I have a co-worker who is a big Sci-Fi fan. He read an article on cowboy Bebop and asked me if I knew about it. I told him it was a great series and that I have the DVDs. Well to cut a long story short, he watched the first five episodes and absolutely loved it. I lend him the rest and now he is a Cowboy Bebop fan. Moral of the story: start off from the very beginning.
On an unrelated note: I also let him borrow the first Macross DVD and although he didnt think too much of the animation, he loves the storyline so far. I think I just made a new Macross fan.