'Law & Order: LA' (Monday, 9PM ET on NBC) has gone through some very public growing pains in its first season. The show was abruptly yanked from the air late last fall, and it soon became apparent that 'L&O' creator Dick Wolf was intent on radically rejiggering the cast and/or stripping the show for parts as he tried to keep some version of the underwhelming drama afloat.

He may well have wanted to just present those changes (which include the departure of Skeet Ulrich and a job change for Alfred Molina's character) as done deals upon the show's return, because the implementation of those changes in Monday's first episode is so clunky, stilted and inelegant that it's like watching a desperate matron get plastic surgery.

The second half of Monday's two-hour return is better, but it's hard to see how things could have gotten much worse. 'Law & Order: LA's' transitional episode is, frankly, difficult to watch.

It seems designed to maximize the opportunities for Molina's Ricardo Morales character to grandstand about government ineptitude and express outrage over the handling of a high-profile case. Any attempt at ambiguity is steamrolled by a contrived plot and a script that allows characters to utter lines like, "Don't you dare lecture me about the law!" Somewhere, Sam Waterston is wincing.

In fairness to Molina, he does an excellent job in Monday's second episode, especially in a long interrogation scene. But nothing about the rearranged 'Law & Order: LA' feels all that fresh or interesting, and it's still an open question as to whether Los Angeles is a viable host organism for this long-running cops-and-lawyers procedural (of all the problems 'L&O: LA' had, I never thought Ulrich was one of them). It may be time for Wolf to consider the idea that this particular transplant just may not be working.

Even if we eliminate Monday's first episode from our minds (and believe me, I've tried), it's not as if the second episode signals the arrival of a potentially classic 'L&O' lineup. Despite a good performance from guest star Tim DeKay, Monday's second episode follows the ups and downs of a fairly standard ripped-from-the-headlines case, and, more importantly, the new ensemble still doesn't feel fully formed.

Molina and Corey Stoll, who plays detective T.J. Jaruszalski, are individually strong actors, but we'll need more time to see where their partnership ranks in the 'L&O' Hall of Fame. And despite the possibilities in that arena, when it comes to the revamped version of the show, the D.A.'s office feels particularly weak.

Terrence Howard has never seemed quite comfortable in the role of deputy district attorney Jonah Dekker, and the unevenness he displayed last fall continues here. It's not exactly reassuring news to hear that Dekker will now be in every episode, instead of every other episode.

Regina Hall and Megan Boone are both gone from 'L&O: LA,' and Alana de la Garza joins the show in Monday's second episode, reprising her role as Connie Rubirosa, a deputy district attorney from the 'L&O' mothership. Despite the presence of a familiar face, however, everything to do with the D.A.'s office feels somewhat forced and unfocused.

Perhaps the show will settle into some kind of groove going forward, but at present, this 'Law & Order' seems like a shadow of its New York incarnation.

Molina talks about the show's return here.

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