9. The Puerto Rico adventures: This was after Luke and Laura returned but before Sonny became the mobster that ate Port Charles. When this story unfolded, yeah, Sonny was a mobster, but he wasn’t monopolizing everything on ‘General Hospital.’ At the time of this storyline, the only thing blowing up was Luke’s boat and the popularity of Sonny and Brenda. I’m not sure when the super couple officially died, but I think for GH, the last one they successfully launched was Sonny and Brenda. There’s certainly no one on the canvas that comes close to matching their fire and charisma. What was also great about the Puerto Rico story was that it involved multiple couples and story arcs, including Ned and Lois and Lily and Miguel. Still, the indelible memory of that story is a wet and bedraggled Sonny and Brenda washing up on shore after almost being killed and immediately starting to make out in the sand. It was ridiculous and ridiculously hot at the same time. Of course, those were the days when couples weren’t forced down your throat and instead were allowed to percolate at their own pace.
8. The Aztec treasure: Back in the 1980s, General Hospital was known for being something of an adventure soap. Everything was big – including the women’s hair. The Aztec treasure story was a fun way to advance the Frisco and Felicia romance, as well as including Robert and Holly and the introduction of Sean Donnelly – who was initially romantically interested in his “princess” – but would later become something of a father figure to her. The story was campy and it really didn’t make a lot of sense – but the location shoots were fun and beautiful and the story is still better than anything they have onscreen today.
7. Luke and Laura return to Port Charles: This happened in 1993. How do I remember? I scheduled my college classes around it so I wouldn’t miss a moment. This is when GH was truly must see TV. First the most beloved super couples of all time returned to town. That they had one of the cutest soap kids ever (Jonathon Jackon’s Lucky) with them was another boost. When Luke and Laura got separated from Lucky, I remember that I wasn’t even remotely worried that Lucky wouldn’t make it to Port Charles on his own. After all, he was the son of Luke and Laura and Jackson made a 10-year-old Lucky seem wise beyond his years. What’s really a shame about this story is what the writers have done since then. This would have been about the time that Ethan was supposedly conceived (off screen) even though we were watching Luke and Laura onscreen and know that he wasn’t sneaking off to have an affair with Holly. Still, this time in GH’s history remains one of its strongest.
