Editing Luke and Laura (section)

===Rape===
[[Pat Falken Smith]] replaced Marland as head writer of ''General Hospital'' in 1979 since he wanted to go slower with Luke and Laura's story than Monty had.<ref name="The Guide to United States Popular Culture">{{cite book|first=Pat | last=Browne| title=The Guide to United States Popular Culture | publisher=Popular Press 3 |year=2001|  isbn=978-0-87972-821-2 |page= 317}}</ref> Smith wrote a controversial rape storyline between Luke and Laura.<ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/> To prepare for the story, Geary and Francis both met with a [[social worker]] before taping the rape scenes.<ref name="Soap Opera Stars May 1980"/> Originally intended to be a brutal attack, Monty re-[[choreographed]] the scene's blocking in order for the encounter to come off as a seduction. She also took strong language and violence out of the scenes.<ref name="Soap Opera Stars May 1980"/> ''General Hospital's'' music director at the time, [[Jill Farren Phelps]], chose to use the song [[Rise (instrumental)|"Rise"]], written by Randy "Badazz" Alpert and Andy Armer, performed by trumpeter [[Herb Alpert]] during the rape scene and ensuing scenes that recalled the rape.<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/><ref name="The Billboard Book of Number One Hits">{{cite book|first=Fred | last=Bronson| title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: 5th Edition | publisher=Billboard Books |year= 2003|  isbn=0-8230-7677-6 |page= 512}}</ref> "Every time Laura thought of the terrible rape by Luke, it was played to evoke that memory," Phelps said. "Consequently, we used it constantly for a while. Then we turned the story around so that he was no longer the rapist and that was no longer the appropriate piece of music."<ref name="The Billboard Book of Number One Hits"/> The song already ranked on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], but the exposure "Rise" gained from appearing on ''General Hospital'' helped bring it to number one.<ref name="The Billboard Book of Number One Hits"/> After the story aired in October 1979, it was looked back on as a rape and Laura was shown getting [[rape crisis centers in the United States| rape counseling]].<ref name="From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century"/> However, the writers decided to have the characters look back on the incident as a seduction instead of a rape because the pairing resonated with the audience.<ref name="Worlds Without End"/><ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/> "From that point on, we played [Luke's] regret and his total devastation," Geary said. 

The rape was revisited in 1998 when Luke and Laura's son, Lucky, finds out about the incident.<ref name="Nochimson">Nochimson, p. 361</ref> This time, the writers scripted it as rape instead of a seduction. Lucky struggled to come to terms with the revelation while Luke and Laura dealt with the unresolved issues surrounding the rape.<ref name="Nochimson"/><ref name="Soap Opera Weekly Applause, Applause">{{cite magazine| title=Applause, Applause |magazine=[[Soap Opera Weekly]] |date=1998-08-04}}</ref><ref name="Soap Opera Digest Living Legends">{{cite magazine| first=Kristin | last=Gallagher | title=Living Legends |magazine=[[Soap Opera Digest]] |date=2000-01-04}}</ref> In a 2000 interview with ''[[Soap Opera Digest]]'', Geary said, for the taping of the scenes, "Alan Pultz, who had directed the rape originally, used his original notes and directed me that day to recall all of that. I was able to finally put out what I think is Luke's definitive statement: that it was rape, it was ugly, he'd probably never recover." He added, "I was grateful that the directors and the writers were interested in what Luke's experience was and didn't try to spin it for audience control."<ref name="Soap Opera Digest Living Legends"/>