Viewers who are faithful to HBO's enormously intricate cop drama "The Wire"—or even just you dabblers—should know what to expect from "Generation Kill," the new Iraq War miniseries from "The Wire" creator David Simon. That is, a learning curve as steep as a black-diamond ski course and a teeming population of Marine grunts who, like a teeming population of Baltimore cops before them, speak tactical jargon like bards. Simon's programs can feel like homework, but they tend to unfold in surprising ways that reward the massive investment required. "Kill" is no exception.

That said, it's a shame that Simon hasn't learned to sprinkle a little sugar on his harsh critiques. The servicemen of "Kill" are not a pleasant bunch to be around. These are hard-core Marines who didn't join for tuition money but because they wanted a piece of the action. They're second-string athletes itching to get in there and lay waste, and they bide their time lobbing racial slurs at one another and lusting over the grade-school girls who mail them letters of encouragement. The most fascinating of the bunch is Cpl. Ray Person (James Ransone, a former "Wire" denizen), a fount of filthy wisdom who posits that the Iraqis' unsatisfying sex lives are the catalyst for the war.

It's a tough sell to the American audience that has already proved its uninterest in depictions of the Iraq War, from underperforming documentaries like "No End in Sight" and "Taxi to the Dark Side," to Steven Bochco's 2005 dramatic series "Over There," which couldn't even muster a million viewers for its finale. At this point, everyone has a position on the war—you think it's a disaster or you don't—and there's more than enough daily news flotsam to fill the gaps. Plunging into a seven-hour series on the topic just seems like, well, overkill.

But "Kill" has an element that previous attempts have lacked: a proxy for the audience. Lee Tergesen (from HBO's "Oz") plays Evan Ross, the real-life Rolling Stone contributor who's embedded with the battalion and wrote the acclaimed book on which the series is based. The Ross character mirrors all the reactions a viewer is likely to have: he's as baffled, revolted and depressed by what he sees as we are. For him, looking away isn't as easy as flicking at the remote. As engrossing as "Kill" can be, it's grim enough that most viewers won't be able to resist that impulse.