That pedestrian approach to story telling might explain why the few shows that veered from the formula even a bit went on to great success. "Hawaii Five-O" was one of those programs, which might explain its 12-year run on television.

"Hawaii Five-O" centers on a fictional state police force of the same name, led by former Navy officer Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord). The state police force was fictional, because at the time, Hawaii was the only state without an actual statewide police agency.

McGarrett was assisted by a team of officers, most notably Danny Williams (James McArthur), Kono Kalakaua (Zulu) and Chin Ho Kelly (Kam Fong). Most episodes ended with McGarrett's iconic request to Williams to "Book 'em Danno!"

While there were a number of episodes that involved drugs and crime families, a number of the plots also involved international espionage and national intelligence issues. In fact, McGarrett's archnemesis on the show was Wo Fat, a rogue agent and intelligence officer of the People's Republic of China.

Season three of "Hawaii Five-O" opens with the group hot on the trail Wo Fat. A critically wounded U.S. agent needs to undergo surgery, and Wo Fat has kidnapped the daughter of the doctor slated to do the procedure. It's the type of plot that makes little logical sense, but Lord and the cast do it so well, that you barely recognize the inconsistincies.

Other highlights of the 24-episode season include an appearance by Nancy Wilson as a heroin-addicted singer the "Trouble In Mind"; a young Eric Braeden plays a journalist targeted for murder in "The Second Shot" and veteran actress Diana Muldar plays a woman under suspicion of murder. The problem is that she once had a relationship with McGarrett.

It's not a slam to describe "Hawaii Five-O" as 'solid.' The cast did a nice job with their characters, and while there weren't a lot of surprises with the stories, there were very few situations when viewers didn't get swept up in the action. Watching the episodes in season three, you can see why the show remained popular for so many years.

When it comes to the box set, there aren't many extras. Subtitles are available in Spanish, Brazilian, and Portuguese and there are a couple of episodic promos. On the upside, the episodes are sharp and in surprisingly good shape, even when they're seen in a widescreen format. I'm assuming that since the set isn't called "The Complete Third Season," there are some changes in the episodes, but nothing obvious to these untrained eyes.

"Hawaii Five-O" wasn't the best show on television, but it's a good distraction, and sometimes, that's more than enough.

"Hawaii Five-O: The Third Season" hits stores on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008.