Since I have watched the majority of the episodes, I figured I will weigh in with my opinion: I, for the most part, liked it. I actually grew "attached" to the characters (Mrs B!!! Meow!!), although they were basically from Central Casting: the tough, show no emotion Sarge-character, who deep down loves his squad; the white idealist (he's got his-self an edumacation!!!) who questions everything about the military, but still does his share of the killing; the street-wise black guy (Smoke) who doesn't question why, he just likes kicking ass; the good, church-going black kid, with a heart of gold, and can, oddly enough, sing sweetly; the a$$-head officer who sees combat as a stepping-stone for his career (Lt Underpants).
The characters that I thought really add to the show are: the Iraqi-American (Nassiri???), whose family left Iraq, but he came back to fight, and hates the Iraqi people (to a degree); the "good" officer, Capt Baron, who realizes that Lt Underpants is a clown, but knows that the "system" won't allow him to be replaced; the slutty, alcoholic wife of the idealist, who shows one of the darker sides to the wife left behind; the husband (Sergio) of the one female trucker, who is torn between being a faithful husband, and shagging the hotty ho wife of a soldier (foul temptress!!!!); the young guy (Bo) who lost his leg, but wants to get back to being a soldier.
When you consider that the show is filming as the war rages overseas, and the lead time to making a "quality" series, with what I would consider minimal (if any) Pentagon assistance (which I doubt, as I take it to be anti-military, pro-soldier), I think it is more of a "labour of love" rather than a "let's make a buck off the tragedy that is the Iraq occupation". M*A*S*H wasn't exactly the most realistic show in the world, but the point wasn't about showing the war, but the effects of the war.
As for some of the hokey things they showed (toilet seat C4, AWOL soldier going straight back overseas (I never did see the end of that episode as my PVR crapped out, so I'm going on piecing things together) , I get the feeling that a lot of that is based on the truth (truth is usually stranger than fiction), as from what I have gathered here, a lot of the people critiquing them have never seen combat, only movies (and TV shows) about combat. If soldiers that have served "over there" (in Iraq) say it's bunk, I'll accept that, but not somebody whose only combat qualification is "I've seen every Tour of Duty and China Beach ever, plus deleted scenes!!!!". I myself have questioned some of the TTP's (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures) that they have employed, but I would like to think that they are trying to keep it somewhat real. As for equipment, I have heard people complain about the most minute details in ref to Band of Brothers, such as the weapon sights that they showed early in the movie weren't introduced until later in the war. Yeah, that stopped me from enjoying the movie and kept me up at night....
As for comparing OT to Band of Brothers (which I absolutely loved, BTW) they fall into two different categories, IMO. One is like a good steak dinner, complete with wine. The other is more like McDonalds. They both fill the hole, and at different times one is preferable to the other. I'm sure one day there will be a version of Band of Brothers set in Iraq. It took better than 50 years to get BoB to the big screen. Hopefully it won't take that long for the contemporary version.
I don't know if I would splurge $50-$60 for the series DVD, but considering that very average TV shows command that kind of coin, who's to say that I wouldn't (in a moment of weakness, thinking of Mrs B in the shower in that Hollywood hotel room ;D)
Al