On 2009-11-17 Jhill Perran, Virginia wrote: Definition of chemistry: ´Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing together; Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey acting together; Faith Hill and Tim McGraw singing together; Genie Francis and Tony Geary doing anything together...´
It was 28 years ago today that Daytime´s most celebrated couple married before 30 million people, in what remains, to this day, a record in soap opera history. What is noteworthy, is that this dynamic duo can still generate buzz, and the viewing audience still clamors to see Genie Francis and Anthony Geary tell the tale of Luke and Laura Spencer.
In Lover´s on the Run, the viewing audience is treated to snippets of the back story of why Luke came to Port Charles; how Luke and Laura met; the infamous ´rape´ scene and all the tumultuous moments in between that led up to that glorious, HOT, summer in 1980 when this dynamic duo changed the face of daytime. It was the summer that Laura Baldwin placed her hand in Luke Spencer´s and off they went on an adventure-filled, romantic summer, as they told ´The Left-Handed Boy´ story, which remains many viewers favorite among all the stories that Luke and Laura have told over the years. [It´s Genie and Tony´s favorite story too.] It was classic.
Who could ever forget one of the most romantic moments in daytime, when Luke and Laura spent the night in Wyndam´s department store and the couple danced to Fascination as well as dined on champagne and caviar? It was magic! They are magic!
This is a story about true love trumping impossibility, over-coming seemingly insurmountable odds to be together, forgiveness and redemption. It was an unlikely coupling: the tragic princess and the wise guy, but it made for riveting watching. It was an interesting unfolding - how they began as friends, how Luke became obsessed with Laura as it turned into love for him, how Laura was fascinated with him early on - attracted and pulled to Luke because he listened to her - valued her opinions which was something appealing for her. Luke treated her like an adult, when everyone else treated her like a child. She didn´t look down on him as others did because he came from the wrong side of the tracks. The pairing was a stroke of genius on Gloria Monty´s part.
It was painful to watch Luke´s desperation and desire to have Laura collide during the rape episode. As Tony noted, it was a tragedy for both because Laura became Luke´s victim in that moment, but Luke also became his victim. Many critics were not thrilled with the notion that Laura fell in love with her rapist, but I don´t feel that´s a fair analysis of all that happened. There was a rich, powerful sub-text to the story which was that Laura was already falling in love with Luke, though she didn´t admit it to herself, before that incident happened. It was drama at its finest. The story is complicated, complex and layered with so much of the human condition - good and bad - that it truly is a remarkable tale in any form of media, albeit daytime, night time or the big screen.
The story continues with the couple returning from Beecher´s Corners; after the Walls of Jericho came down and the cigar-band vows were exchanged to be pulled apart, as we knew they would be because it´s a soap opera and no couple can never not have angst when it´s a soap. Yet, that mis-step in story takes us on more of the passionate and heated journey between these two as we watch the couple re-build their relationship, trust and love. In the process, the snippets touch on the second summer of adventure with the Ice Princess story. It was edge-of-your seat viewing which culminated into that glorious, long-awaited wedding.
Genie and Tony also give their insights into the characters and story which is very interesting. They define the motivation and essence of this couple and this love story, and I enjoyed listening to them almost as much as I did re-visiting these memories. These two refer to each other as acting soul mates, and it´s evident when you watch them. It´s in the eyes. They convey so much spoken and unspoken between their eyes. It´s exciting, fascinating and heady to watch. There is a very real electricity that flows between them that transmits so well to the small screen. If you want to know what lightening in a bottle looks like, just watch Genie Francis and Tony Geary. They spin gold and make magic. It´s a shame that ABC won´t give the viewing audience the treat of seeing Genie and Tony together again as Luke and Laura. It is a love that, in the hearts and minds of their fans, can never be denied nor extinguished. It is as Luke said to Laura and she responded to him. ´I´ve never seen anything like you....´ ´...and you probably never will again...´ Indeed! Daytime has never seen anything like Genie and Tony before and won´t again. Lover´s on the Run shows it all and spells it out so clearly. It´s must see for anyone who wasn´t alive when it was actually happening and wants to see what all the hoopla was about. For those of us who were there, it´s just a warm, fuzzy trip down memory lane. Get a bowl of popcorn, pop this baby in and feel the magic! It will make you a believer and a fan.. And summed up by saying Luke and Laura - a love for the ages. Currently General Hospital: Luke & Laura (Lover´s on the Run) Volume 1 [VHS] has an overall rating of 10 over 10.
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