Keck's Exclusives: Patrick Duffy Goes Back to Atlantis
Patrick Duffy
Now that he's resurrected Bobby Ewing on TNT's Dallas, Patrick Duffy is attempting to give new life to his campy 1977-1978 sci-fi series Man From Atlantis. Duffy secured the rights to the story after his comedy Step by Step ended in 1998: "It was just lying fallow, so I thought, 'I can take a whack at that.'" Duffy has completed the first draft of a novel, which picks up 15 years after the series and explains the never-before-known origins of his webbed-fingered/green-eyed underwater crime buster, Mark Harris. Duffy's goal is to write a trilogy and perhaps see the story adapted for the screen. The first person who got a read of the draft: Duffy's Step by Step wife, Suzanne Somers, herself an author. "Suzanne liked it, so she let me talk to her book agent," says Duffy. "I am now fine-tuning things. It certainly helps that there is a bump in interest in Bobby/Patrick Duffy."
Indeed. The actor is presently back at Southfork shooting scenes for Dallas' next season, premiering January 28, which "finds Bobby and Ann in jeopardy" at the hands of her evil ex. Another bit of trouble on the horizon: the real Becky Sutter, briefly introduced in last season's finale, will be looking for her brother Tommy (who was murdered by Rebecca). And according to Duffy, she'll be "jumping into bed with people." Yow!
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!