory.

I still believe the old stove they carted off the week before would have been better off in a scrap yard and recycled.

The visit to the plastic bag artist bugged me and not just because I was unimpressed with her collages, or her clothes. This season they've shown green home technology that is innovative as well as practical. But innovations have also been made in fashion and the manufacturing of fabric as well. Big Ideas for a Small World did an episode on this. There is material as soft as fleece made from recycled plastic pop bottles. Designers are making clothes using material made from seaweed, crushed seashells, corn fiber, etc. And here? We get someone who stiches together plastic bags.

For a special environmental event it would be something to wear and be noticed, but I don't see Bradley Whitford asking for those clothes for his Clothes Off Our Backs charity. Honestly, I thought the artist's real inspiration was an episode from the third season of Project Runway when the designers had to make clothes using materials found at the recycling center. And some of those clothes looked better than the circus poster pants suit Rachelle wore. Maybe they'll do an episode where Ed needs new clothes and Rachelle finds him some eco-friendly brands.

One little bit I thought was humorous was when Ed was talking about how people can save money and then the familiar HGTV website caption comes up and he stops talking and looks down at it, as if it had interupted him.