“Why do you want to watch that!?”

That was my mother, to me, last Thanksgiving. I had just described the premise of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” to her, and she was aghast.

“Because Mom, it’s an interesting hypothetical.”

It’s true. Just like the age-old question “What should you do with a drunken sailor?”, “What would you do in a zombie apocalypse?” likewise ranks high.

Would you…

Grab your family and run for the hills?

Go rogue and try to kill as many zombies as possible?

Attempt to enforce order if the government collapses?

Or would you choose a completely different path?

‘The Walking Dead’ attempts to explore the above possibilities, and many many more. Happily, each horrific hour-long episode is beautifully shot and its zombies (referred to as “walkers” by many characters) are resplendent in Grade A special effects makeup. On a visceral level, it’s deliciously scary from the safety of my couch, curled up next to Boyfriend.

Mentally, “The Walking Dead” forces me to examine my own morality and ethics. What kind of person would I be if the world was overrun by zombies? I have the physical grace of a kitten in stilettos, so I know I wouldn’t survive. But what kind of decisions would I make with the time I had left?

Without actually being faced with a zombie apocalypse, I can never know for sure. But I can watch and think from my couch every Sunday night, trying on each situation and decision, listening to my guts. Might as well put them to use before they’re zombie food, amirite?