Beauty Supplants Plot in Watery Western

Who says ranching and surfing don’t mix?

Think of “Big Valley” meets “Baywatch” and you have NBC’s “Wind on Water,” a new series whose cattle ranching Connollys are fighting to save their struggling Hawaiian spread from being swallowed by their neighbor, unsavory land developer Gardner Poole.

In the tradition of old westerns, the wealthy Poole has made them an offer for their land that the cowboy Connollys keep refusing. Well, they’ve had their chance. Now they’ll have to live with the consequences.

“Your father and I made a pact long ago to keep this land and work it,” tough, resolute ranching matriarch Ciel Connolly tells one of her sons. How credible is this series? So credible that Ciel is played by Bo Derek.

The story is thin, but that’s not really the point of “Wind on Water.” Get ready not only for gorgeous faces but also for gorgeous big waves and dramatic topography, as the scenery here is fabulous. Never more so than when Ciel’s sons, world-class surfers Cole and Kelly (William Gregory Lee and Brian Gross), hit the waves in a professional surf-off in hopes of earning enough money for the family to retain control of the ranch. But while they’re away, tragedy strikes.

There’s a little bit of “Romeo and Juliet” here, too, for it turns out that despite their families’ feud, Cole and Poole’s daughter, Kate (Jacinda Barrett), have a little something going. Poole (Lee Horsley) is furious about that, even though his ill feeling appears not to extend to every Connolly.

Later, as Ciel strolls on the sand, her great profile set against the blue of the sea, Poole makes a play for her. But she tells him to kiss off. “I have my sons,” she says, “and I have my land.”

Where is a tidal wave when you want one?

* “Wind on Water” premieres at 8 tonight on NBC (Channel 4). The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).