Dallas was a soap opera series that ran from 1978 to 1991. One of the most infamous events in the series was when actor Patrick Duffy left the show in 1985. His character, Bobby Ewing, was killed off in a car accident. The following season progressed without Duffy (or Bobby), but after a year the producers convinced Duffy to return to the series.

To explain Bobby's apparent death, they wrote a season finale cliffhanger in which a series of horrendous and earth-shattering events happened, only to have Bobby's wife Pam wake up and be greeted by an unscathed Bobby emerging from the shower. In other words, the entire season's events, including Bobby's death, had merely been a dream by Pam Ewing.

You won't find me resorting to such hackneyed plot devices. Unless it's funny.