‘The Walking Dead’ season 4, ‘Game of Thrones,’ and why we should be celebrating

Last year, TV fans were subjected to the ultimate impossible decision: Trying to figure out whether they wanted to tune in to see zombies or a dragons at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. We even remember the dreaded date of March 31. “Game of Thrones” vs. “The Walking Dead.” You can only pick one, and your friends get to ruin the second one for you before you get a chance to watch the other.

So what are we here to celebrate today? The news that you are not going to be put in that situation anymore. Thanks to the news that “Game of Thrones” is premiering on Sunday, April 6 this year, there is no longer a choice to make! “The Walking Dead” returns with new episodes on February 9, and it will run straight through until the finale on March 30.

In the end, fans of the Lannisters have much more a reason to celebrate than those who want to celebrate watching walkers get dismembered. “The Walking Dead” was completely unfazed last year by the “Game of Thrones” competition, and devoured everything else on the night. We attribute this mostly to it being the finale, and more people would be angry to have that spoiled than the premiere of something else. Plus, most people rich enough to afford HBO are rich enough to afford a DVR.

Let’s just take a minute now and rejoice not having to make this sort of horrendous decision again … and then remember that the odds are still out there that you could be forced into making this decision all over again when “Mad Men” comes on the air, depending on what they choose for a premiere date. Then again, let’s just take our show freakouts one day at a time, since the adventures of Don Draper and all of his misery have not made the announcement yet.

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Photo: AMC