Editing Luke and Laura (section)

{{Short description|Fictional characters}}
{{Infobox soap character
| name             = Luke and Laura
| series           = General Hospital
| portrayer        = 
| years            = {{Flat list |
* 1981-2006 
* 2008
* 2012-2013
* 2013-2015
* 2015-2017
}}
| first            = 
| last             = 
| creator          = [[Pat Falken Smith]]{{efn|While seeds for the couple's story were planted during [[Douglas Marland]]'s tenure, Luke and Laura's actual romance doesn't start until 1980 during Smith's tenure.}}
| introducer       = [[Gloria Monty]]
| image1           = Image:LukeLauraReturn.jpg
| imagesize1       = <!-- Defaults to 240px -->
| imagealt1        = 
| caption1         = [[Anthony Geary]] and [[Genie Francis]] as Luke and Laura, 2006
| caption3         =
| alias            = L&L
| family           = {{ubl|[[Spencer family (General Hospital)|Spencer]]|[[Hardy/Webber family|Webber]]}}
| owner            = <!-- For non-humans (pets) only -->
| parents          = <!-- Or "father" and "mother" -->
| adoptiveparents  = <!-- Or "adoptivefather" and "adoptivemother" -->
| stepparents      = <!-- Or "stepfather" and "stepmother" -->
| siblings         = <!-- Or "brothers" and "sisters" -->
| civilpartner     = 
| children         = {{ubl|[[Lucky Spencer]]|[[Lulu Spencer]]}}
| adoptivechildren = <!-- Or "adoptivesons" and "adoptivedaughters" -->
| stepchildren     = <!-- Or "stepsons" and "stepdaughters" -->
| grandchildren    = {{ubl|[[Cameron Webber]] (adoptive)|[[Children of General Hospital#Jake Webber|Jake Webber]] (legal)|[[Children of General Hospital#Aiden Webber|Aiden Webber]]|[[Rocco Falconeri]]|[[Charlotte Cassadine]]}} 
| grandparents     = <!-- Or "grandfathers" and "grandmothers" -->
| aunts/uncles     = <!-- Or "uncles" and "aunts" -->
| nieces/nephews   = <!-- Or "nephews" and "nieces" -->
| cousins          = <!-- First cousins only -->
| relatives        = <!-- For any other relative not listed above who is essential to the understanding of the character -->
}}

'''Luke and Laura Spencer''' are fictional characters, and the signature [[supercouple]] from the American daytime drama ''[[General Hospital]]''.<ref name="EW Supercouple">{{cite magazine| first=Abby| last=West | title=Luke and Laura: 17 Great Soap Supercouples|publisher=EW.com |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=May 20, 2009|url=http://www.ew.com/gallery/17-great-soap-supercouples/204410_164741ghljpg}}</ref> [[Luke Spencer|Luke]] is portrayed by [[Anthony Geary]], and [[Laura Spencer (General Hospital)|Laura]] is portrayed by [[Genie Francis]]. Though other supercouples came before them, Luke and Laura are the best known outside of the soap opera medium and are credited with defining the term ''supercouple'' and leading other soap operas to try to duplicate their success.<ref name="screen couple chemistry">{{cite book | author = Martha P. Nochimson | title = Screen Couple Chemistry: The Power of 2 | isbn = 0-292-75579-1| publisher = University of Texas Press | year = 2002|page =408}}</ref><ref name="staying tuned">{{cite book | author = Suzanne Frentz | title = Staying Tuned: Contemporary Soap Opera Criticism | chapter= The Siren Call of the Super Couple: Soap Operas' Destructive Slide Toward Closure | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lR7UhnEk9-EC&q=Supercouple&pg=PA96 | isbn = 0-87972-537-0| publisher = Popular Press | year = 1992 |pages = 136 pages |access-date = 2012-10-07}}</ref><ref name="tvfanonline.com">{{cite news| first=Beverly | last=V. |title=General Hospital: Luke & Laura, The Rape|publisher=tvfanonline.com|access-date=2007-09-07|url=http://www.tvfanonline.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=2&pid=80 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929043432/http://www.tvfanonline.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=2&pid=80 |archive-date = 2007-09-29}}</ref>

Despite having been [[rape]]d by a drunken Luke, Laura falls in love with him. Originally, critics of the soap opera genre panned the choice of having a rape victim fall in love with her rapist,<ref name=tvfanonline.com/> an example of [[forced seduction]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Alison|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Erotic Romance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWOqSxWgVvIC&pg=PT288|year=2006|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=9781440650758|page=288}}</ref> The unlikely pairing became popular in spite of Luke's past misdeed when the story shifted to focus on love and redemption.

The couple wed at the end of the hour-long show which aired on November 16 and 17, 1981; the event was watched by 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.<ref name="EW Supercouple"/><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite web|first=David|last=Bauder|title=Luke and Laura's Altared State|publisher=[[Associated Press]]/[[The Washington Post]]|date=2006-11-14|access-date=2007-06-12| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/AR2006111301616.html}}</ref><ref name="1997 Encyc">{{cite book|last=Waggett|first=Gerard J.|title=The Soap Opera Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Harper Paperbacks]]|date=November 1997|pages=[https://archive.org/details/soapoperaencyclo00wagg/page/112 112–134]|chapter=''One Life to Live''|isbn=0-06-101157-6|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/soapoperaencyclo00wagg/page/112}}</ref><ref name="Wedding 2006">{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=236498 |title=Luke and Laura: Still the Ultimate TV Wedding |publisher=ABC.com |first=Buck |last=Wolf |date=November 17, 2006 |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> Viewers watched as the show followed their marriage through two decades and gave them two children. Today, their union still has a presence in fictional town [[Port Charles, New York (fictional city)|Port Charles]]. In 1996, ''[[TV Guide]]'' included the wedding of Luke and Laura as part of its "100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History," ranking it number 35.<ref>{{cite book|title=''TV Guide'' June 29 – July- 5, 1996 pg. 54}}</ref> On [[Internet forum|Internet message boards]], the couple is often referred to as "L&L" or "LnL" (for '''L'''uke and '''L'''aura).