Legendary soap supercouple, Luke and Laura, have been reunited on General Hospital just in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the couple's marriage. Laura had been off-camera in a catatonic state these past few years, but Genie Francis recently came back to the show, and Laura is recovering from her psychiatric condition. SOAPnet cable channel and ABC are uniting to celebrate the couple's history.
"Thirty million people watched Luke and Laura's wedding 25 years ago, and we invite them back to GH to experience the excitement that captured a nation," said Brian Frons, president, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group.
"SOAPnet has a unique opportunity to 'toast' this milestone anniversary," said Deborah Blackwell, general manager, SOAPnet. "During the month of November, SOAPnet will be 'everything Luke and Laura,' airing a variety of special programming. This is a great time to reconnect with GH."
On November 16, GH will air a commemorative episode, and on November 24, SOAPnet will broadcast the 1981 wedding episode during a special marathon. Anthony Geary and Genie Francis, who play Luke and Laura, will host a one-hour special that same date on SOAPnet. Also, every Sunday in November, SOAPnet will air 25 of the best Luke and Laura moments during its weekly GH marathons, which air Sundays from 2 to 7 p.m. ET/PT.
The November 24 SOAPnet marathon from 7 p.m. to midnight ET/PT is aptly titled Luke and Laura 25: Something Old, Something New, and will feature the most pivotal episodes in the couple's history, including the wedding that originally attracted 30 million viewers. The episodes are from 1980 and 1981, so this will be a great way to relive old memories or a chance for new viewers to see what this pop-culture phenomenon was all about.
SECOND CHANCE
If you missed out on watching Inturn, the online As the World Turns acting contest that rewarded the winner with a 13-week contract, then you can tune in to CBS for a special compilation episode. Inturn put eight young participants through the ringer, which included such acting challenges as cold readings and screen tests. As they were narrowed down to three, each actor was written into the soap to play a character during the summer slasher story line. Viewers voted for their favourite, and Alex Charak of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., won the 13-week contract role of Elwood Hoffman, Casey's (Zach Roerig) socially awkward, but funny roommate. On Friday, November 24 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET/3 p.m. to 4 p.m. PT, Inturn will air as a special one-hour episode on CBS, so you can see the whole process if you missed it online, including your favourite ATWT stars as judges and coaches to the newbies.
COMINGS AND GOINGS:
Rumour has it that Katie's (Terri Colombino) men, Mike (Mark Collier) and Simon (Paul Leyden), are leaving Oakdale when their contracts are up in late 2006/early 2007 at ATWT. It is possible that Mike could be recast. Also, Ashlee Marie Greiner and Allie Gorenc are the new Faith and Sage Snyder children, respectively, on ATWT starting November 22 and December 7. Former ATWT ingenue Kristina Sisco (ex-Abigail) is Passions new Charity starting November 15. The part was originally played by Molly Stanton.
