'So You Think You Can Dance' is back on Fox

THE SHOW "So You Think You Can Dance"

WHEN | WHERE Thursday night at 8 on Fox/5

REASON TO WATCH The show's fourth-season premiere, plus later this season, Commack native and fourth-season finalist Courtney Galiano returns.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Say what!? You LOOOVVVE Mary Murphy and her SCREEEEAMING declarations of approval and joy. Then, bad news: She's gone, or for a while, anyway. The World's Noisiest Dance Judge has left the panel. But don't worry - "SYTYCD" wanted her to spend more time on choreography, and she'll return with her judging pipes in Las Vegas; Mia Michaels, a two-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Choreography, is taking her place. (Adam Shankman and Nigel Lythgoe also return.)

Tonight's two hours are given over largely to the New York auditions, held at the Loew's Paradise on the Grand Concourse. Only 10 finalists will be selected this season, and they'll be paired with former finalists, like Galiano.

CATCHING UP WITH COURTNEY. Galiano has been performing in the nationwide "Glee" tour and will appear in the season finale as a pregnant teen who's a member of McKinley High's rival glee club, Vocal Adrenaline. She also has a role in the forthcoming "Camp Rock 2."

On "SYTYCD," she must now master a new dance genre: "I've been taking ballet lessons , and everyone else has kind of furthered themselves in their specific genres."

MY SAY Come to a New York City open casting call, and you reasonably expect something odd and entertaining, and "SYTYCD" doesn't disappoint in that regard. As with any opening rounds, there are eccentrics, or simply those seeking 15 seconds of fame - 15 minutes would be an eternity, at least for viewers. There is, for example, "123 Party" - three guys who sorta dance but seem a little more like the comedy group, "The Whitest Kids U Know."

But get past the novelty acts, and it appears NYC had produced a good crop. As always, "SYTYCD" has the tired habit of building up the back story of some contestants - the more lachrymose back story the better - only to dash their hopes in the choreography rounds. You begin to wonder about the judges' sincerity.

GRADE B