One of the things David Dukes likes best about "She Woke Up," (airing Sunday, Jan. 19, WTEN, Channel 10), is that it's not based on a true story.

"One of the reasons we tell stories to each other is to make sense of the chaos in the world out there," he says. "Reality programming just sort of presents chaos."

In "She Woke Up," Dukes plays the husband of a wealthy woman (Lindsay Wagner) who emerges from a coma after a near-fatal beating and comes to the gradual realization that she has to figure out who attacked her, because they're likely to try it again.

"You don't know quite what he is," says Dukes of his character. "He can be charming and, I guess, sexy. But he certainly has a temper, and he's certainly arrogant."

Duke's career has an unusual history . "There was a time when I was sort of a nice supporting role in miniseries after miniseries," he says. "Then, in 1986, I did 'War and Remembrance,' which took all of '86 into '87 and didn't come out until '88. It was like I had disappeared. I had had this great TVQ (a ranking of TV stars' likability) because I was in all of these big major events - 'George Washington,' 'Space,' 'Kane and Abel.' Then I disappeared, and suddenly there weren't any more miniseries. It's all kind of coming back around now, but it's been two or three tough years."

Projects that have helped turn things around include the NBC series "Sisters," in which Dukes has a recurring role, and the HBO movie "The Josephine Baker Story." He's pretty sure "She Woke Up" will keep the momentum going.

"You do some, and you just sort of throw your hands up and say, "We'll see,'" he says. "But this one I have great hopes for."