I understand where the article is coming from but I think the 'coming back from the dead' idea can be handled well. I have a harder time with the overuse of time travel in sci-fi.
The article mentions Buffy several times; although the season where they brought her back was sort of a downer, I liked the idea that bringing her back had consequences. It was dealt with pretty well, and had consequences. Besides, it led up to the Buffy musical, which was one of the best hours of TV ever. :P And the series did deal realistically with death elsewhere, particularly in the case of Buffy's mother.
And I never really questioned Gandalf returning. Maybe I read the series the first time at too young an age to worry about it, but from the reader's point of view you're not even sure that he's dead - he falls into the depths of Moria still fighting the Balrog.