YAY! "So You Think You Can Dance" is back! For you "Idol" viewers who dismiss the show, let me offer an analogy: "SYTYCD" is the Prince Harry to "Idol"'s Prince William. At first Will seemed like the dreamy one you wanted to cozy up to, then he got all baldy and protrudy-looking. Meanwhile, Harry turned into a hot ginger stud. You see where I'm going with this.

For my money, this show is better than its predecessor in almost every way. Host? Sorry, Seacrest, Cat Deeley is amazing. Talent? These kids aren't doing cover songs; they're dancing original pieces. Panel? Oh, how I've missed Nigel's luscious mane and the ear-piercing shrieks of Mary Murphy.

OK, maybe I'm kidding about that last part.

No, actually, I'm not. I love that bitch.

I'm not going to bother doing a full recap for all of the try-outs in the initial audition episodes. There's just no point since we never see the vast majority of them again. Instead, I'll narrow it down to my Top 10 moments of the night, good, bad, or indifferent, in no particular order. Post your own favorites below.

1. Gabi Rojas, a circus girl whose mom was a trapeze artist, kicked off the Brooklyn auditions. She has a great name, terrific body, incredible agility, and uses her body in all kinds of bizarre, birdlike ways. She also has rheumatoid arthritis, so she is golden on this show. I wonder how she would do with traditional choreography, but there's no doubt that she's a genuine artist. Straight through to Vegas.

2. Peter Sabasino, 21-year-old tap dancer, guido-in-training. But he's adorable, seriously. He's good at what he does, although tappers never make it on to this show. He auditioned in basketball shorts, which were capri-length (manpri shorts? What fresh hell is this?) and a too-tight wifebeater -- his clothes were a mess. But I love him. He seemed extremely sweet, and got sent through to Vegas.

3. Nobuya is this tiny Japanese man who I initially fingered as a joke audition when he was listing off all the styles he's mastered to the camera. But then he started and got downright funky on that stage. There was a LOT of hamming, and I was desperate for him to pull up his pants. He's not really a dancer in the sense of this show, but I bet he's tons of fun in the clubs. Guest judge Napoleon said that he's an example of the new fast locking style that's all the rage in Japan right now. Bizarre. After choreography he got sent through to Vegas.

4. Arielle Taylor first auditioned for Season 3 and didn't make it. She's absolutely gorgeous - could be on "Top Model," if not for the prominent snaggletooth that kept throwing off my friend Courtney. She's a beautiful lyrical dancer; her moves all looked effortless, with some incredibly controlled turns and twirls. She made it to the final day in Vegas last time, and I will be shocked if she doesn't make it to the Top 20 this time around. Straight through to Vegas.

5. Kayla Radomski is desperately in need of a makeover, but she can move beautifully. Her leaps and extensions were extremely impressive. She really knows how to work her long, lanky limbs. If we could strip down the Eastern-European-by-way-of-the-American-Midwest tackiness she could become a favorite. Straight through to Vegas.

6. Natalie Reid, the roommate of last year's female runner-up Katie. Natalie got cut right before last year's Top 20. She is markedly better than she was last year. The control, the extension, the musicality - it was all there. A really great audition. She looked a million times better than she did last year physically, too. Obviously a ringer this year, although this show has a history of tricking me into thinking someone's a lock when they're not. On to Vegas.

7. Brandon Bryant also got cut right before the finals last year, in favor of, of all people, Gev. He came back this year with a bombastic solo that involved flipping, jumping, and all manner of tricks. He clearly is a technically gifted dancer with an incredible physical base - the guy is all muscle. But I found that his performance lacked any real creativity or musicality. It was just one move to the next, and didn't seem to synch with his bombastic music at all. It was almost like a tumbling pass in the Olympics. The judges fell over themselves, especially Mary, saying how he was just the most amazing thing they'd ever seen. Then why didn't you put him through last year? Nigel hit the nail on the head: Brandon lacks personality. I guess that's true, but very few of the dancers really connect until they get to the Top 20. Regardless, he'll almost certainly make it there this year.

8. Brothers Elias and Enoch Holloway are a gay porn producer's wet dream. Young, cute as buttons, great bodies, and all smiles as they cluelessly drop lines like "We shared a bed for a year!" Oh, boys. I'm guessing they're Mormon, since they're the youngest of 14 kids. They did simultaneous popping and locking. They weren't perfectly in synch, but they were funky little things, and I kind of loved them. They were fun. The younger one couldn't actually compete because he was only 16, but the dark-haired one was sent to choreography, where he was bounced. Hopefully he comes back next season (which starts in the FALL, by the way; we have back-to-back seasons this year) because you just know he'd be a major vote magnet for the teen crowd.

9. Speaking of the gay: male ballroom couple! Oh shit. Misha Belfer and his "straight" dancing partner, Mitchel Kibel, who previously danced with women. Dear Mitch: Who do you think you're fooling? They really weren't that bad on the dance floor, even thought they looked like Liberace playing a "Star Trek" villain. Their samba was going OK until Misha careened into Mitch's legs during a throw and they went down HARD. Nigel had a problem with them dancing together, because he likes his male dancers to be masculine, and he (and the other judges) just couldn't wrap their heads around how one of the men in the pair could dance the female part and not look feminine. That was some bullshit, but I guess I can kind of see where it's coming from. They went to the choreography round and got cut.

10. Tiffany Geigel was born with a disease that prevented her spine from forming properly (she has three vertebrae as opposed to the regular seven), so she does not have a neck; her head rests on her ribcage. She was supposed to die when she was a baby, and now she's 23. She has one of the most extraordinary spirits that I have ever seen in a human being, and is a lovely dancer. She took classes as a kid, and has continued dancing, and you just have to respect her. She says she puts up with ridicule on a daily basis, and gets through it by staying strong. Good on her. Nigel critiqued her dancing, and told her she isn't right for the show. She knew it, and didn't even expect to get on the stage. This is why I love this show compared to "Idol" - Simon & Co. would have mocked the shit out of Tiffany, but these guys genuinely admired her. And I don't think it was merely placating or humoring her; Nigel gave her a serious critique of her abilities. I found the whole thing life affirming, and I typically don't go for the sappy stuff.

Next week: More auditions. Not that these are bad, but can't we just fast-forward to Vegas Week?