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limited viewership. Although there was an underlying sexual tension between the two characters, it was never exploited and Dr. Steve and nurse Jesse never crossed the taboo of a boss-employee relationship.

In an attempt to expand the audience and bring in more viewers, the two main characters were given much younger love interests. Audrey March was brought in to spice up the life of Dr. Hardy; she was young, beautiful, vivacious and married him initially for his money and status. In an almost identical storyline, a philandering young doctor, Phil Brewer, cardiologist, created a lot of buzz when he married the stalwart older nurse Jessie, then cheated on her with a host of young, voluptuous student nurses. The combination of sex and sin clicked with the viewers. General Hospital had found it's niche and began it's journey toward becoming a serious contender in the war of the soaps.

In the mid 70's, the show experienced a significant ratings increase when popular Days Of Our Lives actress Denise Alexander jumped ship and landed on General Hospital in the character of Dr. Leslie Webber. It was through this character that GH's immortality was born - Laura, of the Luke and Laura dynasty. Laura Webber, Leslie's teenaged daughter brought a restless sexual excitement to the show and a younger audience began watching. But without other supporting storylines to keep the viewer interested, at the culmination of a murder plot that had Alexander's character imprisoned for a murder committed by her daughter Laura, once again, GH fell in the ratings.

In 1978 General Hospital was faced with impending cancellation. ABC execs, in a bold move, brought in controversial executive producer Gloria Monty, who was regarded as being somewhat of a renegade among producers. Knowing they had very little to lose, they gave her full creative control and she went at it with a vengeance, firing the entire creative team and replacing them with head writers Doug Marland and Pat Falken-Smith, both former Days Of Our Lives writers. These writers are responsible for creating two of the staple families still occupying the town of Port Charles today: the Quartermains and the Spencers.

The show began to focus on romantic conflict and the sexual dalliance between it's characters. The stories moved rapidly and other Soaps had to scramble to catch them. They were the first Soap to implement the 'on-location' status with entire storylines being taped in exotic locations. Super-couples were on the run,

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