We’ll start with TV–no, not the tiresome (sorry!) “American Idol,” but a new series on the same Fox network, which is “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”

OK, it has some techish qualities–killer cyborgs, cool gadgetry, time travel–but the fact of the matter is the “Terminator” movie series is my secret favorite, except for the genius of “Planet of the Apes” and “Soylent Green.”

OK, I might have apocalyptic tastes. In any case, as a fan of the “Terminator” movies, I was expecting the worst.

But a nicely menacing tone and a great cast, headed by tough-chick mom Lena Headey (of course, I had to use this picture of the actress here), was a happy surprise.

It takes place right after the end of the second “Terminator” movie and includes another tough-teen girl “good” cyborg, who protects the boy who will be the leader of a rebellion in the future.

Best of all, you can completely ignore the television and watch it online, either by buying it on iTunes or streaming it on Fox.

Here’s a trailer: