Heartwarming / RiffTrax

• Two of the Kickstarter backers of the live riff for Starship Troopers got to have Kevin write them a love song that was played before the movie. As goofy as it was, it was still extremely adorable.
• The audience's huge applause for the first appearance of Vincent Price in the live show for House on Haunted Hill (1959).
• "BONESAW IS READY! ...To be the father you never had." As merciless as the gang can be towards Harry Potter, this was them admitting that they really do love Hagrid and appreciated that he genuinely loved Harry from the moment he met him for the rest of his life.
• As they go through The Twilight Saga, it becomes clear that they are progressively getting fonder and fonder of Charlie Swan, aka Mustache Dad. At the start, they hit him with some of their usual jokes about his mustache, his alcoholism, and his possible homosexuality, but by the end, their riffs become playful teasing and their love for his character is as genuine as their enjoyment of the Volturi's hamminess.
• The donation page. It says that they understand if you've ever downloaded a riff without paying, and that they'll just call it even if someone drops off a few bucks anonymously as a donation. After all this time, they're still about the fans.
  Mike: (during the Rifftrax of The Star Wars Holiday Special) Just do what feels right.
  Kevin: It pays for the nog.
• During the live show of Manos: The Hands of Fate, Torgo's first appearance is greeted by applause from the audience. Remember, this was the actor's only role, and he tragically committed suicide shortly afterwards. Now his very appearance draws cheers.
  • And anytime Torgo gets a mention in a live show, it gets cheers. When they did it during the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, the guys basically state they're pandering to the fans. That's how beloved he is by Rifftrax fans.
• The guys' sheer love for The Wizard of Oz really shines through during their riff.
• The guys' admiration for The Lord of the Rings. Several times throughout the series they just straight up compliment the film and some of its achievements. It's clear that they genuinely love the film series and the books that spawned it.
• The entire Mystery Science Theater 3000 Reunion show. Seeing almost the entire cast together, up on stage, reminiscing about the show and riffing old shorts together is enough to bring tears to any Mysties' eyes.
  • Especially when Joel comes out on stage. He gets a standing ovation, and then after a little banter Bill requests another round of applause for him as the man who started the whole thing.
• The riffers are constantly laughing at each other's jokes. They've explained that they plan and rehearse extensively, and yet they still manage to crack each other up in the recording booth.
• During the live show of Birdemic, the riffers take a moment before beginning to mention that some of the cast and crew of the movie are in the audience and to assure them that it's nothing personal.
• After sitting through the torture of the Star Wars prequels and the Holiday Special, the gang admits in the opening of The Force Awakens that Lucasfilm got rid of all the crap that weighed down the prequels and finally made a good Star Wars movie again.
• In the wake of the 2016 election, several fans who were feeling afraid and sad about the results tweeted the guys thanking them for making them laugh again. The guys responded to several of these tweets with gratitude and reassurance ^note Mike himself is a devout Republican, so it means a lot coming from him whether or not he supported Donald Trump.
• "DID YOU KNOW? Things you like are good, and you are smart for liking them."
• It's hard not to feel happy whenever Mary Jo Pehl appears in a riff. She always sounds overjoyed to be working with her Mystery Science Theater 3000 colleagues again.
  • In the riff for Glitter, Mary Jo dishes out some Self-Deprecation, only for Mike to quickly jump in and throw in some harsher jokes at his own expense. A small but otherwise kind defense of a friend.
• While riffing Retro Puppet Master, the guys proudly call Greg Sestero "our boy" when he first appears.
• After the live show for The Giant Spider Invasion the riffers met with a couple up on stage and the man proposed to his girlfriend right there. She said yes.
• The dedication in the guys’ book The Naked Clone: A Nick Nolte Mystery is both sweet and chuckle worthy toward the subject of one of their running gags.
  Dedicated to the one and only Nick Nolte: our muse, inspiration, and People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 1992.

---