Dan Rather's Carry-On Baggage

"Do I think there is a big misconception about myself out there? One hundred percent. Did I participate in that in the beginning? Yes, I did. Was I 18 years old? Yes. Do I regret it? Fifty percent yes, and 50 percent no, because I . . . I learned so much."

It was heart-wrenching. Critics didn't care. They're a heartless bunch, but we already knew that. They kept on her like a pack of terriers after an adorable little bucktoothed rat with questions about her reputation, the shreds of her career, etc.

"I'm not going to lie. It hurts a lot to read the stuff I read about myself," she said, now completely crushed. "And it hurts my mom a lot." And her mom is in the room -- nice touch.

For her new series, "Breaking Up With Shannon Doherty," she plays a sort of patron saint of dating. In the clip shown to critics, she breaks up with the greasy boyfriend of an aspiring actress. After she introduces herself but before she can perform her act of mercy, he tells her she's the last Coca-Cola in the desert for a thirsty man, or something like that.

Doherty is thrown for a minute, but only a minute; she's a woman on a mission.

"She is scared to break up with you," Doherty perseveres.

"As well she should be," he responds, adding, "I think I have more in common with you . . . you're a lot hotter in person. She needs to be with somebody else. You did a wonderful thing -- are you ovulating?"

Once she'd been reduced to tears, critics could get back to asking her questions about the show:

"Was that the worst pickup line you ever heard?" one asked.

"Yes, and thank you by the way," Doherty said, wiping the tears from her eyes and adding, "Are you single?"

Read more lore from the press tour in "Moraes on TV" at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/tvblog/.