If only they could have lost the cheesy title sequence, filmed the “Seattle” locations in Seattle (Vancouver B.C. fills in as usual), and found some way to keep Rebecca Gayheart’s character. Oh well, it is still a very enjoyable show, a unique blend of black comedy, fantasy, and character study.

(Mandy Patinkin as Rube is excellent, and personally, I have never found him to be annoying.)

I had a tough time sticking with this series through the first two seasons, even though I’m a big P&T fan. But for reasons I can’t put my finger on, it seemed to hit its stride during this third season. I really enjoyed “The Best,” which exceeded my expectations by not being a best-of show; it also had a brilliant sequel to the “Water Steward” setup.

I have to confess that even though I’m a huge P&T fan, it took a while for this series to grow on me. Now that I’m all the way through the first three seasons, I’m glad I stuck with it.

I spotted this fully prepared at a local Vietnamese supermarket, and on a whim decided to try it.

The chief ingredient is cassava, a.k.a. yuca (Vietnamese khoai mì), which gives it a starchy, mashed-potato-like texture; indeed, like a potato, it is also a tuber. But coconut, coconut milk, and sugar make the dessert sweet and give it most of its flavor, along with the ground sesame seeds topping it.

I’m not sure whether I was supposed to eat it cold, but I did. It was a little dry, but tasty. It tasted very much like rice pudding, but obviously without the same texture or moisture.

I do not know Vietnamese, but I believe the name of this loosely translates to “cassava cotton.” (Someone please correct me if I’m mistaken.)

Going by the traditional yardstick of Red Bull, Shark Sugar Free is a more than agreeable alternative. If you have a local Asian supermarket, you may be able to find it there, like I did. (Yes, yours. I went to yours.)

Commando Bear tastes rather like Red Bull, only sweeter. I do like it better than Red Bull (I’m not a Red Bull fan anyway). I don’t think I’ll bother with it again, though, only because I prefer a carbonated beverage. I like the fact that it’s in a steel can with a pull tab; I don’t think I’ve had a soft drink packaged like that since the ‘70s.

Why is this under “Other” and not “Food & Drink”? Isn’t that rather unkind to JellyBelly? :-)

So Amazon’s calling this “season one,” huh? I was under the impression this was going to be a series without seasons—just a series. Longer than a miniseries, but not as long as a series series, you know?

As luck would have it, my corner liquor store was selling packages of this. Looks like a local distributor brought it in (but this is San Diego, not far north of the border).

So this is a ball-shaped, tamarind-flavored, gummy-style candy covered with a flavoring that’s a combination of strawberry (fresa) and chili powder. Salty, tangy, spicy, and sweet all at the same time—but no single one overpowers the others. For someone like me who likes to try unconventional eats, this is great.

I had high hopes for this after being a huge fan of Firefly. Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, and the sets are pretty, but that’s about all I can say about it that I like.