Which TV or movie franchise has the most devoted fans?

[Unspeaked]

Which TV or movie franchise has the most hardcore, devoted fans and why?

Star Wars? Buffy? Harry Potter? Star Trek? Beverly Hills 90210? Dr. Who? The Matrix?

(I'd make it a poll but there's way too many choices!)

 

[anywhere08]

Twilight

 

[DarkHeraldMage]

I'm gonna second the vote for Twilight. It's getting to the point where I won't admit to people that I read the books and enjoyed them because people are so fanatical about the books and movies that I don't want to be lumped in with them.

 

[nonocei]

Star wars and transformers. Twilight is also getting bigger...

Star wars stuff is everywhere now. There are many types of fans ranging from casual to hardcore and the new clone wars series is getting the younger generations of kids to become fans as well.

Star wars ftw.

 

[steve2112]

I'd say Star Wars, but Star Trek isn't far behind. There may not be as many Trek fans, but I think they are more hardcore. Of course, this is the eternal battle of Sci-Fi geeks...err, fans.

A series like Potter or Twilight may have more fans, but most of them aren't as hardcore as Star Wars or Star Trek fans. Then again, maybe I just hang around with too many computer/gaming/sci-fi geeks. (Ever notice how those often go together? Weird.)

 

[Ann P]

Another one for Star Wars.

 

[iOrlando]

very subjective question only applicable to today.

reason being people's attitudes and preferences change.

ET was the "stuff you put in toilet" back in the 80s.

Harry Potter was the "stuff you put in toilet" back in the 00s

As of today, not sure what TV/movie has the most devoted fans. Theortically, you can have a show that has 5 fans, but they are willing to do ANYTHING. Therefore they would have the most devoted fans.

If the question was which show/movie has the most fans. (just use Nielsen ratings and the box office tickets) Twlight, American Idol, Big Bang Theory, Two and half men, those NCIS shows..etc..

 

[Unspeaked]

I'm definitely thinking more along the lines of devotion, not sheer numbers.

What actually got me thinking of this in the first place was Star Trek, when I was reading something (and I'd heard this many times in the past, so it's nothing new) about the fans that learn Klingon.

I figured anyone who's devoted enough to a show to learn a fake language - an entire fake language they can write and converse in - is pretty out there.

I don't think tattoos and such come close to this level of commitment to the program. But then there's Star Wars weddings and people who them their entire houses based on The Brady Bunch or whatever, so it got me thinking.

 

[Tomorrow]

What actually got me thinking of this in the first place was Star Trek, when I was reading something (and I'd heard this many times in the past, so it's nothing new) about the fans that learn Klingon.

Yeah, that's pretty nutty, right there. Liking a TV/movie series so much you learn a made-up language to converse with other geeks?

I do know some Elvish from LOTR, but that's completely different.

 

[steve2112]

I'm definitely thinking more along the lines of devotion, not sheer numbers.

What actually got me thinking of this in the first place was Star Trek, when I was reading something (and I'd heard this many times in the past, so it's nothing new) about the fans that learn Klingon.

I figured anyone who's devoted enough to a show to learn a fake language - an entire fake language they can write and converse in - is pretty out there.

I don't think tattoos and such come close to this level of commitment to the program. But then there's Star Wars weddings and people who them their entire houses based on The Brady Bunch or whatever, so it got me thinking.

This is what I was talking about. Yeah, Potter or Twilight may have a bigger fanbase, but I would bet they are nowhere near as devoted as Trek or Star Wars fans. I would say that fans of American Idol, CSI, NCIS, etc, don't dress up as their favorite characters (including facial makeup), travel across the country to conventions devoted entirely to the show, and learn to speak made up languages fluently. Want to see devotion? Do a search for the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. Also, do a search for some DragonCon pictures.

 

[Don't panic]

largest overall:
star wars, it's not even close.
it's completely ingrained in our culture and has spanned 30 +years, with no evidence of slowing down

most dedicated:
Trekkies. it's a word. no additional explanation needed.

bookish:
Lord of the rings, going strong for half a century. defined a genre and a style of life
harry potter for the youngest generations.

as far as twilight, it seems like a fad more then else. the saga is clearly selling a lot and the movies are/will do well, but it doesn't seem a success of the lasting kind. i think the target audience is too restricted to the teen years

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

Saved by the Bell Lloyd

 

[abijnk]

largest overall:
star wars, it's not even close.
it's completely ingrained in our culture and has spanned 30 +years, with no evidence of slowing down

most dedicated:
Trekkies. it's a word. no additional explanation needed.

bookish:
Lord of the rings, going strong for half a century. defined a genre and a style of life
harry potter for the youngest generations.

as far as twilight, it seems like a fad more then else. the saga is clearly selling a lot and the movies are/will do well, but it doesn't seem a success of the lasting kind. i think the target audience is too restricted to the teen years

I think you are spot on the money.

 

[OutThere]

In recent memory Jericho, an ABC TV show, had some pretty devoted fans:

CBS officially announced Jericho's cancellation on May 16, 2007.

Several online communities, including the official Jericho forums, launched campaigns in an effort to revive the show. Fans also sent just over 20 tons of nuts to CBS headquarters; this referred to a scene from the season one finale "Why We Fight" where Jake Green repeats General Anthony McAuliffe's historic phrase "Nuts!" from the Battle of the Bulge.

 

[mscriv]

VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK

It was a good day to die, but the Klingons at camp site three decided to eat spaghetti instead.

Clad in black with latex ridges glued to their foreheads, they sat at picnic tables and slurped down noodles as part of a feast called The Gathering, or "Qot baVol" in Klingon.

This year's event drew about 30 hard-core "Star Trek" fans, though only about half of them dressed up as the franchise's best-known clan of villains.

Some of the Klingons were local. Some came from Los Angeles and San Diego. One group piled into an RV and drove 12 hours from Denver.

Before dinner, the costumed club members stood in a loose circle, sipping beer and smoking cigarettes like movie extras on break.

"There's something about Klingons people just love. You go into a restaurant, and people want to have their picture taken with you," said Larry Septrick, who has been dressing up this way for the past 20 years. "We're the motorcycle gangs of the galaxy. And, in fact, motorcycle gangs love us."

"One of the reasons I became a Klingon was for the women," said Bruce Kesler, or Ka'Vij to his Denver shipmates. "Women love a bad guy."

Ka'Vij might be on to something.

Roughly half of the costumed characters at this year's Gathering were women, and several of them met their mates at fan club events.

Siobhan Cole said she and her husband, Josh, had a Klingon wedding about a month before their "real" ceremony, "which was pirate-themed, and we did it at a renaissance festival."

Surrounded by fellow "Star Trek" characters, Bruce Kesler eats dinner at Valley of Fire State Park on Saturday. The Gathering concluded with a celebration around the camp fire.

Full Story

I remember reading this story a few months ago and looked it up again after seeing this thread.

 

[Unspeaked]

Trekkies. it's a word. no additional explanation needed.

Not as authoritative a source, but still.

 

[XNine]

largest overall:
star wars, it's not even close.
it's completely ingrained in our culture and has spanned 30 +years, with no evidence of slowing down

most dedicated:
Trekkies. it's a word. no additional explanation needed.

bookish:
Lord of the rings, going strong for half a century. defined a genre and a style of life
harry potter for the youngest generations.

as far as twilight, it seems like a fad more then else. the saga is clearly selling a lot and the movies are/will do well, but it doesn't seem a success of the lasting kind. i think the target audience is too restricted to the teen years

This.

Though, I remember attending the Star Wars Celebration back when the Phantom Menace came out at Lowry Airforce Base in Denver Colorado (I live in Colorado, so no, I didn't travel). We were all eating in the tent/mess hall thingy and these two Klingons walked in. It went silent, and I felt this sudden fear of nerds I've never felt before. Like a tremble in the force....

Needless to say, nothing happened, save for lots of shouting and fists banging on the table. But to this day, I've never felt that 1,000 angry nerds in a white tent was something not capable of destroying me.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Though I'm not one, Trekkies have been around the longest and I think are by far the most lunatically devoted. The bloom is off the rose for "Star Wars" fans, though.

I think the mention of Jericho is interesting. (Though it was on CBS, not ABC.) Those fans really proved their mettle, even if their success was short-lived.

And I'd like to add another, less frequently mentioned contingent: Dark Shadows fans. Those people are still publishing and buying books, performing fresh episodes, and are now eagerly awaiting a new theatrical version with Johnny Depp.

 

[Abstract]

I'm definitely thinking more along the lines of devotion, not sheer numbers.

I was going to say Star Wars, but if that's the criteria, then perhaps Star Trek makes the cut for the most intense fans.

Add Apple fanboys to the list.

 

[sysiphus]

How about Firefly? Sure, the show was short-lived, but the fan support was good enough after the show was canceled for Universal to fund a movie...

In sheer scope/long-term devotion, it's got to go to Star Wars/Star Trek, though.

 

[Mousse]

most dedicated:
Trekkies. it's a word. no additional explanation needed.

I call the more hardcore fans Trekkers and the more casual ones Trekkies.

What actually got me thinking of this in the first place was Star Trek, when I was reading something (and I'd heard this many times in the past, so it's nothing new) about the fans that learn Klingon.

I figured anyone who's devoted enough to a show to learn a fake language - an entire fake language they can write and converse in - is pretty out there.

yIDoghQo' Klingonese is easier to learn than English.