While filming in Hawaii may seem like all sunshine, waves and sandy beaches, Jack Lord, the leading star of Hawaii Five-O, took his job very seriously despite the relaxed island setting.

He was so strict, in fact, that according to a 1975 interview with The Dispatch, he barred some visitors from the set because they could be a distraction that hurt production.

Part of what had Lord most concerned was CBS moving the series to Friday nights for the fall season. He accepted the change calmly, but not without concern that it would affect the show's ratings.

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"I don't welcome the change," Lord said, "but I'm not fearful because of it. We were in our other spot for four years, and now we're going to be opposite Jimmy Garner's show and ABC movies."

"But we have M*A*S*H as a lead-in," Lord continued. "So I think we'll be in good shape, so long as the networks will do some on-the-air promos."

While the move may have caused some anxiety for the perfectionist, Hawaii Five-O continued to perform well. During the 1974-75 season, the series reached its highest annual finish at No. 11 in the Nielsen ratings, and at its peak, drew 20 million to 30 million viewers each week.

Part of that success, Lord believed, came from refusing to settle for weak material. According to the interview, he said Hawaii Five-O scrapped more scripts than any other show on television.

"I'm death on bad scripts," Lord said. "I've told producers, 'I won't shoot that. I won't put it on film.'"

His insistence on quality was nothing new. It predated Hawaii Five-O, but during the series' run, it became even stronger because the show was such a high-profile success and fans expected every episode to meet the same standard.

"I've always had a reputation for turning down scripts whether I was rich or poor," Lord said. "I was out of work for nine months once because I wouldn't play the heavies... I've never taken a job just for the money. Never once in my entire life."

Lord's perfectionism may have seemed demanding to some, but it helped make Hawaii Five-O one of television's biggest hits. Book 'em, Danno... but only after Jack Lord approved the script.