Timing really is everything.

If there weren’t a strike by the Writers’ Guild, would a TV series based on a moribund movie franchise that starred the governor of California ever get serious consideration?

Maybe. After all, didn’t Arnold warn us in the first “Terminator” film that “I’ll be back”?

Well, despite that boast (and the title), he doesn’t return for “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” which debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday and 9 p.m. Monday on Fox.

Timelinewise, “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” falls after the end of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” when Sarah vanquished the Terminator sent from the future to kill her teen-age son John.

In the series, Sarah (played by Lena Headey) and John (Thomas Dekker) are current-day fugitives, both from the law and from future assassins.

They gain an ally in hot ‘bot Cameron (Summer Glau, “Firefly”), sent back by future John to help them. An unknown in the mix is FBI agent James Ellison (Richard T. Jones), who has been hunting them for years but may be changing sides.

Over the course of the first couple episodes, Sarah decides to stop running and go on the offensive. She opts to attack with a little help from her friends, which is hard to do when she doesn’t know whom to trust.

Viewers unfamiliar with the “Terminator” mythos will struggle a bit to find their way, but “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” has a fairly straightforward formula: future savior of humankind, good; killer robots, bad.

Those seeking an action fix on Monday night will certainly find one with “Prison Break” and “The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”