Mystery Science Theater 3000/Heartwarming

"Dr. Forrester: "Oh Frank, think of it. A full tilt battle between pure evil and Santa Claus in our own home!""
 * In their review of Diabolik, the episode ends with them crash landing into earth, and Mike, Crow, and Servo living in an apartment together (minus Gypsy). The final shot is a Zoom out of them all watching a cheesy movie -- but this time of their own free will.
 * Better yet, the movie is The Crawling Eye.
 * Both Santa movie experiments feature segments with a high "Awww" factor.
 * In Santa Claus Conquers the Martians:
 * The opening, where Tom and Crow look over Christmas catalogs, and talk about gifts they'd want, like little kids.
 * The essay sketch, where after increasingly cynical Christmas essays by Crow, Servo, and Joel, Gypsy cheers everyone up with a Nativity scene she set up in her mouth.
 * The ending, where Joel and the Bots open their stockings, and read a letter that genuinely gets everyone a little moist-eyed.
 * Really all the SOL segments, with the Bots playing the roles of excited children, bursting with excitement for Christmas, and Joel playing the part of the loving father figure.
 * Crow simply saying "Merry Christmas, Joel" during the film's closing credits. No joke at all, just a warm sentiment, the only time that ever really happened in the theater.
 * In Santa Claus:
 * The return of the stockings, although more comedy-oriented than last time, still shows that the Bots have grown to accept Mike as a member of the family, for all the pranks and jokes on his behalf the rest of the year.
 * The gift exchange was both hilarious and heartwarming, especially the "Joike" sweater Gypsy made for Mike.
 * The song "Merry Christmas If That's Okay," which has a few jokes in the number of syllables they try to cram into some of the lines, but is mostly just an earnest plea to share joy with your fellow man, no matter what anyone's religion is.
 * The Christmas miracle. Mike's feeling down because he's stuck in space on Christmas Eve, when suddenly it starts snowing. Mike cheers up, and him and the Bots go out to play on the Satellite.
 * Mike joyously proclaiming that he and the bots are going to build a snow fort really drives it home.
 * Doctor Forrester and TV's Frank were not on the best of terms for most of the episode, due to a "Gift of the Magi" Plot gone wrong. At the end of the film, Dr. F and Frank make up, as Santa and Pitch (a devil from the movie who tried to mess up Santa's deliveries) fight a battle for the fate of the holiday.

"Crow: Hey... how about a lil' sugar for Crow?"
 * Crow's joy at seeing everyone return to the Satellite of Love in the first Sci-Fi Channel episode, after 500 years of solitude.
 * Even more so; finally recognising Mike in The Mole People!
 * Obviously the show plays for laughs 99.99% of the time, but it was pretty heartwarming to see Mike wipe away Cambot's tears and console him in "Danger! Death Ray!" (Cambot was upset that so many security cameras in the movie were destroyed; Mike assured Cambot that it's just a movie and that no cameras were actually hurt)
 * As silly as the sketch was, it was rather sweet when Mike allowed Servo to "comfort rate" him at the beginning of "Terror From The Year 5000". Especially if you figure "Surround me a little" is Servo's indirect way of asking for a hug.
 * In the same vein, when Servo broke down and cried "Oh daddy!" during the Manos the Hands of Fate episode and Joel hugged him in the exact same way a parent might comfort a little kid. Awww...

"Joel: "You haven’t won, Dr. Forrester, you’ve lost. And I feel sorry for you. You’re nothing but a sad little man in a hole in the ground that can only feel empowered by hurting others. Well, we’ve won because we’ve survived, and we’ve survived because well, w-we’re Robinsons...roughly...and that’s what Robinsons do is survive.""
 * Joel's last bit of defiance to the Mads in "The Castle of Fu Manchu", as he and the 'bots huddle together, all but reduced to snivelling wrecks by the terrible film (the closest they've ever been to breaking):

"Pearl: He's a good kid."
 * Especially heartwarming because we see that the 'bots aren't just funny robot friends to Joel - he really considers them his kids, or at the very least adopted family.
 * Continuing with this, a bit of Fridge Brilliance finally hit me after a while. The way Joel always carries Tom Servo into the "theater"...it's almost like a parent carrying their young child, very carefully and close to their body. Granted, it was probably done more to avoid breaking the puppet, and I'm just thinking about this too hard, but I thought it was sweet nonetheless.
 * In fact, it was just because the easiest way to get Tom in that seat was to have Josh/Kevin already sitting there for Joel/Mike to hand the puppet to. Still pretty sweet, though.
 * Mike's first episode has a host segment of him searching for a way off the ship like Joel found. The 'bots eventually reveal that they already knew there's nothing where he was looking, and Crow voices their abandonment issues in the wake of Joel's departure just like a little kid: "If you find a way off the ship, you'll go, and you'll leave us all alone up here, and...you'll be gone!" Mike then assures them he'll get them all off the ship if he ever finds a way. And then he actually lives up to that in the series finale.
 * To this troper, it's the bit in The Final Sacrifice when when the entire cast comes down with 'hocky hair'. There's something oddly comforting about the usually mean-spirited Pearl taking care of Bobo and showing him almost motherly affection. She also expresses concern for Mike and the bots, cementing this as one of her Pet the Dog moments.
 * There's a very sweet bit at the beginning of Time Chasers where Mike and Pearl just sit down for coffee and chat about Pearl's evil nature. She seems almost... apologetic about it, and Mike is just very calm, sweet, and understanding, like he was talking to a dear relative with a mental illness.

"Pearl: I knew these two would get along."
 * As the SOL gang watches the Gamera films, they produce a nonsensical parody of Gamera's Song, as heard here. However, at the end of Gamera vs. Guiron, the gang sings the song with its original Japanese lyrics. For all the teasing the gang has lobbed at this (admittedly ridiculous) series, it's good to know that they also paid it this nice little homage.
 * In the ''Soultaker episode: The episode ends with TV's Frank and Bobo happily playing ring toss with Bobo's soul.