By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A couple of weeks ago, TNT premiered a new show called “Memphis Beat.” Although the show is set in Memphis, most of the filming is done locally, both on location and on sets built inside the St. John Civic Center.

Last week L’Observateur asked visitors to its website to vote on how they felt about the show, which stars Jason Lee and centers on a Memphis detective and his sometimes unusual ways of solving crimes. And he’s an Elvis tribute singer.

Local opinion on the show varied greatly.

Of the 48 percent of people who had already seen the show, and equal number said they either love or at least like the show enough to give it a chance. Just 6 percent of the total number of voters said they do not like the show.

On the other side of the coin, over half of those who responded to the question had not yet seen the program. Of those, one-quarter said they plan to watch while 75 percent said they will not watch “Memphis Beat.”

Regardless of one’s opinion on the show, local residents should all be pleased that the production has decided to call St. John home.

A full breakdown of results follows:

• 21 percent of respondents chose “I love it!”

• 21 percent of respondents chose “It’s OK, but it needs a little work.”

• 6 percent of respondents chose “I don’t like it.”

• 13 percent of respondents chose “I haven’t seen it yet, but I plan to watch when I can.”

• 38 percent of respondents chose “I’m not going to watch the show.”