Mobile Suit Gundam Universal Century

Gundam has been around for along time. It has its ups and downs, but the best of Gundam is in the Universal Century timeline. The original series takes place in U.C. 0079 during the one year war. Don't let that Wing and Seed garbage fool you. The UC timeline is far better. All of the alternate universe stuff is just a rip off the UC. If your new to the UC timeline let me recommend a viewing order.
1. Mobile Suit Gundam
2. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket
3. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory
4. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
5. Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counterattack
That is the ideal order to watch the Gundam series in. Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team, Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam, and Mobile Suit Gundam F91 should be watched after the initial five. ZZ Gundam is nowhere near as good as Zeta Gundam even though it is the direct sequal to it. If your a true fan and wish to watch it start at episode 18 that is when it actually starts to get good. All of the episodes before that are pure comic garbage and are incredibly stupid. My favorite would have to be 0083 for its incredible animation, music, and action sequences. The characters are not the best and the plot isn't really resolved, but still it is a must watch. Char's Counterattack can't be missed either. It resolves Amuro and Char's battle. For an animated movie released in the 80's its animation is unbelivable. Want to know more about the MSG universe then checkout MAHQ. They have episode summaries and reviews for nearly everything mecha.