Cultural Impact
Luke and Laura's November 17, 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers; it remains the highest rated soap opera episode in American daytime television history. Elizabeth Taylor made a cameo appearance during the event, and Princess Diana reportedly sent champagne. The couple was subsequently credited with having brought "legitimacy to daytime serials" by crossing boundaries and becoming celebrities in the mainstream media. " out of the closet so people were not ashamed to say 'I watch a soap.' General Hospital and Luke and Laura...were like the super couple," said Lilana Novakovitch, a Canadian agent for soap opera stars. "They ended up being on the cover of People magazine, Newsweek magazine; they gave credibility to soap opera fans."
Soap Opera Digest columnist Carolyn Hinsey stated that she was at her Indiana University sorority house when the wedding took place. "Laura Spencer — like the actress portraying her, Genie Francis — was only 19 at the time and leading a much more glamorous life than the girls in Indiana could imagine," she said. "The relationship had creepy overtones, given that Luke had raped Laura two years earlier, and yet it captured the imagination."
| “ | There had never been a more influential soap opera moment than Luke and Laura's wedding. There never will be again. You could walk down the hallway and talk to anyone on our daytime staff, and they could tell you where they were when Luke and Laura got married. | ” |
| — Brian Frons, president of ABC Daytime. |
Francis said, "I didn't really understand how big it was. I really enjoyed all my time at work. The hard time was when I was not working. Fortunately, there were not many of those hours." Geary stated, "It just wasn't anything that I was prepared to deal with as an actor, because I was in daytime. We were international celebrities but still considered small-screen." Geary continued, "People didn't take it seriously and those that did took it too seriously. It was a very, very odd place to be."
The widespread media attention of Luke and Laura's wedding set the pairing up as "the model" for other soap opera supercouples. Shows wanted to duplicate their success, and, with the exception of rape for most of the couples, started incorporating the same type of action stories, romantic themes, and tales of intrigue which had originally contributed to Luke and Laura's popularity.
Today, Luke and Laura are regarded as daytime television's quintessential and most iconic couple. On the other hand, Beth Brindle from HowStuffWorks called the relationship "completely unrealistic".
Read more about this topic: Luke And Laura
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