No, we didn't mention Jay Leno in
our previous news about
Living With Ed - Season 1, the reality show starring actor Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife, Rachelle. It's "green meets
Green Acres" if you ask me, and Jay makes an awesome guest appearance in the first season's 3rd episode as he takes Ed on a tour of Jay's garage!
April 8th sees the release of the first season on DVD (6 episodes), and the second season is already being planned for September 2nd. In our previous news stories we have been confused over the studios involved, but now we've had it cleared up for us: BCI was previously a single company which both produced television shows and put out DVDs (the home video releases include the renowned
He-Man sets). The two divisions have been broken apart from each other, and now the home video division of BCI is owned by Navarre, but the television production company (they refer to themselves as BCII, short for Brentwood Communications International, Inc.) is free to distribute through anyone they choose to deal with. BCII's releases of their
Rides program, for example, is distributed on DVD by Koch. But BCII has decided to work with Gaiam, Inc. for the releases of of
Living With Ed, since Gaiam has more experience in "green" marketing.
BCII and Gaiam want you to know that this release is most certainly green, with eco-conscious packaging that is 100% recyclable, biodegradable and made with soy-based inks and non-toxic glue. There is also "green savings" included, with discount offers inside on numerous "green" products.
Fans of television shouldn't worry that they're going to get an eco-lecture from watching these episodes, though! I spoke with Greg Glass at BCII, who assured me that these episodes are quite entertaining and more about how Rachelle - who's certainly *not* as passionate about the environment as Ed is! - gets along while living in the house with someone who wants all these ecologically-friendly pursuits that Ed pushes. I referred to
Green Acres above, and after Greg sent me 3 episodes to look at, I agree entirely: it's all about how we have a husband and wife who take drastically different views on what life ought to be like, and they work out those differences while still showing that underneath it all there is an obviously deep love for each other.
I must say that the real treat for me was the third episode, with Jay Leno and a look inside his garage. Jay has a lot of cars, obviously, and you would be amazed to see how many truly interesting old autos he's got in his collection that would make any eco-friendly person (such as Ed) drop his jaw in pleasant surprise! Jay's as funny and entertaining as always, and we get to take a great tour along with Ed through the history of electric, steam and hybrid automobiles from about a century ago! Meanwhile, Rachelle goes house-hunting, wondering if she can convince Ed to move out of their small, energy-efficient (and highly customized) home and into something with loads more space and luxury. It's hilarious to see Ed's reaction!
This is great television, no doubt, and any environmental message is passed along more casually. Yeah, Ed preaches a bit, but the viewer sees it "in passing" as Ed is preaching toward his wife and daughter, or to people who he meets at an event where this is planned, or at the organic grocery store where Ed sets up a stand to sell his eco-friendly cleaning fluid (watch out, Windex!). Watching this, I didn't feel clobbered over the head with a message...just fun TV.
And if I learned something along the way about how to help the environment by making easier-than-expected changes around my home, well...that's a real cool benefit, too.
And these TV-DVDs will have extras: a Gag Reel, "Edisms," and an "As Seen On
Living With Ed" (that gives info on the "green" products we see in the show). Running time is 180 minutes for all 6 first-season episodes as seen on HGTV, and cost is $19.98 SRP...but you can save some green and
pre-order it from Amazon for just $13.99! Below is the studio description and the box art! Our thanks to BCII and Greg Glass for all of his help with this information.
Ed Begley is a dedicated environmentalist. No, let’s face it...Ed is a little obsessed, but he’s good at it.
So what’s it like living with Ed? After thirteen years together Ed likes to believe he's winning his wife Rachelle over to his green life style and sometimes odd contraptions. But it's love and laughter that puts the fun in dysfunction and obviously keeps this seemingly mismatched Hollywood couple together. Hang
out with Ed as he tinkers with his solar roof, makes toast with a bicycle and rides in Jay Leno's 1909 Baker electric car.
Or you could just roll your eyes along with Rachelle...but you’ll be too busy laughing!
