When did Patrick Duffy decide to leave, and what would have happened if he hadn't?

[Ian UK]

I've wondered this in the past...

Does anyone know when Patrick made the decision and then informed them that he was quitting? And how did that tie in with the storylines for that year? Indeed, have any Dallas producers or writers ever spoken about how far in advance storylines were planned in terms of cast availability? I guess with all of them on initial 7 year contracts, this was the first time that a lead actor was able to quit and Duffy took the opportunity to do so.

It makes me wonder how the 84/85 season would have ended if he'd have stayed, and also how the Jenna/Naldo murder plot would have been wrapped up. If the plan was always that Katherine was behind it, would they have brought her back or kept her as a shadowy offscreen presence? Morgan Brittany's pregnancy would presumably have precluded her being involved in any major way, so did they check her availability in advance or did they just assume that she would come back? I always got the impression that Duffy's decision came relatively late in the day, so they didn't plan out the entire season building up to his death, did they? Does anyone have any inside information or speculation as to what the original plan was or how these things might have played out had he stayed?

 

[Richard Channing]

I'm sure others will know more, but I'm guessing Patrick would have had to let them know at least a year in advance. So I would think that they started writing that season knowing he would be leaving at the end. But I could be wrong.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

We would have had at least two more years of Bobby and Pam reunited,,perhaps even longer, for not having the dream scenario, which is partly why I believe she walked. Most of the other stuff probably would have played out mostly the way it did. Bob and Pam probably would have a child of their own. It's too bad Pat had to leave. I can't totally blame him. I'm sure he wanted to get out before he was too typecast, but it just didn't take So, we got the lovely dream.

 

[Clubsoda]

I had no problem with him leaving. If you ask to be killed though dont then return and ruin a shows credibility just because your decision didn't pan out. You make your own bed, expect to lie in it.

Really disliked how he later criticised the dream season aswell. No Patrick criticise the final seasons they were the worst of Dallas by a landslide.

 

[cws]

I think Patrick leaving definitely affected the show. He also said that during the last year of Dallas he was working with Suzanne Somers for the foundation of "Step by Step". He wanted everything ready for when Dallas ended. I think it was a little selfish on his part, because he CHOSE to leave. And after Dallas was over, he was the only one with a successful series.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I had no problem with him leaving. If you ask to be killed though dont then return and ruin a shows credibility just because your decision didn't pan out. You make your own bed, expect to lie in it.

Really disliked how he later criticised the dream season aswell. No Patrick criticise the final seasons they were the worst of Dallas by a landslide.

I have mixed feelings. I didn't like the dream season at all. Season 11 still had some merits, parts of season 12, but 13 and 14 were worthless.
Just a thought. PD could have come back as as on Jock and Amanda, and been more like the Jason Ewing of Conundrum, leading to
new alliances and rivalries

 

[lbf522]

He was once asked why kill him off instead of just having him leave. Duffy said he did not want fans to hope he would one day return hence killing Bobby off onscreen. For me, never liking the character, I was not upset at them killing Bobby off just how they brought him back.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

He was once asked why kill him off instead of just having him leave. Duffy said he did not want fans to hope he would one day return hence killing Bobby off onscreen. For me, never liking the character, I was not upset at them killing Bobby off just how they brought him back.

I had mixed feelings about the character. I thought that he was kind of of a golden boy (As JR said in Conundrum, everybody's All-American)
JR was raised to lead Ewing Oil, was denied parental love and approval (which would account for much of his behavior) and Bobby was seemingly
given a free ride into the leadership of the company without earning it. He sided with his self-obsessed, whiny wife against his family numerous times.
He was dangerously bad-tempered (even though there were times when his anger was understandable).
While the CC reboot had flaws, at least Bobby showed some self awareness at JR's funeral when he said something
to the effect that JR often took drastic actions that may have been necessary in the Oil business, that he himself couldn't do.
JR often had to do business with deceitful, unscrupulous people, and he had to be just as ruthless to protect the
family business
Didn't he invite Jenna to his second wedding with Pam after finding out she was pregnant with his child?
Bobby probably would have been better off with Jenna (Although the show wouldn't have been as sharp without the Pam/Bobby difficulties)
When Miss Ellie (foolishly) gave half of Southfork to Clayton, Bobby let JR do all the protesting, even though Bobby felt
the same way.
Also JR was right about what about Clayton being a carpetbagger from San Angelo who wasn't nearly as honorable as the
writing suggested.

I thought that Bobby seemed like a good guy on the surface, but he could be overly self-righteous, and bullying

 

[Monzo]

I've always wondered if Jack's personality would have been different if Bobby hadn't died, or if another actor who could visually resemble Jamie would have been hired. Were Jamie and Jack created just because Bobby's end was near and writers wanted to expand the Ewing family?

I always felt that PD's departure came as a surprise to the writers. Maybe they had seen it just as a threat to get more money next season and never thought he would actually leave.

Losing two original cast members at once was risky. Perhaps Lucy could have stayed (at least for one more season) if PD's departure was a long time coming. It always seemed to me that Lucy's end was certain in the writing room before they had to decide what to do about Bobby.