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Wanted: The ‘Traveling Bandit,’ a Bank Robber Who Gets Around

By Christopher Mele

• Jan. 18, 2019

The nicknames assigned by federal investigators to some bank robbers are drawn largely from their appearances or modus operandi.

In March, the F.B.I. said it was seeking a bank robber in California who used wigs and facial hair disguises, calling him the Shaggy Bandit . Another in Massachusetts was named the Faceless Bandit because he was completely masked. And in April, investigators sought a robber in Knoxville, Tenn., whom they called the Edentulism Bandit because witnesses said he was missing several teeth.

The latest to appear on F.B.I. “Wanted” posters is the Traveling Bandit , who the authorities said on Friday has robbed at least seven banks in six states in less than a month.

The Traveling Bandit has covered more than 3,200 miles in a string of robberies that started on Dec. 28 at a Capital Bank in Aventura, Fla., about 20 miles north of Miami. He progressed from there to holding up a bank in North Carolina, then two in Tennessee, and one each in Alabama and Illinois. His most recent one was on Thursday in Price, Utah.

The F.B.I. said the robber, a man described as being between 40 and 50 years old, usually approaches the counter, presents a note demanding money, divulges that he has a weapon and then leaves on foot. The F.B.I. said he might be driving a white Ford Explorer or Expedition.

Jim Marshall, a spokesman at the F.B.I.’s field office in Miami, said no one has been injured in the robberies. He did not respond to questions about how much money the robber has garnered.

Robert J. Louden , a professor emeritus of criminal justice and homeland security at Georgian Court University in New Jersey, said on Friday that the robber was staying one step ahead of law enforcement by covering so much territory.

“People that repeat things get caught, but he’s repeating things in such a way that each one is the first time,” he said.

With his robberies spread out among multiple states, it is more difficult to draw attention to him because there is not one concentrated news media market, he said.

Robert D. McCrie, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a security specialist since 1970, said it also meant that the local law enforcement agencies investigating were more diffuse.

It was unknown whether officials were able to retain the notes the robber displayed, but if investigators did, they would be useful in finding physical evidence, such as DNA or fingerprints, and to study its verbiage and handwriting, Professor Louden said.

The F.B.I. released seven photos of the robber, including one in which he was wearing a shirt that said “Straight Outta Dallas.” Given the intensive use of surveillance cameras in public streets, traffic lights, tollbooths and other public spaces, how has the Traveling Bandit eluded capture?

Professor McCrie said the answer was partly that the F.B.I. had not made bank robberies a priority for decades. Facing other demands, such as addressing espionage and other issues related to the Cold War, the bureau scaled back its focus on bank robberies starting in 1980, he said.

“Routine bank robberies were not of significance,” he said. Mr. Marshall of the F.B.I. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Still, “takeover” cases in which robbers vault over a counter and fire shots into a ceiling, terrorizing staff members and customers, will draw more law enforcement attention, Professor McCrie said. He added that investigations into bank robberies have a high closure rate — upward of 70 percent — compared with other crimes.

Bank robbers generally garner a small sum per heist — usually less than $3,000, he said — in what is considered a “relatively safe” crime. Tellers are trained to turn over money quickly in an effort to hasten the robber’s exit.

“If there’s no real weapon shown, the risk for sanctions is lower” should the person be caught and prosecuted, he said, providing an example of an accused robber’s defense: “I never had a weapon. I may have acted tough, but the most dangerous thing I had was my Cross pencil.”

He added that bank robbers are “not usually evil people” compared with violent criminals. In prison, they are not regarded as “heroes,” but they are not at the bottom of the social strata either because they have credentials as courageous risk-takers, he said.

As for why the authorities nickname the robbers, Professor McCrie said it helps to cement an image in the minds of investigators and the public even if it feels faintly like it glorifies the criminals. Also, the F.B.I. has long had a history of naming its investigations.

Professor Louden speculated that the Traveling Bandit probably has a criminal record and that he might have a background as a courier or long-haul trucker.

“They’ll get him,” he said. “It’s almost impossible for somebody to stay out forever and not get caught.”

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Q: How can we improve the overall experience of tourists and visitors as they navigate the city? The vast majority of transit apps available on the market are made exclusively for city residents and commuters who are familiar with their routes and use a transit pass. Most tourism apps available for the city of Toronto ignore the difficulty new visitors face in trying to navigate the city in a timely and affordable way. Travel Bandit proposes to be an easy-to-use, integrated, tourism and transit app geared towards this group of overlooked and underserved customers.

Based on my user research I created the User Persona of Andrew, the Tourist Archetype, to help inform my design decisions.

I then uploaded my initial screen sketches in Figma to create a clickable prototype and shared it with 5 users who gave me their feedback on the initial functionality and features.

Next, I designed a series of wireframes for key screens based on my user persona, user flows, and initial user testing feedback. Ensuring key elements and features discovered during the research phase were included so they could be tested in the next stage.

I tested my design decisions a second time using the wireframes. 5 users gave their feedback on the updated functionality of the main user flows.

Before proceeding to high-fidelity screens I created a logo, app icon, and branding guidelines for the Travel Bandit App’s UI.

I selected a AA Contrast Ratio safe colour palette and a simple topography system to build the branding guidelines. The logo and app icon were inspired by Travel Bandit’s company name and values, and the quintessential city of Toronto mascot the raccoon.

Using the information gleaned from my second round of user testing I began work on the higher-fidelity screens. I also expanded on several screens from the initial prototypes to create the final high-fidelity prototype ready for developer handoff.

User Testing is a crucial tool for insight and ideas about optimizations in the product experience. I learned that several rounds of User Testing are the key to perfecting user flows and features. Using established UX formulas, like for checkout flow, can be the best bet for both the user and designer.

Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Smokey and the Bandit’s Route

Also see the companion article: 10-4 Good Buddy .

Ah, the 1970’s, that cultural hangover. Disco ruled a world of polyester. A sea of avocado and harvest gold shag carpeting stretched from coast-to-coast. A CB radio craze allowed wannabe truckers to exclaim “ten four good buddy”. Who could forget such heady times?

A purely escapist movie dropped perfectly into that time and place, delivered with a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am muscle car and an 18 Wheeler. Smokey and the Bandit, released in 1977, involved little more than a 28 hour round-trip police chase condensed into 96 minutes.

The Premise

The Internet Movie Database exists for readers who simply must know more about it. Or check out the YouTube clip if you prefer a visually-oriented overview. Got all that? Right.

The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and his sidekicks (Jerry Reed and Sally Field) have to pick up and deliver a truckload of monstrously awful beer. They need to bring it to some rich guy with more money than sense under a tight deadline. The whole time, a policeman or “smokey” in CB slang (Jackie Gleason) chases them. I know it’s crazy.

Can anyone alive today imagine going this far out of their way for Coors ? Talk about the triumph of marketing and advertising! Coors wasn’t available outside of a few western U.S. states at the time. Its lack of geographic ubiquity created quite a mystique during an era when domestic brewing limped towards its horrible nadir. Imagine a terrible time when people actually bootleged Coors beer because they perceived it to be the best thing available. Try not to shudder when you consider those dark days. Nonetheless it made a great premise for a pedal-to-the-metal action and smash-up flick.

It wasn’t my intention to focus a series of 12MC articles on roadtrip movies. I’ll reference a title on a page and suddenly it gets a bunch of hits from the outside world. I feel like it’s almost a public service for me to provide further elaboration. Last time this led to my Thelma and Louise Route Map . Now my recent description of the beer De Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren as a possible premise for a high-class remake of Smokey and the Bandit leads me to address that topic as well.

Action Overshadows Plot

This article didn’t require the same level of thought or analysis that I discovered with Thelma and Louise, where geography served as an integral interwoven plot element. For Smokey and the Bandit, it’s all drive from Georgia to Texas, pick up beer in Texarkana, return to Atlanta within 28 hours and collect $80,000.

It also has a happy ending. I’m not denigrating the movie — far from it — mindless fun and endless vehicle crashes fill an entertainment void. I’ve certainly enjoyed my share of mindless movies, this one included. However, I’m simply pointing out that the plot isn’t saddled with a lot of complexity.

The producers didn’t seem too concerned with feasibility, accuracy or complications because little of that mattered to the intended audience. It didn’t even matter that Bowie County, Texas — where Texarkana sits — was completely dry during the 1970’s ( it is considered “partially wet” today ). Imagine if the movie strove for accuracy and the Bandit got all the way to Texarkana only to discover that he couldn’t purchase any beer. Now, that would have been funny.

The Bandit Run

The movie invokes a certain nostalgia with its loyal fans because of its feel-good nature. This resulted in The Bandit Run in 2007, a commemoration of the movie’s 30th anniversary. The Bandit Run reenacted the historic route from Texas to Georgia albeit at much slower speeds and spread over several days. Imagine the sight of dozens of classic Firebirds rolling through the southeastern states.

It’s an annual event now although the route seems to stray rather regularly from the original. I didn’t search exhaustively for every incarnation although I found several and they seemed to involve a classic car show in Braselton, GA (northeast of Atlanta) either as a starting or ending point. This is the location of Road Atlanta :

“… recognized as one the world’s best road courses…. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams.”

I like the way that Google Maps marks portions of the track as part of the regular road network ( map )!

The Bandit Run will return to a Texarkana to Atlanta (well, Braselton) route in 2012. However it will swing a little further south than Burt Reynolds would have gone, stopping overnight in Lafayette, LA, Biloxi, MS, and Birmingham, AL, along the way. It sounds like a good time.

Smokey and the Bandit 2012

Geo-geeks can stop reading now. I’ve reserved this part for the beer geeks (and I know a few of you exist in the 12MC audience).

I figure it’s only a matter of time before someone decides to remake Smokey and the Bandit because that seems to be the prevailing pattern in modern Hollywood. Apparently nobody has the ability to develop an original idea that will make any money anymore. That got me wondering about a brewery to serve as the underlying premise. Obviously Coors won’t work anymore. We need a brewery that’s sufficiently coveted but large enough to take a tractor-trailer load from its inventory and not feel a pinch within its regular distribution area.

I’ve already mentioned Westvleteren as a European possibility although on second thought I think they’re probably too small. New Belgium in Fort Collins, CO might be a possibility. They’re based in Colorado like Coors and they’ve created quite a hoopla in beer circles as they slowly migrate their distribution towards the east. I think they may come closest to replicating the original idea.

I’d prefer Alaskan ( my visits ) which now reaches all the way to Minnesota and Wisconsin. However, the Bandit would be in a world of hurt when he discovered that Juneau is landlocked and the chase had to move onto a ferry. Going in the opposite direction, east-to-west, maybe Dogfish Head ( my visits ) would be an option? It seems like something tailor-made for Sam Calagione and his publicity machine in Milton, Delaware.

Any other suggestions? I might turn them into a future article if we get enough good ones.

Twelve Mile Circle

16 responses to “Smokey and the Bandit’s Route”

Maybe a Lebron James acting vehicle: King James, fed up with the constant bashing he receives from us Clevelanders, decides to drive up to the Great Lakes Brewing Company and steal their inventory of Quitness (an extremely bitter IPA which puns the old Cavs “Witness” billboards and which debuted a few days after Lebron took his talents to South Beach). I’m not sure why he’d need to dive it back to Florida, but massive plot holes are no obstacle to the movie industry.

Because Florida is notorious as one of the last bastions of really bad beer, and he wants to liberate his new-found fans from the tyranny of yellow fizzy water of course!

If the trip begins in the south, it might be appropriate to head to Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewery and grab a truckload of Single-Wide and Double-Wide IPA. Great tasting beer with cool vintage trailer graphics. They would have to take I-70 east thru St. Louis and drop off a case at that “other” Missouri brewery to show them what great beer tastes like. As a child in the early 70’s I remember that anyone that went to Colorado had to bring back a few flats of Coor’s in their trunk. Just watch out for those Kansas Smokeys coming back. You could subsidize part of your vacation just by selling it to your neighbors.

Shiner Bock from central Texas, or Abita from southeast Louisiana are potential candidates, but their distribution is probably wider now than I think it is. (I’m in Houston which is the happy overlap between the two.) If either of those are unavailable in Florida, it provides a plot device, and the logical I-10 route involves several long viaducts over swamps, and a tunnel (in Mobile) with a sharp turn–thinking ahead for crash locations. 🙂

Funny how (according to the current map at least – no idea what it looked like back then) they had to take a serious detour to actually get to Texarkana 🙂 As I haven’t watched the actual film: were they supposed to go to Texarkana specifically? If not, their best chance was to get to just continue straight on west to Waskom, Texas, and thence (assuming current dryness laws) by either US-80 or I-20 (more likely the latter, but they are concurrent in Waskom and don’t diverge much in the next 40 miles) to Longview (which is still closer than Texarkana). PS: Now that I think of it, that IS the obvious route – just keep going at I-20 straight west from Atlanta and buy beer at the first Texan place they allow it (most likely Longview). PPS: And talking of oddities, I know that’s completely off-topic, but I really liked the weird border at Davis Bend, Mississippi. You know, the only place at the Mississippi River which has Louisiana at the “east” (left) side and Mississippi on the “west” (right) side – and also quite historically important (hint: name).

The movie is on YouTube, and the challenge does specifically mention going to Texarkana. But realistically there’s no way Big Enos could have known whether Bandit had gone there as opposed to anywhere else in Texas.

I’m not sure what actual legalities are involved in what they were supposed to do. They were supposed to buy the beer in Texas and then transport it. Assuming the beer was properly paid for including taxes, and the beer was for personal use and not resale, it might be perfectly legal to transport the beer from Texas to Georgia. That would be regulated at the state level, and I don’t know the individual laws in the three states (MS, AL, and GA) that they’d have been bringing the beer into. Of course, in the movie they actually wind up stealing the beer (the place they go to buy it is closed, so they just help themselves and leave a note to send the bill to Big Enos), which sort of clinches the illegality of what they’re doing. 🙂

You missed the obvious West-Coast beer: Pliny the Elder. Very limited distribution even on the West Coast, with the only other spot in the world it’s available in Philadelphia, I believe, due to a friend of the brewer living there and taking care of it in his stead, from what I understand. Routinely makes the top of the BA and RB “best in the world lists.” Our modern-day Burt Reynolds could be on the hunt for a couple of cases of super-fresh Pliny with the need to bring it back to Georgia within a quick turnaround to preserve as much hop quality as possible.

Or, if we were to allow kegs into the equation, Burt could be after the even-rarer Pliny the Younger, only available on draft, so rare and highly coveted that hour-long lines form outside bars that are even RUMORED to be selling half-pours of the stuff. A bit nuts, even from a self-described beer nerd as myself, but that’s one of those things.

Other possibilities? Three Floyds Dark Lord, Surly Darkness, Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout… the list goes on and on.

Not related, but as of now, Google Maps is showing boundaries for cities, counties, ZIP codes, states, and countries.

(But sub-state areas are only shown when searched for specifically, only on map/terrain views, and only when not zoomed in real close.)

That’s exactly what I saw a few weeks ago. I wonder if this means they’re still experimenting with it, or if it’s rolled out for real this time?

I guess only time will tell. A really cool effect of the highlighted borders they show is that claves are highlighted. Even small ones are easy to see, such as when one searches Columbus, OH.

In the new version, The Bandit can drive to New Glarus, WI for Totally Naked. New Glarus is only distributed in Wisconsin, and Burt Reynolds posed for Cosmo back in the day…

The movie is filled with inconsistencies. At one point in Arkansas, they talk about heading toward Fayetteville, a town waaaayyy up in the northwestern corner, pretty much as far in the opposite direction one could take to get from Texarkana to Atlanta.

There’s also mention made of Deeson County, the jurisdiction of the sheriff who “sounded taller on the radio,” according to Buford Justice. There is no Deeson County in Arkansas, not even a Deason County.

But that said, whenever a car is weaving through the interstate lanes at 40 MPH, I tell that driver to go back to Deeson County anyway.

I know this is old, but Yuengling isn’t sold in Texas. It’s mostly a eastern beer. Texarkana to El Peso?

Also to add to a long-necro thread, I pulled up a map of the Interstate system from September 30, 1976. The key here is something that always struck me with such articles: they’re always based on the roads NOW, not the roads THEN. The Interstate system took DECADES to complete even the original planned routes, and priority was given to urban areas and shipping lanes.

In this case, exiting Atlanta headed West, you’d need to use I-20. At the time the movie would have taken place, nearly half the route between Atlanta and Birmingham was still under construction; they would have needed to exit about Douglasville and taken US-78 to Oxford. From there, I-20/59 out of Birmingham was missing the section from Tuscaloosa all the way to the MS border – and in this case, there was no one highway to take, but it’s be at least two, plus some county roads.

MS would have been easy until the LA border, where the Interstate crossing didn’t yet exist. I couldn’t find any local maps (although I didn’t exactly spend a lot of time on it), so there may or may not have been an accessible bridge there at the time – if not, though, it’s 100 miles in either direction to the next bridge over the Mississippi.

Across LA was dead simple. But, once you turn north at Shrevport, you run into a new problem: I-29 was originally only Tokepa, KS to Canada (and was still under construction). US 71 existed, but was the primary north-south trade route from Canada to the Gulf and was packed. Even in the dead of night (which is when they passed through the area in the film), it would have actually had heavy truck traffic.

Frankly, they would have been better served going 24 > 40 > 30 and then using US-71 as the last leg, then reversing. 763 miles each way and an Interstate speed limit of 55mph means they’d have had to hustle to make it regardless, since they’d need additional hours for loading, food/gas stops, at least one short nap, etc. Their best shot would be to keep up ~90mph on the first night when the truck was empty. If they could make the Interstate run at or near that the first leg, they wouldn’t even need to speed on the way back, and still have time for a catnap on either side of the beer heist.

…way too much effort for Sunday night a decade after the thread was posted. To anyone reading this: cheers, and have a terrific day!

THE ANTI COORS BANQUET RHETORIC IS PAINFUL ENOUGH… JUST TO BE CLEAR… THE BANDIT IS GOING TO AVOID HIGHWAYS AND MAJOR CITIES… BECAUSE AT THE TIME SEMIS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TO WEIGH INS AND INSPECTIONS… ESPECIALLY OF MANIFESTS… AND YOU NEED TO REALIZE SNOWMAN DID NOT HAVE A MANIFEST. IF YOU JUMP ON GOOGLE MAPS AND USE ATLANTA TO TEXARKANA AND BACK, THE TRAVEL TIME IS 25H AND 18 MINUTES, IF YOU AVOID CITIES AND HIGHWAYS… THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE TIME TO PICK UP THE TRANS AM… THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE TIME TO CONVINCE THE SNOWMAN… NO TIME TO PISS, SHIT, OR EAT… NO TIME TO SLEEP… AND NO TIME TO LOAD THE COORS IN TEXARKANA… WITH THAT IN MIND TELL ME THIS ISN’T A FANTASTIC ADVENTURE… AND THIS IS USING A MODERN HIGHWAY SYSTEM!

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Technically it’s not always correct to say EST/CST, etc…. but just an indication that I’m changing time zone is enough,…

In general, I wonder why navigating from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea doesn’t count as inland navigation.

So fun to read all this information. We’ve just both a house in Beniarbeig, Spain and there is a bridge…

Re: East/West Carroll parishes, you’re close, but the real reason for the split was more political than demographic or cultural.…

What a great map! Thank you for your hard work!

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Meet Bandit, A Ferret That Traveled The World For Charity

In his prime Bandit, the ferret went on adventures in Europe, North America and even the Arctic Circle, all in support of mental health charities.

In his prime Bandit the ferret went on more adventures than most of his human counterparts could dream of. Until 2019 and with owner Charlie Hammerton, the furry mammal has been crisscrossing Europe, North America and even the Arctic Circle—all in the interests of supporting causes related to mental health.

Those charities have been especially important to Hammerton, a Royal Air Force veteran who left the military in 2017 due to PTSD. He's also an advocate for more research into ALS, which claimed his mother's life. Then there's his campaign in favor of drug safety, given that he suffered addiction issues in his teen years.

More than a buddy on the road

Enter Bandit, a rather fetching mammal Hammerton picked up at an animal rescue facility bac in 2015. He had since turned out to be more than a travelling companion. He'd become a buzz hub on social media, where posts of the ferret at various locations in their travels have become irresistible to loyal followers. Bandit's also been a lifesaver to Hammerton, whose personal dark days became a lot brighter with the little guy around.

Whether via van, plane or simply hitchhiking, Banner has been instrumental in raising funds for Hammerton, who's usually been asked to do speaking engagements at almost every stop they make.

"It's not just a guy and a ferret with a weird story," said Hammerton to USA Today. "There was more to their journeys than just a man and his best ferret friend seeing the world, though that was certainly part of the experience.

Bandit's legacy to be captured in print

Sadly, that legacy ended in 2019 after the two finished a European junket. Bandit, at the ripe old age of eight, died later that year. Hammerton is currently putting together a collection of memoirs into a book to document their adventures together. His favorite ferret is also immortalized in the name of Hammerton's latest venture, Adventure Bandits , a company geared towards teaching children outdoor and life skills.

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Bluey is all grown up in 'Surprise' episode on Disney+. Now fans are even more confused.

On sunday, fans of "bluey" were treated to a bonus episode literally titled "surprise." its unexpected ending prompted many to wonder what's next for the beloved children's animated series..

Spoiler alert: This article contains details about the "Surprise” episode of “Bluey.”

A new unexpected episode of "Bluey" has left fans emotional and confused once again about what's next for the popular Australian children's series on Disney+.

One week ago, the Heelers almost moved to another city but decided not to sell their house in extended-length episode " The Sign ," which many believed was the Season 3 finale.

Surprise! On Sunday, fans of "Bluey" were treated to a bonus episode literally titled " Surprise ." Though the episode returned to the series' typical 7-minute length, it was no less poignant than the 28-minute emotional rollercoaster that left viewers reeling a week earlier when patriarch Bandit ripped out the family's "For Sale" sign in their front yard.

Following "The Sign" episode billed as the season finale , producers were quoted in multiple outlets assuring fans "Bluey" was not ending altogether. But after the newest "Bluey" episode, those concerns have been freshly renewed after the title character showed up as an adult in a flash-forward before the credits rolled.

Here's what we know about the "Bluey" episode "Surprise" and how fans are reacting to it on social media.

Previous 'Bluey' coverage: Parents are sobbing over 'Bluey' episode 'The Sign'

What happens in 'Bluey' Season 3 finale 'Surprise?'

Having decided to stay put at their home on the hill, the Heeler family is back to their normal shenanigans for the bulk of " Surprise ."

While Chilli cleans, Bandit, who only wants to watch a race on television, finds himself juggling playing two different games with daughters Bluey and Bingo. While Bandit babysits Bingo’s pretend babies, he also has to fend off Bluey, who keeps surprising her dad with attacks with a ball blaster.

The episode itself may have been unanticipated, but the real surprise comes at the end in a time jump when Bluey, now a full-grown adult, visits her parents who still live at her childhood home. And waiting in ambush for Bandit behind the door armed with a ball blaster? Bluey's future child.

Fans have questions: Is the series is ending? Who did Bluey have a baby with?

In an episode that began with Bluey asking her mother what it's like to have children, the full-circle moment that punctuated the episode's climax left many fans wondering if what they had just watched was not a season finale, but a series finale.

"For a show that isn't ending, the last two eps sure FELT like a series finale + epilogue," one fan wrote on social media site X.

Other fans speculated about who could possibly be the child's father, with many theorizing that it could either be French-speaking Labrador Jean-Luc or Bluey's childhood border collie friend Mackenzie .

What's next for 'Bluey?'

Of course, the biggest question on every "Bluey" fan's mind is, what's next for the series and the Heeler family?

A spokeswoman for Disney+ declined to respond Monday to USA TODAY's request for comment, while Brisbane, Australia-based Ludo Studio , which produces the series, could not immediately be reached. But producers of the series beloved by parents and children alike have in the past insisted that Bluey's adventures are far from concluded.

After "The Sign" debuted, "Bluey" executive producer Daley Pearson  told the Los Angeles Times  that the episode was a test to see how audiences respond to a longer format of the show, which debuted in 2019. He even hinted that a feature film could be on the horizon.

"We have more in store and we are thinking what would be next," "Bluey" producer Sam Moore  told BBC . "I'm sure we have many more surprises in store for you."

How to watch 'Bluey'

Three seasons of the show are available to stream on  Disney+ . Monthly subscription rates start at $9.99.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

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‘bluey’ special draws a big audience for disney+.

'The Sign' gathers more than 10 million views worldwide in the week after its release.

By Rick Porter

Rick Porter

Television Writer

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The much-discussed special episode of Bluey is also the most watched episode of the show on Disney+.

The April 14 installment of the beloved preschool series, “The Sign,” racked up 10.4 million views worldwide on Disney+ in the week after its release, the streamer says. (The view count is the total viewing time divided by running time.) That’s the biggest tune-in for any Bluey episode — or that of any other Disney Junior show — on Disney+.

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'daily show' audience has stuck around since jon stewart's return, 'bluey' isn't done yet: new episode follows "the sign".

The special drew heaps of critical acclaim for its storyline centering on the Heeler family possibly selling their home and moving to another city where dad Bandit would take a new job, as well as a wedding between the Heelers’ Uncle Rad and Frisky.

Coupled with the preceding episode, “Ghostbasket,” the special spawned widespread speculation that  Bluey  was ending. On April 21, however, the show released a new episode titled “Surprise.”

The long-term future of the show, originally commissioned by Australia’s ABC and the BBC in the U.K., hasn’t been decided. “The BBC has asked for me never to talk about the kids’ voices or the future of  Bluey ,” creator Joe Brumm  told  The Hollywood Reporter  in 2023.

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Surprise! How I got turned into Bluey’s Bandit, the world’s greatest dad

Three years ago, on a tough day out with my kids, I barricaded myself in a toilet and wrote to Bluey’s creator with an idea. Now, it has become a reality. I couldn’t be more weirded out

F or most people, the latest episode of Bluey – entitled Surprise – came as exactly that. Deliberately unannounced, it dropped like a Beyoncé album, ambushing viewers who were still coming to terms with the recent gut-wrenching, 28-minute masterpiece The Sign .

However, I have spent the past three years waiting for Surprise. This is because my name appears in the credits. “Created and written by Joe Brumm, from an idea by Stuart Heritage,” it says. I am as weirded out about this as anyone else – but let me explain how I came to play the smallest possible role in my favourite television programme.

Like a lot of parents, I discovered Bluey on Disney+ during lockdown. Although its premise was unassuming to the point of blandness – a cartoon about a family of dogs – I put it on for my kids and quickly became smitten. Each episode was a perfectly realised short film. Some played out in real time. Others ended with breathtaking time-jumps into the future. One managed to depict the entire arc of human evolution, from the swamps to a distant intergalactic future, in the space of seven minutes. It was incredible. I needed to know who wrote it, so I put in a request to interview Brumm, Bluey’s creator.

In June 2021, the interview finally happened . Brumm is extremely likable in person and given to airing his uncertainties freely. When we spoke, he was writing season three and told me that generating ideas was becoming more and more difficult. His children had been the same age as Bluey and her sister, Bingo, when the show began, so he could draw on their experiences for inspiration much more easily. But now they were growing up. “A four- and a six-year-old are so different to an eight-year-old,” he told me. “It’s harder for me to see through their eyes.” But my kids were almost the same ages as Bluey and Bingo.

The next month, I took them camping by myself. I have written about the camping trip before – how it was intended as a sticking plaster to get us through an especially rough time – but I didn’t mention that I spent a big portion of it cracking up in a playground.

In the playground, each of my kids wanted to play a different game. They got into an argument over which to play first: Floor Is Lava, or some sort of complicated robot defence game that required the use of a climbing frame as a fort. Exhausted, I stupidly told them that they could both play whatever they wanted, with me, at the same time.

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Parents will understand that following the logic of any child’s game can be difficult. But following the games of two kids, simultaneously, while overwhelmingly sleep-deprived, is impossible. I spent what felt like eternity trying to protect a climbing frame from an invisible robot attack, only for the other kid to scream": “NO, Daddy, you’re standing in LAVA!” So I would hop up on a seesaw and the other would yell: “NO, Daddy, now you’re LETTING THE ROBOTS IN!”

This went on and on, back and forth, disappointing everyone, until I lost it, shut myself in a toilet cubicle and sent Brumm a 60-word email explaining my situation. He replied quickly, saying that he liked the idea and wanted to pursue it as an episode. “You have everything you need to survive in that toilet,” he added, kindly.

That was almost three years ago. Since then, information has come in fits and starts. I heard that the idea was going to be incorporated into a larger story, but nothing more. Nor was I allowed to see any preview footage. This was down to the episode’s placement in the series. Brumm had always envisioned The Sign as the finale, but, in Surprise, Bandit makes a joke about selling the house. Since that would have spoiled The Sign, the decision was made to tack it on to the end of the season. And since The Sign was the biggest moment in the history of Bluey, I had to wait for the episode like the rest of the world.

Now, the wait is over. Surprise is an episode of Bluey about a dad desperately attempting to keep up with the logic of his kids’ games at once. The episode’s official description is: “Bluey and Bingo want Dad to play two different games, so Dad tries to play both at the same time.” My experience has now become the experience of Bandit Heeler, the world’s greatest dad.

My participation in the world of Bluey started and ended with that one brief email. My children have now grown older than Bluey and Bingo. Their interests have shifted; their energy has changed. The best thing about any of this is that Brumm has created a time machine for me, taking a snapshot of a very specific moment in the life of my family that would otherwise have been lost and crystallising it for ever. What an honour.

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Is Bluey Ending? Here's Why Fans Think the Popular Disney Show Is Finished After Latest Surprise Ending

Following an emotional season 3 finale and full-circle surprise episode, 'Bluey' fans have lots of questions

Disney Junior / Courtesy Everett Collection

Warning: The following contains spoilers for the latest two episodes of Bluey , “The Sign” and “Surprise.”

Bluey ’s latest episode has fans wondering — once again — if the titular pup’s story has come to an end.

The new episode, aptly titled “Surprise,” followed the episode originally billed as the season 3 finale of the Australian animated series, “The Sign,” an extra-long episode that took social media by storm — and left fans of all ages reaching for tissues.

While “The Sign” took fans on an emotional rollercoaster that ended with Bluey, Bandit and the rest of the Heeler family nearly selling and moving away from their home, but ultimately sticking around, “Surprise” showed an unexpected glimpse into the Heelers’ future .

And, after the tear-inducing final moments of “The Sign,” which saw Bandit knocking down the “For Sale” sign that had stood in front of their home throughout the episode, the ending of Bluey ’s latest episode was an especially sweet treat.

"Surprise” ends with a visit from an all-grown-up Bluey, who comes home to visit dad Bandit and mom Chilli (still in their beloved house on the hill!) with a surprise guest: Bluey’s future child, who has very clearly taken after their mom and her antics.

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The sweet scene left fans admiring how Bluey’s adult look takes after her dad and speculating about her child’s father, with most flip-flopping between characters Mackenzie and Jean Luc.

Its full-circle nature also left fans wondering if the episode could be the end of not only season 3 but also the entire series.

“For a show that isn't ending, the last two eps sure FELT like a series finale + epilogue,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "I agree," posted another in response.

Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection

However, show producer Sam Moor has previously opened up about what’s to come.

Earlier this month, ahead of the release of “The Sign,” Moor told BBC Radio 4 that there is a lot more in store for the Heeler family, as well as the rest of the Bluey-verse.

“It is the question on everybody's lips,” Moor said of the series’ future, before revealing, "No, [‘The Sign’] is not the end for Bluey .”

“I'm sure we have many more surprises in store for you," she added. “We have more in store and we are thinking what would be next.”

Bluey is available to stream on Disney+.

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Moscow court rejects Evan Gershkovich’s appeal, keeping him in jail until at least June 30

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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention.

The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent more than a year in jail, with authorities routinely extending his time behind bars and rejecting his appeals. Last month, his pretrial detention was continued yet again — until June 30 — in a ruling that he and his lawyers challenged. A Moscow appellate court rejected the appeal Tuesday.

In the courtroom on Tuesday, Gershkovich, wearing a white T-shirt and an open checked shirt, looked relaxed, at times laughing and chatting with members of his legal team.

His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.

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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich marks a year behind bars Friday following his arrest by Russian authorities who accuse him of espionage.

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Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the United States.

In December, the U.S. State Department said it had made a significant offer to secure the release ofGershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, that it said Moscow had rejected.

Officials did not describe the offer, although Russia has been said to be seeking the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was given a life sentence in Germany in 2021 for the killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.

A Russian court extends the pretrial detention for American reporter accused of spying

A court in Moscow ruled to keep Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in custody pending his trial on espionage charges.

Feb. 20, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked this year about releasing Gershkovich, appeared to refer to Krasikov by pointing to a man imprisoned by a U.S. ally for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya.

Beyond that hint, Russian officials have kept mum about the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeatedly said that while “certain contacts” on swaps continue, “they must be carried out in absolute silence.”

Gershkovich is the first U.S. reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was released 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.

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Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow.   Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station  is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station  was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?

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