Which should I start watching - Fringe or X-Files?

Fringe is streaming? This is the first I'm hearing of that!

Love X. For the first few seasons each episode is its own thing. Fringe seems like ts essential to watch everyone in order.

X-Files. Whisper: And Lillyhammer..

Fringe. I got to about season 3 or 4 in X-files before I got tired of its nonsensical story and monster of the week format. I kept watching past that, but it was usually played for background noise. Fringe has its monster of the week episodes, especially in its first season, but it ties everything together in a satisfying way.

I've never seen Fringe so I can't pick. But X-Files was awesome. I'm not sure how it would hold up now though. After the first few seasons they got pretty good though. There's some fucked up episodes too. I remember one about three brothers with a limbless mother stuck in a drawer and I think they had sex with her and went around killing people and it was a big deal at the time because it was so fucking dark. Also there's one with Brian Cranston where he has to have Mulder drive over a certain speed limit otherwise his head will explode.

...X-Files is pretty good.

Brian Cranston is a fantastic argument!

Seen neither so X-Files cause that is the one I want to watch

The truth is out there.

X-Files. Love that series and just started watching it again.

x-files is the best thing ever, even if it is dated and went to shit after season 5.

plus gillian.

I never liked X-Files. Agent Scully was so fucking annoying that whatever good qualities the show may have had didn't matter.

I usually describe Fringe as being like X-Files but not shitty, so I'd recommend Fringe.

I [picked Fringe having not scene either simply because X-Files is bloody old.

if X-Files went to shit after season 5, Fringe went to diarrhea in late season 2. Fringe has so many time paradoxes and plot holes with the conclusion of the show. despite all the fringe elements, though, both are essentially about blood (fatherhood in the latter, brother/sisterhood as well as fatherhood in the former)--and struggling with identity. personally, i prefer X-Files, because aliens > nazi albinos. also, i never cared about Olivia Dunham and That Dawsons Creek Guy.

X-Files is flawless victory until season 6.

This. Fringe cannot even compare.

A friend of mine is a huge fringe fan and told me that there's a bald dude who'll blow my mind. Truth?

I know Fringe was pretty popular but I never made it past the first season. Theres something about that main actress that I really dont like.

X-Files on the other hand despite having a big drop in quality in later seasons I watched all the way through and thought was great so i say go with that. Might have to go watch some myself later.

X-files all the way. Shocked me to see so many votes for Fringe.

Fringe because of Walter Bishop tripping balls.

Anna Torv doesnt hurt either..

@pleasedaddyno: Ha! So true. That's precisely how far I got with either show.

So X-files get my vote. I never really liked shows that get convoluted for the sake of being convoluted. Felt the same way about Lost after the first seasons. The monster-of-the-week episodes were my favorite part of X-files, although I admit the big conspiracy had some draw too in the earlier seasons.

Fringe. I think something that got better and better over time is better than something that got worse over time.

I've never watched Fringe but without a shadow of doubt you should definitely watch X-Files, it's an amazing TV show for its time.

X

X-Files. I've been watching 1 episode a day since the year started. I'm currently at the start of season 4 and it's pretty great. In 76 episodes so far i can say there's been only one i didn't like at all, everything else has been in the range of good to awesome.

The X

X-Files. At least the first couple of seasons.

I've been meaning to watch the files myself, but fringe is excellent. Plus fringe is only 4 seasons streaming so far, so you can get through that quicker than x files

Goddamn I'm going to have to watch Fringe now, you guys have got me in the mood. Only ever watched the first season.

Canada

X-Files, still a great show.

What bizarre reasoning...

@shagge: Your profile picture is amazing and made me laugh out loud. That's all.

Haha, cheers. My all-time favorite Community scene. :P

Old may be a poor term, dated would be better. The X-Files is to dated to enjoy if you are coming at it fresh.

I thought the X-Files did well with their choice of filming location for the first 4-5 seasons. The Canadian countryside definitely added a fitting atmosphere to the series.

Fringe was an interesting start to it (very X-files in some story parts) but started getting weird fast in a season or two with the alternate dimension stuff being the prime focus of most of the season that I saw. Stick with the X-files as has more variety to it & lot more to watch.

current vote warms my heart :)

took all my might not to flag this post

She sees something completely crazy every single week and yet in the next episode there's no way anything strange could be going on, there's obviously a rational explanation for it. It's like she has the memory of a goldfish.

Mulder was good, and the episodes were usually fairly interesting in their own right, but neither were worth putting up with her bullshit.

MAYBE you have a point but i like to think she's trying her damndest to hew to the skeptical line, that she's a scientist and holds that more sacred than anything (except god maybe, which also kinda flies in the face of that trait). i'll admit that's only intermittently successful, which i guess you could blame the writers or maybe budgetary limits. i mean sometimes she'll be there just in time to miss whatever craziness it was, or only catch a fleeting glimpse of it and not be exposed to it fully, where you could rationally accept her stubborn skepticism. but yeah i'd say there's a fair share of times where she sees something unbelievable or in direct accordance with mulder's theories and she either writes it off or has selective amnesia about the whole thing.

given all of that i still love her and her character and she has the best fucking voice and my god those lips. :wub:

There are a lot of bald dudes in Fringe.

Yes.

The West Wing.

Never seen Fringe, but I dunno how the X Files would hold up under going through all the seasons consecutively. My experience of it was just watching a random episode whenever it came on every once in a while, like how TV used to work, and that seems like the format it was best suited for. I could see it getting really repetitive otherwise.