As we all know, the original “Law & Order” has been put out to pasture and now dwells in TV heaven with “Dragnet” and “Gunsmoke.” The franchise endures, and tonight begins a new incarnation, “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (9 p.m., NBC).

A screener of the new series was not available at press time, but a glimpse at its new star, Det. Rex Winters (Skeet Ulrich), was offered in a special episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC), guest starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her signature series, “The Ghost Whisperer,” has also gone to its reward, where its spirit commingles with “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.”

Hewitt stars in a grim and memorable role as Vicki, a rape victim, repeatedly and ritualistically victimized by the same older man over a period spanning decades.

In addition to Hewitt’s performance, the episode is memorable for its consistent adherence to message. Det. Benson (Mariska Hargitay) takes a special interest in Vicki’s case. Through Benson’s persistence and moral outrage, we’re shown how tens of thousands of rape victims cooperate with the police and provide DNA evidence in a procedure that can only come as an invasive and painful indignity after their violent ordeal.

While many cop shows portray DNA evidence as a kind of magic bullet guaranteed to identify the bad guys and put them in the slammer, this “SVU” reflects a much harsher reality. Every year, thousands of “rape kits” containing attackers’ DNA, go untested and languish on warehouse shelves due to budget and manpower constraints. As Benson embarks on a cross-country tour of police agencies in search of evidence to nail a serial rapist, she’s confronted with endless stacks of decaying evidence, some decades old. It looks like the last scene from “Citizen Kane.” OK, not really. But it makes the point, rather emphatically, that police forces and society as a whole, do not put a high enough priority on rape.

• Who says America doesn’t produce anything of value anymore? According to “Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage” (9 p.m., CNBC), we’re responsible for more than 250 million tons of trash every year. And hauling it, burning it, burying it, recycling and “repurposing” the stuff has become a a $52 billion industry. And while most economists focus on our import problems, it’s the stuff that we export that causes environmental and economic problems the world over.

Tonight’s other highlights

• From the kitchen to Pakistan on “Undercovers” (7 p.m., NBC).

• Pasta takes center stage on a two hour “Hell’s Kitchen” (7 p.m., Fox).

•l The documentary “War Don Don” (7 p.m., HBO2) follows the war crimes trial of a Sierra Leone rebel leader and that country’s efforts at reconciliation.

• Gloria honors her late grandmother with more traditional cuisine on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Accused of hitting a jogger, a distracted driver needs “The Defenders” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A daughter is held for her father’s murder on “The Whole Truth” (9 p.m., ABC).

• Hank and Brett receive an unusual assignment on “Terriers” (9 p.m., FX).

• A winner emerges on “She’s Got the Look” (9 p.m., TV Land).

Cult choice

Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard star in director Terrence Malick’s sumptuously photographed 1978 tale of migrant farmers “Days of Heaven” (7 p.m., TCM).