Reset button technique

The reset button technique (based on the idea of status quo ante) is a plot device for interrupting continuity in works of fiction.

The reset button technique accommodates dramatic changes to characters and the fictional universe that might otherwise invalidate the show's premise with respect to future episodes or other plot details.

For example, writers may use the device to improve the audience's experience of the lead character's death, which is usually impossible without effectively ending the work or significantly altering its course.

The effective use of this device in productions where it is not typically featured relies heavily on the audience's suspension of disbelief until the precise moment when the reset button technique is employed.

In one trope that uses this technique (typically in science fiction or fantasy), a character will find themselves in a situation that seems familiar, but during the episode, some things seem odd.

Alluding to the trope, the CBBC television series Hounded features a literal reset button that, at the end of each episode, rewinds the entire day's events back to the beginning.