About: Reset button technique

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. It is typically used in the middle of a program to "negate" some portion of what came before. 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 episodes' or issues' continuity. Writers may, for example, use the technique to allow the audience to experience the death of the lead character, which