‘Gilmore Girls’ Scott Patterson Chooses His Favorite Luke Danes Rant [Exclusive]

The grumpy/sunshine dynamic is oftentimes an equilibrium meant to help drive a successful show. If you were to ask a loyal fan of the hit 2000s series, Gilmore Girls, who fit that bill, for sunshine, they’d say Lauren Graham‘s Lorelai Gilmore — and for grumpy, they’d say Scott Patterson‘s Luke Danes. With Luke’s grumpy nature and his customer service role at his own restaurant (aptly named Luke’s Diner), he was also the focal point of some of the show’s most spectacular rants and monologues. Luke is a straight shooter and sees the world for what it is, not the gumdrop-filled Candyland many of the other citizens of Stars Hollow often see it as.

Speaking with Meredith Loftus at the Holidays Made Here event on the Star Hollows backlot in honor of the show’s 25th anniversary and as part of the inaugural Collider Rewind, Patterson touched on his favorite of Luke’s famous rants. He tells Collider:

“‘Jam Hands’ is right up there. There are so many. When he was looking for apartments with Lorelai, and he made a phone call and did a rant — I can’t remember the dialogue. Every time I came here, I was ranting about something. It’s just fun to play him. He’s really not a lot like me, but it’s fun to put on those clothes and inhabit that character. I miss him dearly.”

The aforementioned “jam hands” rant comes from Season 2, Episode 5, “Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy,” where Luke takes in his 17-year-old nephew, Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia). When the reality finally sets in that Jess is maybe a bit too hell on wheels for Luke to handle, he promptly pushes him into a lake. After he’s done so, Luke rushes to Lorelai’s house to confess what he’s done and proceeds to explain that he doesn’t know why he took in a kid, because they’re always sticky like they’ve got jam on their hands, even when they don’t have jam, they’ve got “jam hands.” While he’s twisting in the wind about this, of course, Lorelai, the good friend she is, is standing there amused, trying incredibly hard not to say I told you so — but we all know that doesn’t last.

Scott Patterson Thinks ‘Gilmore Girls’ Is a Show That Has To Be Re-Watched

Well, twist my arm, Mr. Patterson! But really, the show not only had the staying power of being relevant for the last 25 years, but is also one that fans frequently reach for when the re-watch nostalgia hits. That kind of rewatchability is particularly helpful when Gilmore Girls is a show packed full of pop-culture references that a fan might not get on their first, second, or even third watch! Patterson explains the formula for Gilmore Girls is foolproof. He says:

“Just because of the stories and the characters and the humor of the show. And just because it’s so fast. People have to rewatch it because they want to pick up the jokes that they didn’t hear because they were laughing from the first joke, and then two and three. They didn’t quite get it, so they want to go rewatch it. It’s just a feel-good show. Nothing really bad can happen. It’s so relatable for everybody, especially mothers and daughters, and if they’ve had any kind of tension, and let’s face it, everybody has tension once in a while, they want to see how it gets resolved. It’s such a great idea for a show.”

All seven seasons of Gilmore Girls are available to stream now on Netflix and Disney+. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.