Watch the first episode or two of each one first, just to see if you want to keep them all on your list. I'm a huge sci-fi fan, but I'm apparently in the minority in that I thought Farscape was dreadful.

Don't forget they released those X-Files Mythology sets which isolated certain themes in the show and grouped those eps together.
Abduction, Black Oil, Colonisation, Super Soldiers. I presume there'd be a wiki page on these and the eps in them.

Farscape (Like Babylon5) has a really bad start. You basically have to suffer through the 1st season before you can get to the great stuff. Farscape was great because the universe was dangerous... no character was safe on it. I even got attached to the muppets (which I hated at first) to the point where they became some of the best characters on the show.)

If you are the sort to watch 1 or 2 episodes a week I say go with the X-Files as that show was mostly contained to stand-alone episodes with "mythology" episodes saved for season finales are beginnings. Also, any non-scifi people you watch TV with might take to that show easier. B5 and Farscape are better watched if you have an entire summer to devour them.

When i get hooked on a show I usually can plow through the show pretty quick. I may get done with x-files within three months

Seriously, BSG. I never watched much for anything Sci-Fi and BSG was my first attempt...absolutley loved it and it had such an awesome story.

Yeah i think the order will be:

x-files
battlestar
farscape
babylon 5

i like wacky funny characters so i think i'll like farscape a lot

I guess my real answer would be stop when you are no longer interested in the show.

But, I think the quality of the show overall holds up through season 6. I don't understand why everyone says stop at 5. 6 in my opinion is better, and I don't see why people would think 6 is a drop off from 5. The standalone episodes are still very good and the conspiracy story line had already fallen apart by season 5.

As much as people complain about The X-Files last few seasons, I think even the worst episodes are better than the best episodes of BSG. That show was a total slog for me, and I didn't enjoy it.

Hmm, I remember mythology/monster episodes being mixed together throughout the season

disagree....x-files didn't really start kicking in until well into that first season..some shows take a little while to take off.

Same with B5. But not for the BSG miniseries.

I picked season 5 as a natural stopping point because of the movie.

Yup each season had usually 2 'arc' myth episodes (back to back/to be continued)

and you will have what appears to be 'standalone' episodes that had some elements of conspiracy in it (CSM turning up etc)

I thought of those too. I think the episode selection was decent, but if you love them, then you'd want to go back and fill in the cracks, and then some of the development is blown.

The problem is that if you just watch the Mythology episodes, you miss out on a lot of character development and so you don't exactly appreciate all that the characters have been through. Not only that, but some of the Monster-of-the-Week episodes do include references to Mythology episodes and further developments.

Of the ones mentioned I would start w/ B5. Before that though take a weekend and watch Firefly/Serenity. After B5 watch BSG and then I would move on to Stargate before either X-Files or Farscape. X-Files got way too convoluted for it's own good IMHO and I never cared for Farscape.

As stupid as the X-Files got in its later seasons, I don't think it ever actively insulted my intelligence the way that BSG did. Just an awful, awful show.

The big complaint of the last season of BSG for most people is the hard religious slant for basically the entire last season. Which isn't bad really if that was what the show started out as; but for some people they were let down because they got invested in a science fiction show only for it to end up a religious fiction show. If that is the sorta thing that'd piss you off, skip it.

How are the Babylon 5 movies? "Call to arms" looks pretty good.

I was not enjoying BSG long before the religious stuff really kicked off.

There's something about "Farscape" that never quite clicked for me. I can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed like Farscape never quite came together the way it should have, and they never seemed to hit the marks they were aiming for.

It was alright, but it was basically all just set up for the Crusade series. But it's a lot better then the Legend of the Rangers movie.

The religion stuff never bothered me -- I thought BSG did a good job with the religious angle. The most annoying thing about the second half of S3 and S4 was the soap opera relationship stories and the predictability.

The religious stuff was always present in BSG, so it didn't exactly come out of left field toward the end. The Colonial culture seemed like it was based on what society would be like if the Romans had not accepted Christianity and continued their Pagan ways all the way into an industrial-technological society.

Agreed on the soap opera aspects, though. It was like they were trying to attract a bunch of annoying shippers to the show in season three. Karlo 4eva! No, Kanders rulz lol lol.

These shows are Anti-Trek in a way. A lot of characters fight or don't always get along. They also fall in love, have sex...
Love X-files and Fringe too. All very character oriented.