Best of 2013: ‘Doctor Who,’ ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Mentalist,’ ‘Big Brother’ up for Best Fanbase

Over the course of the past few years that we’ve done year-end honors at CarterMatt, we have mostly kept the focus on the individual people behind the scenes at your favorite show. But why not take a few minutes here to try and honor something a little bit different? The Best Fanbase is an award that we’re breaking down into two subcategories, and we’re focusing today on answering the following: What show has the most enthusiastic fans?

The way we settled on the following nominees was mostly just the end result of us sitting down and looking at some of the shows that drew the biggest reaction from readers here at the site all year long, especially in terms of discussion. These have also been the shows that we’ve been the most excited to cover for that same reason.

Big Brother (CBS) – “Big Brother” fans are some of our most loyal here, and they proved it this summer by sticking with what was a terrible season at times with all the racist remarks and the bad gameplay. But even still, they found fun things to talk about in terms of strategy. In our mind, this is a base that most people out there are probably the most ignorant about; no one realizes that the diehard fans watch for the gameplay and the intelligence of it, and not for the unitards or for people diving into gross stuff.

Doctor Who (BBC) – The most popular science fiction show to ever come out of Britain by our estimation, and has since then gone global. We’ve had a great international response this year to much of what Steven Moffat and company put on the screen, in between “The Name of the Doctor,” “The Day of the Doctor,” and everything else earlier on during season 7. Now, you just have to wonder what sort of response the new Doctor Peter Capaldi will have.

Glee (Fox) – Probably one of the most passionate followings for years running, and a group that, despite smaller ratings is still very loyal. Most of the popular subjects for Gleeks over the past year have been Kurt and Blaine getting back together, whether or not the show will shift fully to New York, and the unfortunate and sad passing of Cory Monteith.

The Mentalist (CBS) – Following “The Mentalist” this season especially has been more entertaining than perhaps any other, thanks mostly to the Red John mystery and all of the speculation surrounding that. We’ve just had a great time reading all of the conspiracy theories and pleas from the Jane / Lisbon shippers. You know you’ve got a devoted following when there are people willing to wait around until 10:50 to watch a new episode … and these fans are.

NCIS (CBS) – No show has been more vocal on a controversial subject this year than “NCIS” fans following the exit of Cote de Pablo. We understand the anger that most of them have, largely because the show did such a great job over the years of making the team into a giant family. The “NCIS” fandom is a global one, and with around 20 million viewers just in America alone, it’s also one of the largest on all TV.

Sons of Anarchy (FX) – Easily the most violent show on this list, “Sons of Anarchy” fans are as loyal to the show as loyal can be. There are strong opinions that we’ve seen on the website all year long, but one of the most impressive things about these particular fans is that they don’t just stop when the season is over. They continue to follow the show year-round, which is a credit in part to some of what Showrunner of the Year candidate Kurt Sutter does to keep people informed.

Supernatural (The CW) – To us, there are few fanbases anywhere that are so passionate about a show that was long forgotten by many publications. People not only love “Supernatural,” but they love every aspect of it, from the characters to the stories to the little references sprinkled throughout. The reason we feel that the show is popular, in addition to Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles’ performances, is that like “Doctor Who” and some other sci-fi / fantasy greats, this show tells you that it is okay to have an imagination.