Howie is a judge of 'Talent'

When Howie Mandel was offered a job as the newest judge on the talent/freak show "America's Got Talent," he didn't hesitate.

"I went, 'Are you kidding me? Yes! I'll be there in a second,' " Mandel told TV critics in a conference call.

"This is like a dream come true for me. You have no idea. First of all, I've been watching it since Season 1, and I've been doing this job in my underpants from my couch without getting paid. So to be invited to the party is great."

Mandel and returning judge Piers Morgan both said they had instant chemistry — of a rather incendiary kind.

"We had a real blast this season, and a lot of that's down to Howie," Morgan said. "He was great fun to work with, but he was also incredibly irritating. He saw it as his daily mission to wind me up, and I'm afraid it gets quite heated."

(The audition episodes, which begin airing Tuesday at 7 p.m. on NBC/Ch. 5, have already been taped.)

"In July, we start the live tapings, and that's going to be my mission — I want to get slapped by the end of the season," Mandel said.

Morgan said Mandel "clearly loves the show."

"His energy and enthusiasm are completely infectious, and every time I'd be moaning about having to work too hard or work too late, Howie would be bouncing off the walls with excitement. And that was very, very good for the show."

Some days, they'd see more than 100 acts and the taping would continue until 2 a.m. Morgan moaned; Mandel didn't.

"And I go, 'In another hour, we have to go back down to the stage and a guy is going to load gunpowder into his underpants and blow his genitals up, and it's our job. Just enjoy it,' " he said. "I mean, what a job. What an amazing job. It's ridiculous that we get paid for this."

"JERSEY COUTURE" (Tuesday, 11 p.m, Oxygen): Let's face it. There's one reason that this show is on the air.

Because Oxygen is hoping to piggyback on the success of MTV's heinous "Jersey Shore." Duh.

"Jersey Couture" is not "Jersey Shore." It's a whole lot less heinous.

But it is populated by Italian-Americans with heavy New Jersey accents who aren't exactly, um, classy.