I think this can be a fun discussion:

I think a good way would have been to keep the dream aspect, without making it 100% a dream.

I think a good way was too have JR so furious with Bobby that he decided to "Fake" Bobby's death once he got the news that he was hit by my girl, Crazy Katherine. He could have payed off the Doctors to tell the family that he was dying but he really wasn't and that they gave him a sedative that made him seem like he died and the heart monitor could have been rigged.

I don't think Dallas was so far fetched that a fake death story would have flied with the audience. It would have also been out of character for JR, who would never do that to his mother. The dream wasn't a perfect solution but given the more grounded in reality nature of Dallas compared to GH or DOOL I think they did the best they could.

I wouldn't have bought Bobby back, despite what was reported at the time.. the ratings didn't drop all that much during the dream season. In fact, bringing Bobby back and making the previous season a dream was what caused the ratings to drop somewhat... and when Pam left the show, the ratings fell so much that the show was no longer even in the top 20.

From what I read on a website, the outlines for what the show was going to do if Bobby hadn't come back sounded very interesting with Pam joining Cliff in his vendetta against JR. Plus, Sue Ellen would have been blind.. and Jenna and Jack would have become a couple with Pam as the spoiler.