Daydream Believer

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Picture it: 1986. Everyone sitting around watching the season finale of Dallas, a popular US prime time soap opera. Main character Bobby, played by Patrick Duffy, had been killed off in a car crash the previous season. But in that last ep of the season his wife, who’d since remarried, opened the shower door and there was Bobby, alive and well.

The whole last season, it turns out, had been a dream. And the millions of fans all said WTF? They’d invested time and interest in a whole season that turned out not to mean a darn thing, all because Mr. Duffy’s film career didn’t take off and he wanted to come back to the show.

That’s one way to bring a character back from the dead!

What are some of your favorite methods for bringing a character back from the dead?

Comments

[moth2fic]

Really glad this comm is here. Not that I have time to join in yet, but I shall eventually and meanwhile I shall lurk and read!

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I just like the good old-fashioned 'they never died'. Maybe it was a close shave, maybe it was a clever escape or rescue. If it's sci-fi or fantasy, then maybe science or magic provided extra healing power.

...I think an entire season of a show that was a dream would make me scream.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

I know, right? I'd hate that too. Imagine the writers having to scrap everything they did and go back a whole season. ::shakes head::

Lucky escapes are John Sheppard's thing for sure!

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

When I had to bring Boromir back from the dead I used a canon change (he was captured along with the hobbits rather than arrowed to death) plus two fun cliches (he passed out and was mistaken for dead, then picked up by some peasants and nursed). I think usin a little of each worked better than just using one method would have.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

That's a really good strategy. Thanks for sharing! (And saving poor Boromir.)

[antares04a.livejournal.com]

My favorite method is Oma Desala bringing back Daniel Jackson two times! *g*

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

That is super handy! LOL!

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

As a Hobbit writer I favour the handwaving of not as badly injured as thought. Which happily works for a large section of the fandom ;)

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

I have no issues with handwaving. You still get all the angst with none of the endless heartache. ::nods::

I like the whole misunderstanding thing. "He's only mostly dead." ::grins::

[tanyareed.livejournal.com]

The whole Groundhog Day is a fun way to bring people back from the dead. Even though it's been done a million times, I still enjoy it.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I never get tired of time loops. So many options with that. One of these days I'm going to have to write one. ::nods::

[fengirl88.livejournal.com]

This drabble by mrkinch (http://archiveofourown.org/works/1129928) is one of my favourite ways of bringing a character back from the dead - in this case Darwin in X-Men First Class, whose mutant gift was to adapt to survive AND WHO SHOULD THEREFORE NEVER HAVE BEEN KILLED OFF IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'm guessing you have some feelings about this.

[mandykaysfic.livejournal.com]

Doubles from an AU - such as Harry Kim and Naomi Wildman in ST: Voyager. The same person, but not really.

But I really like a last minute science or magic save best.

What I'm hoping to write involves misindentification of the body.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

I'm excited to read your fic! Misidentification is always a cool way to brnig someone back from the dead. ::nods:: And yeah! Doubles!

[fickle-fics.livejournal.com]

It depends entirely on the character. I have three things I'm considering. One's Chris from Skins in which case he didn't die, just ended up back in hospital, one's The Cardinal from the Musketeers which is a faked his own death type thing. Then of course there's time travel for anything Doctor Who.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

The nice thing about No-one Dies is that you really do have a lot of options. Good luck with whichever character you decide to keep alive!

[fickle-fics.livejournal.com]

thanks, I may end up doing both, the Cardinal one's just way more of a task.