Editing Luke and Laura (section)

==Cultural impact==
[[File:General Hospital Luke Laura Wedding 1981.jpg|thumb|Luke and Laura Spencer at their wedding in 1981.]]
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.<ref name="EW Supercouple"/><ref name=washingtonpost.com/><ref name="1997 Encyc"/><ref name="Wedding 2006"/> [[Elizabeth Taylor]] made a [[cameo appearance]] during the event,<ref name=washingtonpost.com/><ref name="other worlds" /><ref name="united states popular culture">{{cite book | author =Pat Browne | title = The guide to United States popular culture | isbn = 9780879728212| publisher = Popular Press | year = 2001 |pages = 1010 pages| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&q=Luke+and+Laura+1981&pg=PA317| access-date = 2012-10-07}}</ref><ref name="medicine's moving pictures">{{cite book |author1=Leslie J. Reagan |author2=Nancy Tomes |author3=Paula A. Treichler | title = Medicine's moving pictures: medicine, health, and bodies in American film and television | isbn = 9781580462341| publisher = Boydell & Brewer | year = 2007 |pages = 343 pages| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sJEpUGZfe7YC&q=Supercouple+daytime&pg=PA104| access-date = 2012-10-07}}</ref> and [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana]] sent champagne.<ref name=washingtonpost.com/><ref name ="Together Again">{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-10-24-luke-and-laura_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=Luke, Laura together again | date=October 24, 2006 | access-date=May 3, 2010}}</ref> The couple was subsequently credited with having brought "legitimacy to daytime serials" by crossing boundaries and becoming celebrities in the mainstream media. "[They took daytime] 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 [[Canadians|Canadian]] agent for soap opera stars.<ref name="other worlds" /> "They ended up being on the cover of ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine; they gave credibility to soap opera fans."<ref name="other worlds" />

''[[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."<ref name=washingtonpost.com/> {{quote|text = 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.|author= [[Brian Frons]], president of [[ABC Daytime]].<ref name=washingtonpost.com/>}}

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."<ref name=washingtonpost.com/> 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."<ref name=washingtonpost.com/> 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."<ref name=washingtonpost.com/>

The widespread media attention of Luke and Laura's wedding set the pairing up as "the model" for other soap opera supercouples.<ref name="screen couple chemistry" /><ref name="staying tuned" /><ref name=tvfanonline.com/><ref name="serial monogamy">{{cite book | author = Christine Scodari| title = Serial monogamy: soap opera, lifespan, and the gendered politics of fantasy | publisher = Hampton Press| year = 2004 |pages = 208 pages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpWFAAAAIAAJ&q=Supercouple+soap+opera| isbn = 9781572735552| access-date = 2012-10-07}}</ref> 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.<ref name="screen couple chemistry" /><ref name="staying tuned" /><ref name=tvfanonline.com/>

Luke and Laura are regarded as daytime television's quintessential and most [[Cultural icon|iconic]] couple.<ref name="screen couple chemistry" /> In 2023, Charlie Mason from ''[[Soaps She Knows]]'' placed Laura and Luke at first and second place, respectively, on his ranked list of ''General Hospital's 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mason |first1=Charlie |title=General Hospital's 40+ Greatest Characters of All Time, Ranked [PHOTOS] |url=https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/general-hospital-greatest-characters-ever-pictures/ |website=[[Soaps She Knows]] |access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref>