Hmm... I think they need to clarify the difference between "best" fanbases and "favorite" fanbases, 'cuz in my book those are two very different-looking lists.

brinderwalt | November 16, 05:08 CET

Which TV show has fans motivated enough to sign up for TV Guide on facebook in order to win?

Dana5140 | November 16, 05:25 CET

Is it okay to start throuwing around complaints?
Good.
how come Rosewell is on there but Charmed, Xena, Farscape and most notably Stargate.
I don't remember hearing about anyone talking about Rosewell in a long time. I only remember it when I see one of it's former stars shows up on one of the CSIs, Revenge, Once Upon a Time or one of those Katherine Heigl romantic comedies.

urkonn | November 16, 05:34 CET

So 'My Little Pony' is winning...LOL. I actually couldn't resist voting, even though I hate giving out my email (public/spam email, but still) to sites like this. I voted for:
Firefly
Buffy
Game of Thrones
Veronica Mars
Breaking Bad
Although it killed me to leave off Twin Peaks, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Community.

You know? I really love TV more than movies. I get much more attached.

embers | November 16, 05:54 CET

I agree, brinderwalt. "Best fanbases" is also way too subjective.

urkonn, Roswell had a pretty good following. The fans really rallied for that show. It's not so much about people talking about the fanbase but the effort its fans took to keep it on the air, sending all those little tabasco sauce bottles (it was a running thing on the show).

I'd say the most iconic fanbases are Star Trek (the first fan movement to bring a show back), X-Files ('shipper' was coined through this show), and Doctor Who (very international, long-running, and enthusiastic, and some of the most innovative television out there today).

the ninja report | November 16, 06:18 CET

The Buffy fandom was my first fandom so despite my on-off love/hate relationship with it, it is the best fandom for me. At the time, nothing else could touch it.

These days we live in the era of the instant fandom and its just not the same.

Simon | November 16, 06:22 CET

This.

ceo | November 16, 06:50 CET

I agree with Simon. Things like Twitter and facebook make fandom really trendy now. Not to sound stuck up but I can't tell who the "real" fans are or people who are on the band wagon.

For me it will always be the Browncoats. Just being part of that whole save Firefly experience was just something different. It's one thing to be really obsessive about something; and it's another thing to feel like you had a small part in it.

A_Leaf | November 16, 07:41 CET

If I cared enough to sign up, I'd vote for Star Trek. You gotta respect the elders and all that ;)

nyrk | November 16, 07:52 CET

I think that Simon's comment on the link above is all that we need to know.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | November 16, 07:54 CET

Firefly, Star Trek and Star Wars are the fanbases I think of when I think of charity work.

redeem147 | November 16, 07:56 CET

I would of voted but since they require you to sign up I decided it wasn't worth it. I know what fanbase is the best, and I don't need an internet poll or TV Guide to confirm it.

Jaci | November 16, 08:45 CET

I'd say objectively Jericho had a pretty great fanbase, just looking at how hard they lobbied for a second season. However, I started watching after it was off the air and I haven't found very many other Jericho fans...could it be that it doesn't have lasting power? Or is it just a very small, very vocal fanbase?

Like With Pie | November 16, 09:38 CET

It took me some time, but I finally came up with a way of quantifying a top 5 out of this list. Rather than go with my personal favorites or whichever ones seem to be biggest/most popular, I decided to go with those options that seem - from my knowledge or direct experience - to have (or have had) the healthiest kind of synergy between the fans and the people behind the show (imo the true mark of a "good" fandom.) After some additional slight adjustments relating to longevity (like Simon said, there's a difference between fandom and fad-dom) Here's what I got:

Doctor Who - pre 'fall of the Berlin Wall' era U.S. fan representing! (for what it's worth...)
Star Trek - imo the originator of the successful tv fan campaign
Firefly - duh!
Chuck - was never a member, but can honestly say that a nicer, more upbeat group of fans doesn't come to mind.
Arrested Development - that one show I have yet to find the time to actually watch, whose fans have actually tried to proselytize me in true Jehovah's Witness style without pissing me off.

[ edited by brinderwalt on 2012-11-16 21:43 ]

brinderwalt | November 16, 11:49 CET

brinderwalt - I won't join the chorus of those telling you to watch Arrested Development right now, but you should listen to them. :) Pure comedy genius.

the ninja report | November 16, 11:51 CET

I will join the chorus. Watch it now!

Ragondux | November 16, 15:06 CET

i didn't bother to vote on TV Guide's website since you have to register. But my top five fandoms are:
Firefly
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Battlestar Galactica
Arrested Development
Community

comfortador | November 16, 16:07 CET

The fact that we're still here ringing the bells fiercely, I'd tend to agree that Joss has the most devoted fans. I know it. And, for the record, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" still has my heart.

Madhatter | November 17, 00:39 CET

How can anybody in a clear concience say "May fandom is better / nicer than your fandom?"

If you love the show you love, good for you. And don't let anybody say that fans of a different show are better than you.

SeanHarry | November 17, 04:47 CET

"TV Guide does their best to get more site traffic."
Just wanted to take a moment to say this made me LOL.
I'm easy.

Also I voted for Buffy, Roswell, Community, Chuck and Star Trek.
But really the nicest fandom ever, was the original Beauty and the Beast.

Xane | November 17, 09:10 CET

I, too, was upset to see no Xena or Farscape, as I would have voted for them both, had I voted.

As is, I didn't vote as I didn't want to sign up, but I would vote for Buffy, Community and VM, as well as Firefly. I'd probably give my last vote to Game of Thrones, but I also really enjoy True Blood, Battlestar Galactica, My Little Pony, Arrested Development and Breaking Bad. I'm much more of a fan of the Song of Ice and Fire series than I am of the TV show, but I do really enjoy the TV show. Incidentally, they film parts of it in the region that I live in and a friend of mine from school was an extra, it's always fun to see a locale that I recognize.

latinandgreek | November 17, 18:54 CET