Originally, critics of the soap opera genre panned the choice of having a rape victim fall in love with her rapist,[4] an example of forced seduction.

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.

"[15] Her early stories included killing her older lover, David Hamilton, for cheating on her with her mother and a popular romance with Scott "Scotty" Baldwin.

[13][19][20] 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.

"[22] The song already ranked on the Billboard Hot 100, but the exposure "Rise" gained from appearing on General Hospital helped bring it to number one.

[12] 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.

Luke is involved with mobster Frank Smith (then George Gaynes), who orders him to kill anti-mafia senatorial candidate Mitch Williams on election night.

They pose as newlyweds Lloyd and Lucy Johnson and are able to evade Frank's men, Jefferson "Hutch" Smith Hutchinson, and Sally Armitage (who it was revealed was really Max Hedges, in drag).

Meanwhile, Luke takes a job with wealthy Edward Quartermaine (then played by David Lewis) and his niece Alexandria (Renee Anderson), who are searching for the Ice Princess, the world's largest uncut diamond.

Alexandria, working with Mikkos's brothers Victor and Tony (Thaao Penghlis and Andre Landzaat), acquires the diamond and decides to deliver it aboard Titan, the Cassadines' yacht and brings several Port Charles residents with her.

Luke, though still uncertain about his wife's ultimate fate, begins an affair with scam artist Holly Sutton (Emma Samms).

Mikkos' cousin (later retconned as eldest son) Stavros Cassadine (then played by John Martinuzzi) had spared her life since he had fallen in love with her.

While traveling, Laura gives birth to Luke's son Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, Jr., whom they nickname Lucky (played by Jonathan Jackson).

From prison, Frank Smith (then played by Mitchell Ryan) tracks them down and bombs a truck in the parking lot of the Triple L Diner in Canada where the family had been hiding, killing one of their friends.

Lucky arrives in Port Charles alone and meets Luke's aunt Ruby Anderson (Norma Connolly) and is shortly joined by his parents.

When mother and daughter are reunited, Luke conspires with Tom Hardy (Matthew Ashford) to fake their deaths to keep them safe from Helena.

The kidnapping of Lucky was a distraction for Helena's real plan, the revival of her presumed dead son Stavros (now Robert Kelker-Kelly), who had been cryogenically frozen.

Lesley's philandering former husband and Laura's beloved step-father Rick Webber (Chris Robinson) returns to Port Charles.

Lucky (then-Greg Vaughan) is recovering from a drug addiction and had an affair with Felicia's daughter Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms), Lulu has recently had an abortion, and Nikolas is raising a young son on his own.

Luke is revealed to be keeping secret that the drug therapy is only a temporary solution and that Laura will eventually return to her catatonic state.

Lulu is able to convince her cousin Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) to postpone her marriage to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher), allowing her parents to use the supplies already in place.

After being escorted back to the asylum, Laura reveals to her daughter that she does not think she really killed Rick Webber and asks her to prove her innocence.

Laura returns to Port Charles and after a joyful reunion with her family decides to move to Europe to continue treatments to insure that she does not relapse.

On February 19, 2013, Luke and Laura are surprised when Lulu receives an uncut Ice Princess rock from an unknown person; it turns out to be a fake.

Luke later departs from Port Charles soon afterward on a journey of self-healing in order to fight off the demons of his past, leaving a goodbye letter for Laura in which he refers to her as his "Angel".

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.

General Hospital and Luke and Laura...were like the super couple," said Lilana Novakovitch, a Canadian agent for soap opera stars.

"[18] 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.

[2][3][4][39] 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.