“Lost”: Considered the greatest television show of all time by its very devoted fans, J.J. Abrams’ sci–fi island epic stunned (and confused) audiences during its six–season run from 2004 to 2010. “Lost” started out with plane crash survivors and eventually developed to include time travel and spirit mythology—very cool. Anyway, fans are fans for life. There’s a Sawyer nickname generator online, board and video game adaptations, thousands of DHARMA Initiative t–shirts and a cult obsession with defending the sanctity of a show that ended in smoke. Literally, people baked smoke monster cakes for the series finale. “Lost” fans swear that nothing can, or will, ever come near the greatness of their show. It’s quasi–religious.
“Fringe”: J.J. Abrams’ other attempt at spooky sci–fi, “Fringe,” ran from 2008 to 2013. It cast itself as a mythological serial with episode–by–episode mysteries and a dual universe. In spite of doing its own thing, “Fringe”’s ratings suffered towards the end of its five–season life. That was when its fandom stepped in: crazy Friday–night viewers who reacted so strongly to the threat of their show ending prematurely that Fox execs renewed it for a final season in spite of having no real incentive to do so. It was a display of fandom organization and power that says something very impressive about the show.
Verdict: The fan base for “Lost”’s baby cousin is much smaller than that of Abrams' big hit. Because of this, and the trillions of products and chatboards about “Lost,” Abrams' first project beats out his second. We have to go back, guys.
"Supernatural" vs. "Teen Wolf"
“Supernatural”: Demons, vampires, ghosts! Oh my! Nothing gets people going quite like a brother duo fighting mythical creatures while saving the innocent. “Supernatural” has proven that. With millions of viewers tuning in to watch the show, this fandom is one of the strongest ever to unite. Whether it is "shipping" (fandom slang for imagining relationships between two characters) Dean and Castiel (Destiel) or Sam and Dean (Wincest), the fandom wants to see something gay happen. Beyond the romance is the undeniable obsession with the show. The conspiracy theories about Sam and Dean’s mother, the tears when the brothers must part ways for a bit and the seeming obsession with the supernatural have kept the fandom strong and growing.
“Teen Wolf”: Maybe we should keep running when someone cries wolf because, HOT DAMN! These wolves are on fire. This fandom centers not around the mediocre but around the plethora of shirtless, sweaty, greased up and hairy–armed men. Between Tyler the cutie and Derek the hottie, Stiles the dork and Isaac the troubled one, the fandom is given constant eyegasms each week. One quick trip to Tumblr shows that there are too many fictional relationships to “ship." Throw into account the sudden disappearances, small–town town deaths and rampaging Alphas, and you'll get a fandom off its leash.
Verdict: Though the hunk–a–man offerings in “Teen Wolf” totally beat “Supernatural,” the longevity of “Supernatural” puts it ahead. With concentrated fictional relationships and pretty decent acting, “Supernatural” has found a way to amass a fandom that could (possibly) take on the Potterites or the Whovians.
