This piece appeared in Soap Opera Weekly on November 2, 1993.

Can Lightning Strike Twice?
Luke and Laura Return to General Hospital
by Jeffrey S. Pearlstein

GENERAL HOSPITAL'S LUKE AND LAURA and the actors who play them, Anthony Geary and Genie Francis, will forever hold a special place in soap opera history. The show is hoping it can recreate their legendary magic when the two characters, who were last seen on the show in 1984, return Oct. 29. There are many reasons why so much attention is being paid to their return--not the least of which is the rich history the characters share.

Luke and Laura are first seen with son, Lucky, at their diner, the Triple L, in Canada.

It all began in a little town named Port Charles, when rough-around-the-edges Luke Spencer laid eyes on innocent Laura Webber Baldwin and knew he had to have her. Laura was attracted to Luke as well, but she was married to Scotty Baldwin. That did not stop the star-crossed lovers from developing a close relationship, and their love story captivated the country as no TV soap romance had ever done before.

A major--and controversial--turning point in the Luke and Laura story took place at the Campus Disco, where Luke, who was certain the mob was about to kill him and was unable to fight his feelings for Laura, raped her. The show tried to downplay the rape and termed it a seduction, a point still debated today. But the appeal of Geary and Francis helped elevate a story filled with passion, romance, intrigue and adventure, and it won over even viewers who found the "seduction" questionable, if not completely offensive.

Geary and Francis became media darlings. Even people who weren't soap fans knew who Luke and Laura were, and were more inclined to tune in and see what all the fuss was about. Other characters and plots were relegated to back-burner status while Luke and Laura took center stage. Several years later, while playing All My Children's Ceara Connor; Francis said, "I don't know that anything will ever reach the peak of popularity that the Luke and Laura storyline did. I think that was a phenomenon, and that kind of a thing doesn't really happen very often."

Although many soaps, including GH, have tried to duplicate their appeal in other characters, none has ever been able to capture the public's imagination as Luke and Laura--and Geary and Francis--did. "I don't think anybody can really understand what it feels like until it starts happening to them," Francis said of the couple's enormous fan following, "and for me, when I was a little girl and said I wanted to be an actress, I really never thought I'd ever get to be that popular. It's like the way people freaked out over Farrah Fawcett, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Geary, too, was surprised by the adulation. "My face is not the face of a sex symbol," he once said, "but Luke Spencer isn't interested in being pretty."

Geary and Francis became the first daytime actors to adorn the cover of Newsweek magazine, which never reported on daytime TV. The story billed them as "TV's Hottest Show--Luke and Laura of General Hospital." On Nov. 16 and 17, 1981, the star-crossed duo married. Those two episodes reached 14 million homes and a 52 percent share of the audience, the highest ratings ever recorded for a daytime program. Part of the reason for the blockbuster ratings was the guest-star turn of Elizabeth Taylor, a major fan of the show, as the evil Helena Cassadine. Her much-publicized appearance, as well as the surprise return of Kin Shriner (Scotty caught the bridal bouquet!), raised the excitement level of the show to a fever pitch.

When Francis left GH toward the end of 1981, she wanted to further refine her acting skills in New York City drama schools. "At that particular point in time, it was very difficult for me to enter an acting class, but I think it was really beneficial to me, I really do," she said. "It was difficult because I was doing everything in reverse. I was already popular and I'd been on the cover of Newsweek and TV Guide, so the other students weren't that ready to accept me. Eventually, as they got to know me, they ended up respecting the fact that my work was that important to me."

Francis' departure left Luke without a love interest. Although GH tried several times to find a substitute--Janine Turner (ex-Laura Templeton) and Demi Moore (ex-Jackie Templeton) were brought on immediately--fans refused to accept Luke with anyone but Laura. The arrival of British-born actress Emma Samms changed that, however. Her Holly Sutton captured not only Luke's interest but the audience's as well. Although Francis and Laura were a tough act to follow, Samms managed to carve out a niche for herself in Port Charles. "I didn't realize at the time I was battling the Luke and Laura phenomenon, so my ignorance was a blessing," Samms said later. "I was very lucky the audiences accepted me."

After awhile Luke and Holly's relationship fizzled, and after an absence of almost two years, Francis returned to the show--amid much hoopla--to reprise her popular role, and Luke was free to welcome her back into his loving arms. Francis' return coincided with Geary's impending departure, which allowed the Luke and Laura storyline to end on a happy note, as they sailed off into the sunset and became one of the most cherished memories of daytime television.

Their saga resumed in 1984, when Geary returned for a six-week stint and Francis made a two-day appearance as a favor to then-executive producer Gloria Monty. When last seen, Luke and Laura were living in Texas as cattle ranchers, and raising their son, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr. Both actors eventually went on to appear in various prime-time projects, and then returned to daytime, in new roles. In 1987, Francis joined Days of Our Lives as feisty reporter Diana Colville; she followed that with her one-year stint on AMC. In February 1991, Geary returned to GH as Bill Eckert, Luke's look-alike cousin. Francis' departure from AMC in mid-1992 sparked speculation that she would quickly return to GH, but the timing wasn't right.

The not-too-well-kept surprise of Luke and Laura's planned reunion on GH was announced officially last May, when Francis and Geary were co-presenters on the Daytime Emmy telecast. Francis later said, "I just felt that it was time to go back, and it's really exciting. I felt that the audience felt gypped at the way I left before, and that this was an incomplete thing in my life. I really wanted to come back and finish it the right way" Added Geary, "I feel great about [switching from Bill back to Luke]. I did that new character and I basically didn't want to do Luke without Laura." Francis agreed: "That's also part of why I haven't been able to do it until now, because we are a team, and this is the first time that we've both been able to do it at the same time."

While viewers anxiously await their return, the big question remains: Will Luke and Laura be able to live up to their previous accomplishments and recreate the legend?

Sidebar: History of Luke and Laura