The network was very nervous — it was an extremely conservative time in our country and everyone was freaking out. We had a whole episode where every kiss between them was cut out, just so I could get one kiss in the “Rainy Day Women” episode. I was literally on the phone with Broadcast, Standards and Practices bartering for kisses. It was a battle, and The Powers That Be are part of a big corporation, and were going in front of Congress at the time (every network was) — so I understand they are all good people who were under a lot of pressure. But they wanted that story wrapped up as fast as humanly possible and Alex moving on out of the OC.
— ESPN, Creator Josh Schwartz, discussing the abrupt end to the Alex/Marissa storyline.
September 8, 2005