For hopeless romantics, the destination of choice is WB's "Gilmore Girls," which saw its ratings grow as the relationship between Lorelai and Luke has heated up in the fifth season.

Lorelai Gilmore, sexy single mom to Rory, and Luke Danes, hunky diner owner, finally evolved from pals to lovers, only to break up and then get together again.

Meanwhile, aspiring journalist Rory has boosted the R.Q. (romance quotient), suffering through her own roller-coaster fling with fellow Yale student and newspaper scion Logan.

In its highly competitive 7 p.m. Tuesday time slot against Fox's powerhouse "American Idol," "Gilmore Girls" has repeatedly ranked No. 2 among its target audience of young adults 18-34 and young women.

The series also has seen a respectable increase in overall viewership, drawing 4.7 million total viewers for the season so far compared to 4.1 million last year.

As the finale approaches Tuesday, the future is looking uncertain for Luke and Lorelai: New opportunities threaten to take her away from her tiny Connecticut town and love. There are hints, however, that other pressures may be building.

For Rory (Alexis Bledel), an internship with the media tycoon father of boyfriend Logan (Matt Czuchry) forces her to doubt her career choice.

Scott Patterson, who plays Luke, doesn't need to track the ratings to know their direction. Viewer fervor is his measurement of interest in his on-screen fling with Lorelai (Lauren Graham).

"The kind of fan mail I get, the kind of response I get out in public is stunning," Patterson said. "People love this show. They think it's really happening. It's wild."

Patterson's relationship with the show began slowly. He was cast in the pilot, then was offered two episodes, then four. Now he's been in just about every episode, playing the square-jawed, big-shouldered hero, albeit a cranky one.

Among the show's delights is the clever repartee, the rapid-fire banter. The challenge for Patterson is to keep it real when Luke is confronted by motormouth Lorelai. "The big trick, if there's any trick, is not to get caught up in her rhythm or in that fast-banter thing, because when you do you lose the character. That's not Luke."

The 46-year-old Patterson, who grew up in New Jersey, turned to acting after seven years in minor-league baseball. Traded after three years to the New York Yankees, he says the four years he spent with that team's farm club ended up killing his dreams of a big-league pitching career.