In 1986, an entire season of the American TV series Dallas was written-off as merely a dream. A key character, Bobby Ewing, had been killed off at the end of Season 8. When the following season’s ratings started to tank, it was deemed necessary to re-introduce Bobby to the show.
But how to solve the problem of resurrecting a dead character? The writers’ answer was simple and absurd: they ended the entire season with the character Pam Ewing waking up and realizing that Season 9 (all 30 episodes) had been a dream and that Bobby Ewing was still alive.
It turns out that our own delightful nine months in the Netherlands has been the equivalent of Dallas Season 9: a temporary departure from a largely south China-based plot line.
Wake up Red Banner Sister: we are moving back to Hong Kong this summer!
