Q: I have watched every episode of Sons of Anarchy. However, I still do not understand where the name ``Sam Crow'' came from. What did I miss? Why do they refer to themselves as Sam Crow?

A: Sam Crow is another way of saying SAMCRO. It's a shortened version of the Sons of Anarchy's full name: Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original. The FX series, which airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays, was at first called Forever Sam Crow but changed the name to avoid conflict with a real-life motorcycle club that claimed that title was a copyright infringement, according to creator Kurt Sutter.

Q: I believe there was a series in the mid '70s about a magician who was also a crime fighter, with Bill Bixby (I think) playing a leading role. I also think he drove a Corvette and flew from city to city in a 747. Can you tell me the name of the series and if it is available on DVD?

A: Bill Bixby starred in The Magician on NBC in 1973-74. He played Anthony Blake, who was a stage magician who also fought crime. According to The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable Television Shows, Blake flew in a private airliner called The Spirit. I do not know of an authorized release on home video.

Q: I am trying to find a Conway Twitty song called The Pawnbroker.

A: The song you are seeking is Saturday Night Special, about a man at a pawn shop to buy a gun. The broker, the song says, will ``pay you for your misery or he'll sell you someone's pain/And that twinkle in his greedy eye says your loss will be his gain.''

Q: There was a song at the beginning of the CBS show Numb3rs in the episode titled Friendly Fire with the lyric ``we got a time bomb ticking.'' Can you find out the title and artist of the song?

A: That was Timebomb, by Beck.

Q: When will Secret Diary of a Call Girl return?

A: The series will be back for a third season on Showtime in 2010.

Q: While traveling on an international flight a couple of years ago, I watched a movie starring Russell Crowe as a British financier who inherits a house in France. While not a major hit, the movie was entertaining and humorous. At one point, a colleague asks Crowe for advice and he replies ``Never pet a burning dog.'' What is that movie and was it released in the United States?

A: You are most likely thinking of A Good Year, a comedy directed by Ridley Scott starring Crowe as a businessman who inherits a French vineyard. It was released in U.S. theaters but was not a hit. It is available on DVD.

Q: In the '80s there was a movie that I believe starred Richard Gere as a power broker. As Gere traveled, he always played a particular big-band song on his Walkman. What was that song?

A: The 1986 film Power had Gere listening to the Benny Goodman recording of Sing, Sing, Sing.

Send questions about TV, movies and other popular culture to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.