What do you get when you turn 12,000 episodes old? Why, a new set of opening credits, naturally. That's what'll happen today as 'General Hospital' unveils a new set of opening credits to coincide with the milestone occasion.

By the way, if you're wondering, 'GH's' 12,000 episodes equates to nearly 47 years of continuing daytime drama. The show began on April 1, 1963, and it was not an April's Fool joke. It was something different at the time, because most of the soaps were New York based.

In fact, on the same day 'GH' launched, NBC premiered a new medical soap, too, out of New York. It was called 'The Doctors,' and for the first decade or so 'GH' and 'The Doctors' were on TV, the NBC show was a better soap. However, all that changed in 1978 when Gloria Monty became executive director... which led to the Luke and Laura sensation.

I used to be a devoted fan of General Hospital, and some of my favorite episodes involved Luke and Laura, and later, their son, Lucky. In fact, now that I think about it, I started to stray from the show about the time that Jonathan Jackson, who played the first Lucky, left the show in 1999.

The other actors who played Lucky -- Jacob Young and Greg Vaughan -- did a fine job, but I so associated the role with Jackson that it was impossible for me to accept anyone else as Lucky.

As luck would have it, I just happened to flip on One Life to Live yesterday and saw a promo for Jonathan Jackson coming back to General Hospital as Lucky. What a stroke of "luck" for me!

Has it really been 45 years since General Hospital started broadcasting? Four decades + five years of medical machinations, legendary love stories, action and intrigue. Yes, yes, it's true, on April 1, ABC's General Hospital will celebrate 45 years on the air. Current executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps, will cut the cake and members of the cast will blow out the candles, but we're the ones that probably should be smiling. Memories of the great years gone by are inevitable with any show that's run as long as GH. But there's something special about this ABC soap.

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In July I mentioned that this year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Luke and Laura tying the knot on General Hospital, a moment that garnered the largest audience in daytime television history. The eleventh annual ABC Super Soap Weekend at Walt Disney World and MGM Studios in Florida will honor the momentous occasion with a celebration hosted by Susan Lucci and will feature both Anthony Geary (Luke) and Genie Francis (Laura), as well as actors from General Hospital, All My Children and One Life to Live. The celebration is free with admission to the park, and includes a special appearance by Rosie O'Donnell as well as celebrity motorcades and autograph sessions. Geary has remained on the series, but Laura has been off the show until recently, returning briefly to reprise her original role.