Damn the odds

I love Luke Spencer. I know in my head that he is a fictional character, but my heart loves him as if he were real.

I love Luke Spencer. I know in my head that he is a fictional character, but my heart loves him as if he were real. I love him even though he is flawed, irresponsible and completely undependable. He makes unwise and dangerous choices almost all the time. He drinks too much and vanishes into thin air without so much as a note; he takes risks that could get him killed on almost a weekly basis. He's an idiot. I can't get enough of him. Luke is a charming, passionate, adventure filled, and loyal idiot and I've been crazy about him for almost 30 years. And the man behind Luke is the fabulous Tony Geary, he is the reason Luke Spence is so completely irresistible. Tony Geary is such a compelling and riveting actor. I just can't take my eyes off of him. I never touch my Tivo Fast Forward button when Tony is on the screen. He plays Luke with an intensity and passion that sears you through the screen. When Luke loves someone, they can count on that love always. He loves with the entirety of his being, and we SEE that intensity in living color. The romance of Luke and Laura has been the standard by which all other soap romances must measure up, and quite frankly, they never do.

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These past several years while Laura languished in a catatonic state, and Genie Francis was off the GH canvas, we saw a string of people talking to the back of a wigged head with no semblance of a face - it was a very empty experience for those of us who have been around long enough to have followed the escapades of Luke and Laura from day one. When the camera finally panned around to the front of Laura this week, and I saw her precious beautiful face (even sans makeup!) when I heard her sweet voice say "Luke?" I cried. A lot.

When Genie Francis started on GH, it was 1976. I was 15 and I was absolutely mesmerized by her. My friends and I sat in Algebra class passing notes about what we thought would happen next. I got a D in Algebra that year and was grounded for 6 weeks until my next report card came out! But, those teenage notes about the travails of Laura became the seeds planted in my heart that grew into this column. She was (and probably still is) the best crier on Daytime Television - back when there was no such thing as waterproof mascara and she spent days with black mascara puddles running down her cheeks. Lulu thinks she has problems having had an abortion, but she may not know that when her mother was her age, she killed someone. We were spellbound and transfixed by her. When she cried, we cried. When the fateful day came that she dumped Scotty and fell hard for Luke, we understood her choice even though Scotty was a doll. We were smitten with Luke, too.

A reunion for Luke and Laura is the dream of every long term GH viewer. I know some of you liked Luke with Skye, or Luke with Tracy, or Luke with Felicia back in the day, but I'm a purist. I like Luke with Laura. All hail the King and Queen of Daytime. I am so glad they are getting another chance to make Daytime TV Magic and happier still that I get to watch. Welcome home Genie, we have missed you.

This week we witnessed Luke's struggle with a difficult choice. He had to choose whether to give Laura the experimental drug which could bring her back to life, or skip it, as the risks associated with the drug were great and could possibly make her worse. But Luke put himself in Laura's shoes - after much soul searching he concluded that Laura would take the risk if it meant possibly being reunited with her family. And thus, he uttered the phrase "Damn the odds." and chose to give her the drug if there was even the slightest chance it would cure her.

When Lucky, Lulu and Nikolas found out - they were horrified, and begged the doctors to take off the IV and stop the treatment. But it was too late to reverse it. Just when it appeared that the treatment hadn't worked, and that she was going to remain in her current condition, after everyone had walked way dejected and forlorn - Luke heard her voice call his name just as he was about to walk out the door. As Madonna sings "I hear you call my name, and it sounds like home..." What an amazing little moment of drama.

And to continue the spirit of accolades, Bravo to all of the Spencer children. The ever soulful Tyler Christopher as Nikolas, the fiery Julia Marie Berman as Lulu, and the slightly off balance and vulnerable from drug rehab Greg Vaughn as Lucky were also brilliant in their scenes. Not knowing that Laura had come out of her catatonia the 3 of them were outside in the hospital courtyard talking about the imaginary conversations they had envisioned in their heads and shared their daydreams about what it would be like to speak to her again if only the treatment had worked. Those scenes were heart wrenching. I think anyone who has experienced grief on any level has had the "If only I could talk to him one more time..." fantasy, and all 3 of these fine actors made that moment genuine and poignant.

So, yes, I confess to you I am a sappy nerd. The whole Luke/Laura reunion got to this sentimental soul and I cried when I saw it and cried again just now writing about it, but lest you think I am going soft...

Elizabeth is a bonehead. Okay dear readers; are you with me on this...? First, Nurse Butterfingers let her test results blow into a bush. Next, there was no reason for Liz to torch the paternity test results if they had shown Lucky were the father. That can only mean that Jason is actually the father of her baby. She let Sonny, Carly, Sam, and Jason all assume Lucky was the father when indeed, he is not. Sure, it would be easier all around if Lucky was the Daddy, but we all know the truth ALWAYS comes out anyway, so she has nothing to gain by lying. Alexis tried to lie about Kristina's paternity until that health scare made her tell Sonny the truth. Carly tried to lie about Michael's paternity and well; we all know how that turned out. Liz can lie for now if she wants, but either the baby will need a blood transfusion down the line that will only accept Jason's blood as the match, or Lucky will look at his baby one day and realize he has Jason's nose. May as well fess up, Liz.

Now a gripe about the usage of GH vets. Why bring back the character of Noah Drake just so he can occasionally pop into the nurses' station and give Patrick a lecture? Why bring back the character of Robert Scorpio so he can trade one-liners with Luke twice a month? By the way, did anyone notice that when Robert got beaten senseless by Lorenzo's thugs, his bruises only lasted one day, but when Jason beat the crap out of Ric, his face stayed bloody and bruised all week? Maybe Ric should ask Robert for the secret bruise healing potion. Must be something left in his WSB backpack, kinda like the magic flying reindeer corn the Winter Warlock had leftover after he went legit. But, I digress, back to the vets...Why bring back Anna Devane and launch into a storyline about her spying on Lorenzo as if it were actually going somewhere only to have her vanish into thin air? And, where the heck is Bobbie? I haven't seen her in months. Now that Genie Francis is back, I hope they give her something more to do than help Mike serve coffee at Kelly's.

Since when does Helena have Emily's cell phone on her speed dial? No matter, the unlikely alliance of Helena and Emily may be the only thing to bring down Nanny McFreak. Nikolas never sees this stuff coming. Back when Emily tried to warn him about Mary Bishop, he defended her, too. Shouldn't Emily say "Hey, Nik, remember that psychotic freak that pretended you were her dead husband Connor and made you do wooden duck carvings in her hillbilly cabin in the woods? Well, I warned you about her, too, and you didn't listen THEN either..." Colleen is the kind of girl that all normal girls hate. Every woman knows one - an evil soul living beneath the face of an innocent girl. Men ALWAYS fall for their deceitful crap and women ALWAYS see right through them; must be a testosterone issue.

And while we are talking about deceit, it's as good a time as any to talk about the Ric, Alexis, Sam, and Jason debacle. Alexis finally let Ric know she has known all along about the night he slept with her daughter and she was done playing nice. Ric and Sam were both peeved to realize Alexis knew all along and was throwing them together anyway. As soon as Ric bundled up Molly and walked out the door with her, I knew he wouldn't have her for more than 8 minutes - you know the amount of time it takes anyone in Port Charles to fly around the world. Even if Sonny had been in Puerto Rico visiting his casino, Ric would still have only had Molly for 8 minutes. Rumor has it that Alexis will be moving in with Sonny after she is released from the hospital, so imagine a household where Sonny, Carly, Jax, Alexis and Ric are all trying to get along. Now there's a recipe for fistfights and gunfire if I ever saw one.

Ric was hoping for help from Lorenzo, but unfortunately for Ric, Lorenzo is preoccupied with Skye and his new daughter, Lila Rae and is in no mood to help. Lorenzo has assured Skye that he will make sure she and Lila Rae remain safe, and has hired Diego, as if he thinks he will stay out of trouble that way. Funny, ay?

Hey, Diego and Maxie would make a perfect couple; they are both selfish and always causing problems for their families. Let's hope they connect soon! That's a pipe dream of course, as Diego is smitten with the practically perfect Georgie, and Maxie digs Lucky, who is a good guy when he's not addicted to pain meds. Why is that? I know the whole "Opposites Attract" theory, but I've never understood that. I had smart friends who went after stupid dudes who got into school more for their athletic abilities than for their S.A.T. scores. Well, who wants to spend a life with someone you can't converse with? Who wants to be in a relationship with a guy you have to bail out of jail once a week? Not me. Skanky Ho Maxie keeps showing up at rehab and throwing her pathetic self at Lucky just about the time Liz shows up, causing the rift between our newlyweds Spencer's to grow. Lucky is putting his hand on a Skanky Stomach to try to feel a baby whom I still believe isn't there.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Sonny make good on his threat to the Mayor to start a Garbage Strike? Will Helena and Emily get pedicures together while discussing how to oust Colleen? Will Liz buy herself a $20 paper shredder at Target so she doesn't have to light a match to unwanted junk mail? Will Laura be startled to find Foster gone? Will Elton the Wedding planner come back to plan the updated nuptials? Will Luke give up Tracy's loot and divorce her once and for all so he can remarry Laura? Will they S.O.R.A.S. Kristina and make Ric come on to her? Will Alexis remember that her nephew is a prince and hire an in home nurse?

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