 the reset button technique (based on the idea of status quo ante) is a plot device that interrupts continuity in works of fiction. simply put, use of a reset button device returns all characters and situations to the status quo they held before a major change of some sort was introduced. often used in science fiction television series, animated series, soap operas, and comic books, the device allows elaborate and dramatic changes to characters and the fictional universe that might otherwise invalidate the premise of the show with respect to future continuity. writers may, for example, use the technique to allow the audience to experience the death of the lead character, which traditionally would not be possible without effectively ending the work. effective use of this device depends on the audience being unaware of the continuity status, or successful suspension of disbelief that continuity is or will be interrupted, and the eventual communication of the status of continuity to the audience. it is usually employed as a plot twist that effectively undoes all the happenings of the episode. common uses of this technique draw liberally from science fiction and metaphysical ideas, perhaps contributing to its widespread use in those genres. examples of the reset button technique include dream sequences, alternate-history flashbacks, parallel universes, "alternate realities", "alternate timelines", daydreams, time travel and hallucinations. occasionally, a character will find themselves in a situation that seems familiar but during the episode some things seem odd, and then something major happens such as a lead character having a significantly different position or dying. by the end of the episode or story arc the character learns they have been placed in a copy of their normal surroundings, usually to try to obtain information from them, and the mastermind behind the plan made a few mistakes in fashioning the copy environment. the cbbc television series hounded features a literal version of the reset button technique; at the end of each episode, having been foiled by rufus hound, the evil dr. muhahahaha presses an actual "reset button" that rewinds the entire day's events back to the beginning. as such, every episode of the series is in fact the same day, only played out differently, a situation rufus himself is aware of and repeatedly attempts to prevent. perhaps the most infamous example of the reset button technique is the 1986 season premiere of dallas in which it is revealed that [[bobby ewing]
Continuity_(fiction)