REALITY-TV GOES GREEN

Veronica Mars’ Ed Begley Jr.Turns Reality-TV Green
Raven Snook, January 1, 2007 (TV Guide)
- ...Ed Begley Jr. was recently killed off Veronica Mars…A veteran character actor who came to fame — and collected six Emmy nods — as St. Elsewhere’s bumbling Dr. Victor Ehrlich…is also a longtime environmental activist intent on helping the planet...

- Unlike many of his entertainment peers who ride around in gas-guzzling SUVs and live in mansions, Begley resides in a modest solar-powered home, drives an electric car and even takes the bus…His blonde-bombshell, image-conscious actress wife, Rachelle Carson…often finds herself at odds with his green lifestyle. Their hilariously contentious relationship is showcased in Living with Ed, a six-part HGTV reality show that will air Sundays at 10 pm/ET beginning Jan. 7…

Ed Begley Jr.: …Rachelle is my bashert, as they say [in Yiddish]. My destiny…Growing up in smoggy L.A. is what inspired me to become an activist. By 1970, I'd had a bellyful of it, so I said, "Enough already. I'm going to buy an electric car."
…The truth is, [Rachel] really does care about the environment. But she also wants everything to look good…We've influenced each other and kind of met in the middle. Like, I had this draught-tolerant garden, but she complained that it looked like the Addams' Family yard, so we had it relandscaped. It's still draught-tolerant, but now it looks nice…Hopefully viewers will enjoy our shtick while getting tips on how to live simply, so that others can simply live. That's my goal.