Posted at 11:47 a.m., Thursday, November 16, 2006
Luke and Laura: 25 years of soapy wedded bliss
By Chuck Barney
Contra Costa Times
On Nov. 16, 1981, more than 30 million viewers watched Luke (Anthony Geary) marry Laura (Genie Francis) on "General Hospital." It remains the largest audience in the history of daytime television. Here's a look at how TV is celebrating the silver anniversary:
—ON ABC: "General Hospital" continues a Luke & Laura reunion story line that began Oct. 26. A "commemorative" episode is scheduled today. Check local listings.
—On SOAPnet: "Luke and Laura 25: Something Old, Something New" is a marathon programming special on Nov. 24 that traces the evolution of their relationship. Included: The wedding episodes.
In the summer of 1981, daytime soap opera "General Hospital" put on a big-deal production featuring a couple of bright-faced love birds by the name of Luke and Laura.
"It was what everybody was talking about at the time," says Elaine Ebner — a self-described "fanatical 'General Hospital' freak" — who, like many college students of her day, arranged her class schedule around "General Hospital." "It was kind of hysterical. You laughed at yourself and your friends for taking something so frivolous so seriously. But at the same time, you just couldn't help yourself."
Twenty-five years later, memories of that pop-cultural touchstone are still vivid for many fans, thanks in no small part to TV programmers who are doing their best to keep them burning bright.
On ABC, Luke (Anthony Geary), now sans his famous perm, and Laura (Genie Francis) have been reunited for a limited-run "General Hospital" story line, with a "commemorative" episode slated for today.
Meanwhile, ABC's cable sibling, SOAPnet, has dedicated this month to retelling Luke and Laura's love story via vintage clips, marathons and an original special.
It's easy to see why the networks would want to aggressively celebrate the silver anniversary. Luke and Laura's wedding was one of television's greatest water-cooler moments. Nowadays, the 43-year-old "General Hospital," like all daytime soaps, struggles to remain viable, attracting an average audience of only 3.36 million viewers.
Pam Powers, who wrote for Soap Opera Digest, insists that the O.J. Simpson murder trial, among other things, paved the way for the genre's decline.
"When the O.J trial dominated afternoon television, it was the biggest soap opera of them all. It was reality," she says. "And now, it seems, everyone craves reality TV."
But before O.J., there was Luke and Laura — and a case of television serendipity.
"The story line was fresh for the times and it appealed to younger viewers. Suddenly, it wasn't your grandma's soap anymore," says Powers, explaining the phenomenon. "Plus, there was a special chemistry between those two actors. You could have had two other very attractive people playing the same roles and uttering the same lines but it wouldn't have been nearly as big."
