I'll agree with others- it's way too early to compare to BoB just yet. I actually stopped watching BoB after the first episode when it was first broadcast b/c I didn't think the storyline was that interesting. It wasn't until a year later or so when I went back and watched the entire boxset and was totally entranced. "Currahee" makes a lot more sense in retrospect when you watch the remainder of the episodes.
I thought the first episode was very good... I think the historical exposition provided was very necessary. I don't think most Americans know the story of the Pacific campaign as well as that of Europe. In some ways, that's because the story of Europe is easier to tell... it's about places people relate to more easily (England, France, Germany, Italy) as opposed to tiny islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that nobody's really ever heard of. I think the average person can easily understand the significance and symbolism of liberating Paris, but it's not as simple to understand why places like Guadalcanal, Midway, and Guam held so much significance in the war.