As a chronicle of survivalist horror and apocalyptic despair, The Walking Dead has little, if anything, in common with the wholesome family sitcoms of the '80s, aside perhaps from casts that are comprised at least partially of human beings. But in the tradition of mashups like The Shining as romantic comedy, the opening sequence of the AMC series (and quite possibly every happy moment of footage ever shot for it) has been recut with the theme song of Growing Pains, a show that notably featured future Rapture movie star and banana theorist Kirk Cameron.

The altered credits, which claim to be for "Season 2.5" and include guest star Homeless Zombie, play over relentlessly optimistic lyrics that seem cruelly dissonant with a show where the extinction of the human race lingers over its characters at every moment like a shambling Sword of Damocles... which is probably why we enjoy it. Don't waste another minute on your crying, you hopelessly traumatized survivors of the zombie apocalypse! The best is ready to begin!




Original theme song: