Editing Luke and Laura (section)

===Adventure plots===
After the rape storyline, the focus of ''General Hospital'' began to center on Luke and Laura's romance. Before, the show revolved around hospital stories, including [[alcoholism]], [[obesity]], [[mental disorder]]s, and [[cancer]].<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television"/><ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/><ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/> Luke and Laura's adventure based plots took the show away from the hospital. In 1980, the couple spent the summer on the run, an "unprecedented" type of storyline at the time.<ref name="Worlds Without End"/> Monty imbued that plot with elements of [[Frank Capra]]'s 1934 film ''[[It Happened One Night]]'' and the 1941 [[Humphrey Bogart]] film ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]''.<ref name="Worlds Without End"/><ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/> She later used ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'' and [[Tarzan]] as the inspiration for their plot to stop [[Mikkos Cassadine]] from taking over the world.<ref name="Newsweek 9/28/81"/> As the show became laden with "comic-book fantasies," ratings remained high, but the viewer demographics became younger.<ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/>

In a 2008 interview with ''[[Soap Opera Digest]]'', [[Kin Shriner]] (Scott Baldwin) said Monty planned to continue the Scotty, Laura, and Luke triangle for a longer period, but his 1980 departure forced a story change. He returned to the show a year later.<ref name="Soap Opera Digest Genie Francis and Kin Shriner Interview">{{cite magazine| first=Tom | last=Stacy| title=Trifecta |magazine=[[Soap Opera Digest]] |date=2008-11-18| pages= 42–46}}</ref> Former head writer [[Thom Racina]] intended to hold off the couple's marriage and allow them to be separated by Scotty for six more months. [[Elizabeth Taylor]] called ''General Hospital's'' studio after reading about the wedding's being postponed in a soap opera magazine. She made a deal to appear on the series if Luke and Laura married.<ref name="Soap Opera Digest 1981 Wedding Secret Exposed">{{cite magazine| title=1981 Wedding Secret Exposed |magazine=[[Soap Opera Digest]] |date=2008-11-18| page= 18}}</ref> Taylor appeared in five episodes as [[Helena Cassadine]], the widow of [[Mikkos Cassadine]], whom Luke and Laura killed.<ref name="People  Liz Taylor">{{cite magazine| first= David | last=Gritten| title=Liz Taylor on General Hospital as Luke and Laura Finally Tie the Knot |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=1981-11-16}}</ref> Luke and Laura's wedding, which aired on November 16 and 17, 1981, achieved the highest ratings in the history of daytime television.<ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/><ref name="People Magazine 1993">{{cite magazine| first1=Susan | last1=Schindehette|first2=Sabrina| last2=McFarland|title=Luke and Laura: The Sequel|magazine=People |year=1993}}</ref> Shortly after the wedding aired, Francis left the show, taking a portion of the audience with her. To hold onto the younger viewers, the show began focusing more on "action-adventure" and less on "complex characterizations and psychological drama".<ref name="Simon, p. 136-7"/> Francis returned briefly in 1983 to facilitate Geary's exit.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television"/> Both actors returned in 1984 to reprise their roles for six weeks. ABC brought them back hoping to raise ''General Hospital's'' ratings. Their return story involved a location shoot in [[Cuernavaca]], [[Mexico]] and an adventure involving [[Holly Sutton]] and [[Robert Scorpio]].<ref name="Star Magazine September 11, 1984">{{cite magazine|title=Luke and Laura Return to Rekindle Their Sizzling Love|magazine=Star Magazine |date=September 11, 1984}}</ref> The story aired from late October through early December 1984,<ref name="Star Magazine September 11, 1984"/> after which the actors departed again and did not return until the 1990s.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television"/>