Starting out with a clean slate

Christian Slater remains calm during his staring contest with a menacing dog.

While filming an episode of his new ABC crime drama, “The Forgotten” (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.), Slater, as former detective Alex Donovan, locks eyes with a Rottweiler while questioning its owner.

Later, during a break in filming, he says the pooch was a total pro:

“He was perfect. He gave me a lot to work with. It’s like a tennis match, being an actor, and you’re only as good as the people you’re playing opposite against, and today I have to really take my hat off to this dog.”

Slater, 40, was drawn to “The Forgotten” because of executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Without a Trace,” “Cold Case,” the “CSI” franchise).

However, it was the show’s team of Average Joes and Janes who solve crimes involving John and Jane Does that piqued Slater’s interest.

“This was kind of an interesting angle by making these people not necessarily experts,” he says. “I mean, they really are people like you and me. … These are real people willing to do something in a volunteer type of fashion that, I think, at the end of the day, is very, very noble.”

Since “The Forgotten” debuted last month, CBS’ political drama “The Good Wife” has been taking a big bite out of the Tuesday-night audience.

It’s a foe Slater knows all too well. His first TV series, last season’s NBC spy thriller “My Own Worst Enemy,” struggled to find an audience early on.

“You don’t know,” he says. “Every time, it’s a gamble. You roll the dice. You take your chances. You work with the best possible people. … At the end of the day, you’ve got to remember, there’s so many elements that are out of your control.”

The birthday bunch

Singer Wanda Jackson is 72. Musician Tom Petty is 59. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 51. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 38. Actor John Krasinski is 30.