Apparently, the episode, "Growing Pains," contained a deleted scene, which can be viewed in the embedded YouTube video below.
Wikipedia offers a mini-synopsis about the scene's contents:
The DVD has a deleted scene where Avalanche is nearly killed by pushing Shadowcat away from a falling, burning mascot statue and she phases him out of the rubble. This event, along with the two becoming lab partners in the next episode, leads to the show's subplot of Lance and Kitty dating (much to their teams disapproval).
Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_X-Men:_Evolution_episodesHaving not seen the episode personally, my best theory is that the scene might have been cut for time. (As per my time with its Pokemon fare, Kids WB's formatting was exceptionally tight.) Regardless, the omission is jarring, as it foreshadowed the eventual Lance/Kitty subplot throughout the season. Fortunately, the Season 2 DVD set corrected the matter, albeit several years later.
If anyone wishes to discuss said scene's contents and/or the likely reasons for its original deletion, Comment away.
If I don't post again, have a good night.
Update (10/7): Flareonfury in the Comments cites series director Frank Paur's commentary, explaining that the real reason for editing was the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
"This was supposed to be the episode that helped to cement Kitty and Lance's ongoing, off going relationship. It’s why Kitty loved Lance. Lance is a dick; he’s from the wrong side of the tracks. You know. The classic rich girl poor boy romance thing. But at the height of his dickness, he endangers Kitty, and risks his own life to save hers. Unfortunately, the censor gremlins were busily at work ripping the guts out of the heart of the story. September 11 had freaked them out, and anything falling down on anyone in a cartoon made them wet their pants. Even though the act of heroism that follows is very uplifting and inspirational, the gremlins could not handle the idea that some kid somewhere might be upset at seeing a cartoon character in danger or risking their life to save someone else.
The consequences of this selective censorship, was that nobody understood the dynamics of the Kitty/Lance relationship. It seemed forced; a lot of people liked it, but they could not understand it, because they did not see the pivotal emotional moment in their lives. Lance saves Kitty’s life at the risk of his own. That is hard-core stuff for a teenager to go through. So, yes, there is a bonding that happened there. "
Link:
http://marvel.toonzone.net/xmenevo/interviews/paur/In hindsight, I should have known such reasoning, yet I apparently had a case of brain fog when I wrote the entry. Either way, my apologies.
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flareonfury2022-03-03 07:24 pm
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