If you're looking for a drama about heroic characters, it's superior to Sopranos or The Wire because you don't find yourself rooting for morally corrupt characters quite as often.

I haven't watched HBO's companion drama The Pacific but I have read some of the source material (E. B. Sledge's WWII Pacific war memoir, With The Old Breed) so I feel like I can skip the TV show. Highly recommend the book.