At 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Bernard McFarland told the crew of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to move its famous black and white bus so he could see his new home.

A minute later, the bus was gone. And so was McFarland.

Elated at what he saw, McFarland took off running down the street, and the show’s crew had to corral him.His family, who described McFarland as a simple man, predicted he’d faint when he saw the home. Instead, he brought to life a crowd that was growing a bit weary after standing outside for most of the day.The crowd of at least 1,000 people that gathered on the strip of Oxford Street between 23rd and 25th streets — which was renamed McFarland Drive — seemed to tire of the Hollywood component of the makeover. But its enthusiasm was renewed when McFarland and his three sons came home. The family cried, hugged and ran around high-fiving the crowd.The camera crew struggled to keep up with them.“To see Bernard’s reaction was probably the most meaningful thing that I’ve experienced in a long time,” said Paul Estridge, president of the Estridge Cos., which built the home. “We don’t get to see that very often, and it was very, very powerful.”In announcing that McFarland would be featured on “Extreme Makeover,” ABC Entertainment stressed his active role in the neighborhood where he grew up and returned to raise his family.Estridge built McFarland, a computer specialist for Indianapolis Public Schools, a 2,500-square-foot home and a 900-square-foot library and resource center that he can use when he mentors children. Estridge’s crew constructed a basketball court and a putting green to go with the home.The team also spruced up the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, planting more than 1,000 trees, paving the alleys, arranging for free Internet access and touching up several nearby homes. The closed IPS School 37 will be turned into a community center, and Estridge is in talks with community officials about helping to renovate it. The crew also will be heading back to the neighborhood this week to do some final touch-ups on the home, Estridge said.Neighbors say the improvements will be a steppingstone for the community.“It makes people feel like somebody cares,” said Esther Birden, who used to live in the neighborhood and knows the McFarlands. “This will give people the incentive to give something back themselves.”Estridge said his company wants to stay involved with the neighborhood.“There’s something in the people here and their hearts and their passion.”But not everything about the show was genuine.The crew did multiple takes of several scenes, such as when the family entered the home for the first time, and staged the bus-moving scene by using the bus and an empty limousine before the family arrived.The crowd was told to squeeze together so it would seem larger. Spectators also were ordered to cheer on command and were warned not to look at the camera if they wanted to be on television.The McFarlands did not get to spend Saturday night in their new home because the camera crew had to finish shooting the interior.The shots had to be perfect for the two-hour season finale, which will air May 17 on WRTV (Channel 6).Despite the filming tricks and multiple takes, the McFarlands’ gratitude was real.The family hugged every member of the show’s design crew, and Bernard McFarland picked up Estridge and twirled him around in the street.“He’s a very strong man,” said Estridge, who weighs about 240 pounds.McFarland’s family members, more than 30 of whom lined the street, said the show could not have chosen a more deserving man.Bernita L. Glover, his younger sister, suspected her brother would be blown away by the changes to the community, which he works so hard to improve.“He’s going to get more joy out of seeing all that than living in this extreme home,” she said.Before McFarland went inside his new home, he cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled to the crowd:“Thank you, community!”