Editing Luke and Laura (section)

===General===
In 1978, ''General Hospital'' was close to cancellation owing to low viewership. At that time, they were ranked lowest in the [[Nielsen ratings]]. To save the show, ABC executive Jackie Smith hired [[Gloria Monty]] as the show's executive producer and [[Douglas Marland]] as head writer.<ref name="Worlds Without End">{{cite book| first1=Ron| last1=Simon| first2=Robert J.| last2=Thompson| first3=Louise| last3=Spence| first4=Jane| last4=Feuer| editor-first=Robert| editor-last=Morton| title=Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera| publisher=Harry N Abrams| location=New York, New York| year=1997| isbn=0-8109-3997-5| page=[https://archive.org/details/worldswithoutend00muse/page/37 37]| url=https://archive.org/details/worldswithoutend00muse/page/37}}</ref><ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television">{{cite book|first=Wesley|last1=Hyatt|title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television|publisher=Billboard Books|location=New York, New York|year=1997|isbn=0-8230-8315-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/176 176–182]|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/176}}</ref><ref name="Simon, p. 136-7">Simon, p. 136-7</ref> Monty wanted to attract a youth-based audience as a way of garnering higher ratings. To do this, she and Marland brought troubled teenager Laura Vining (Genie Francis) to the forefront of the series.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television"/><ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/><ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81">{{cite magazine| first=Harry F.| last=Waters|title=TV's Hottest Show|magazine=[[Newsweek]] |date=1981-09-28}}</ref> The character went from appearing a couple of times a week to having fifty pages of script a day.<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/><ref name="Soap Opera Weekly Genie Francis Interview">{{cite magazine| first=Kristen | last=Baldwin | title=Golden Girl |magazine=[[Soap Opera Weekly]] |date=1996-11-19}}</ref> "Gloria put sex and romance into Laura's life," Francis said, "and it bowled me over. Here I was doing things in front of 20 million people that I had never done in my life."<ref name="TV Guide Genie Francis Interview">{{cite magazine| first=May | last=Murphy | title=Soap Opera's Tragic Princess |magazine=[[TV Guide]] |date=1980-08-29}}</ref> Her early stories included killing her older lover, [[General Hospital Characters#H|David Hamilton]], for cheating on her with [[Lesley Webber|her mother]] and a popular romance with [[Scott Baldwin|Scott "Scotty" Baldwin]].<ref name="Soap Opera News: Genie Francis">{{cite news| title=Genie Francis |publisher=Soap Opera News |date=1997-04-29}}</ref> In response, ''General Hospital''{{'}}s ratings rose as younger viewers began watching for Laura. Teenagers connected with her because she was their age and experienced some of the same problems they did, yet also lived "the life of a 28 year old".<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/>

[[Anthony Geary]] joined the cast in 1978 in what was meant to be a 13-week stint as [[Luke Spencer]].<ref name="Entertainment Weekly">{{cite magazine| first=Abby | last=West | title=Tony Geary Reflects on 30 Years of GH|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=2008-03-31 |access-date=2009-08-07|url=https://ew.com/article/2008/03/31/tony-geary-reflects-his-30-years-gh/}}</ref> His sister, [[Bobbie Spencer]], brought him to town to help her break up Laura's relationship with Scotty. By the end of Geary's contract, Luke was supposed to be killed off.<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/> Like Laura, Luke appealed to teenage viewers because of his "edgy volatility."<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/><ref name="other worlds">{{cite book | author = Dorothy Catherine Anger| title = Other worlds: society seen through soap opera | chapter= LUKE AND LAURA, SUPERCOUPLE | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A3M-BkqXvOcC&q=Supercouple+soap+opera&pg=PA89 |isbn = 9781551111032| publisher = University of Toronto Press | year = 1999 |pages = 171 pages |access-date = 2012-10-07}}</ref> Since viewers expressed interest in Luke and Laura, the writers decided to have Luke die in Laura's arms, after which she would reunite with Scotty.<ref name="From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century">{{cite book|first=David | last=Mansour| title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century| publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year= 2005|  isbn=0-7407-5118-2 |page= 178}}</ref> Owing to the positive viewer response, the story moved towards a romance between Luke and Laura.<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/><ref name="From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century"/><ref name="Soap Opera Stars May 1980">{{cite news|title=No, Luke, No|publisher=Soap Opera Stars |date=May 1980}}</ref>