'Jersey' shores up MTV

'JERSEY' SHORES UP MTV. The fourth-season opener of "Jersey Shore" on Thursday set an MTV record as the network's highest-rated season premiere, scoring 8.8 million viewers, Reuters reports. MTV's previous top season premiere was the third-season opener this past January, watched by 8.45 million. And housemate Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi says she's "shore" she wants to wed her boyfriend, Jionni LaValle, telling "Inside Edition" on Thursday, "I think I'm going to marry this guy. . . . I was with him every single day, and then I leave for six months for Italy [to shoot season four] . . . It was really hard for us."

FAREWELL, SWEET PRINCE. West Babylon's Derrick Prince, 33, a Web designer and a hardcore/metal musician in the band Drowned Sorrow, was one of two contestants, along with Christine Corley, eliminated on last week's "MasterChef." He posts recipes at BornToBraiseHell.com.

FINALES. "So You Think You Can Dance" season eight wraps up with Tadd Gadduang, Marko Germar, Sasha Mallory and Melanie Moore in the final performance show Wednesday at 8 p.m., followed by a two-hour live results show Thursday at 8, on Fox.

PREMIERES. Season Two of "The Bachelor Pad" bows Monday night at 8 on ABC . . . Say hello to the "Russian Dolls" of Brighton Beach in Lifetime's new reality-doc, premiering Thursday at 10:30 p.m. . . . and Joey Fatone hosts ABC's "Karaoke Battle USA," taking the stage Friday at 9 p.m.

RECAPS. "Big Brother" evicted Brendon Villegas . . . Josh Christensen was cut from "Project Runway" . . . Gina Melcher and Monterray Keys were 86'd from "Hell's Kitchen" . . . Brandee Dillehay, Benjamin Hooker, Steele Dewald and Erica Scherle are no longer in "Love in the Wild" . . . Country Boys went home on "Expedition Impossible" . . . and Bret Ritter won't be the "HGTV Design Star."