‘Fat N’ Furious’ ends its run with a story years in the making

“Fat N’ Furious: Rolling Thunder” was always an underdog.

The Discovery Channel show, which looked in on the crew at Boardman-based Christmas Automotive, came out of nowhere, and – against the odds – lasted three seasons.

It was a family-based show in a genre known for bleeped-out profanities that revolved around a quirky quartet of Rust Belt pals who love to breathe new life into dilapidated muscle cars.

The series was not renewed for a fourth season; its final episode aired Monday.

“Fat N’ Furious” never seemed to get much of a push from its network. It got very little on-air promotion, especially when compared with some of the other series in Discovery’s popular bloc of automotive/speed programming, such as “Street Outlaws.”

Nevertheless, the final episode garnered 1.3 million viewers, which is respectable for its class. The preceding seven episodes this season also got similar ratings.

Tommy Christmas, owner of the Boardman company that bears his name, is hoping another network picks up the show for a fourth season. But even if that never happens, he’s happy with how it all turned out.

Monday’s final episode inadvertently turned out to be a perfect ending to the show, if that turns out to be the case.

It brought closure to the series – and to one of its stars.

“Every car has a story” was a mantra of the show. The reasons that owners brought their cars to Christmas for him to restore were an integral part of the show, and occasionally elicited tears of happiness and fond memories.

The final episode, however, told Christmas’ story. It focused on a 1965 Ford that he owned since he was a teenager. Christmas restored it and drove it in the season-ending race at Quaker City drag strip in Salem – fulfilling a childhood dream.

But the real plot involved a son finally getting the affirmation of his father. There has long been friction between the two. At its root was Christmas’ yearning for his father – who never showed emotion to those closest to him – to tell him that he was proud of him.

The fact that Christmas finished second in the race was of little consequence, because he finally heard his dad say the words he had waited for his whole life: “I’m proud of you.”

“We shot that episode last year, and had no idea at the time that it would turn out to be the final episode,” Christmas said Wednesday. “I got so many messages on my phone and emails after it aired, saying it was the best one we did.”

The episode touched many viewers, who told Christmas that their father was the same way, and they also longed for his approval.

“I’m happy my dad said that to me,” said Christmas, “and it’s crazy to know that you can touch so many people. It’s mind blowing. And it’s bittersweet to know that we won’t be doing it anymore.”

Christmas watched the final episode alone at his home.

He’s hoping the show finds a new home, but if it doesn’t, he’s OK with that.

“Who else can say they were on TV for three seasons?” he said. “It was a heck of a run, and it was fun doing it. And we touched a lot of people. We made a lot of people laugh and cry.”

In fact, a woman messaged Christmas Wednesday morning, saying how much she is going to miss spending Monday nights in front of the television with her husband and their autistic son. “Fat N’ Furious” brought them together, she said.

“It was worth it,” said Christmas, of the whole experience. “Maybe that’s what God had planned for us.”

But he’s not giving up hope of returning.

“They say when one door closes, another one opens,” he said.

That might also be true for the doors of fast cars.

THE FRINGE IS BACK IN ACTION

The Fringe, once one of the area’s more popular cover bands, has reunited with four of the original five members, and will play its first gig at Paladin Brewing in Austintown on Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m.

The band, whose repertoire ranges from Led Zeppelin to Aretha Franklin, had its first run from 2013 to 2015, playing 120 shows in less than three years. Its lineup consists of Robert Bernard, Sam Morris, Jenny Brady, Ray Francisco and Gary Breuer. Go to TheFringeRocks.com.

Guy D’Astolfo covers entertainment for The Vindicator. Follow him on Twitter at @VindyVibe.