i pronounce that they are husband and wife. you may kiss the bride. [ cheers and applause ] your wedding was seen by an astonishing number of people -- 16 and 19 million viewers. how do you account for that kind of popularity? oh, i can't. i can't. the way it's grown, it's just -- it's amazing to me. connelly: it did appear in the '80s that it was a good time for daytime soap operas, especially for a show like "general hospital," which had that huge success with luke and laura's wedding. duffy: i remember when luke and laura got married because it was nighttime newsworthy. the soap opera discovers the blockbuster mentality, the sweeps month mentality. like, what can we do to get even more people watching. you have a wedding. you have a kidnapping. you have an evil twin. and prime time stole from daytime. reporter: after "dallas" proved that ewing oil was better than real oil for cbs, the networks rushed to give the public more.