Line #19 Heartwarming/TheDickVanDykeShow


1	* The ending of "The Night the Roof Fell In" when Rob and Laura make up.
2	* The ending of "Who Owes Who What" is equal parts heartwarming and funny: Laura tells Rob that she'll "owe him" the kiss he wants. [[PlayfulPursuit He ends up chasing her around the room while she stays just out of reach]].
3	* Rob's surprise birthday party in "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS2E30ASurpriseSurpriseIsASurprise A Surprise Surprise is a Surprise]]."
4	* In "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS1E12EmpressCarlottasNecklace Empress Carlotta's Necklace]]", Rob's mother compliments Laura on how well her son looks. Rob says that Laura does a pretty good job taking care of him, and the older Mrs. Petrie contradicts him -- Laura does an ''excellent'' job. Especially considering how hard she used to be on her daughter-in-law[[note]]"[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS4E10PinkPillsAndPurpleParents Pink Pills and Purple Parents]]"[[/note]], it's adorable to see her praising Laura for the effect being married to her has on her darling son.
5	* TheReveal of "Bank Book 6565696". After Rob has been increasingly harassing Laura over having a separate bank account, she tearfully spills the secret -- she was stashing extra money away so that, some years later, she could get Rob "a big important present"[[note]]a sports car he's been drooling over[[/note]], like her mother got her father on one of their later anniversaries. Rob, utterly ashamed of having been so hard on her, starts cracking jokes. Laura initially assumes he's making fun of her:
6	-->'''Rob''': If I wasn't joking, [[AndCallHimGeorge I'd probably hug you so hard I'd break two or three of your ribs.]]
7	-->'''Laura''' ''(moving in for the embrace)'': Oh, please try.
8	* "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS4E5TheManFromEmperor The Man from]] ''[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS4E5TheManFromEmperor Emperor]]''": Rob's old colleague Drew Patton, a Hugh Hefner-like magazine star, calls him to ask him to repeat an analogy he made earlier. With Laura (who had become increasingly worried about Rob "crumbling" under the pressure of being around beautiful women all day) standing by, Rob repeats the statement: that to some men, the constraints of marriage make it a prison, but to others, it's more like an amusement park that contains "everything fun in life." The producer then asks to speak to Laura.
9	-->'''Drew Patton''': You know how I said that Rob was either scared or lying or dead[[note]]the only kind of men who wouldn't admit to getting "vicarious kicks" out of his lifestyle[[/note]]?
10	-->'''Laura''': Yes?
11	-->'''Drew Patton''': Well, old Rob is none of those things.
12	-->'''Laura''': Oh? What is he?
13	-->'''Drew Patton''': He's ''sick''! ''[hangs up]''
14	-->'''Laura''': Did you hear that? ''He'' thinks that ''you're'' sick! Isn't that wonderful?
15	-->''They kiss.''
16	* "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS4E12TheDeathOfTheParty The Death of the Party]]": The plot starts when Rob comes down with a virus after playing golf, right before a major family party that Laura planned. To avoid the cold shoulder, Rob pretends he's all right until he collapses in complete exhaustion during a game of charades. At the end, Laura gently confronts Rob, telling him that next time, he should let her know the truth rather than doing something this crazy.
17	-->'''Laura''': I'm your wife. I happen to love you.
18	* The early episode "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS1E7Jealousy Jealousy]]" has Laura worrying about the fact that Rob keeps having to stay late to rehearse with the show's beautiful guest star. She's all-but convinced that Rob is having an affair, to the point that she actually sneaks over to watch one of the rehearsals...and finds that not only is the actress a perfectly nice, professional lady, but that Rob has been spending their rehearsals telling her all about his family in glowing terms.
19	* In "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS1E2MyBlondeHairedBrunette My Blonde-Haired Brunette]]", Rob immediately takes steps to smooth over the spat he and Laura had that morning once he realizes why it happened (he hasn't been as openly affectionate with her as he used to be, and she thinks he's doesn't find her attractive anymore). He calls her on the phone, sings a brief snippet of a love song (based on "I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair") and offers a surprise dinner date invitation. When he comes home to find Laura half-blonde, half-brunette, and completely distressed, he quickly moves to comfort her.
20	* One episode shows a flashback to when Laura came into the office to announce that she was pregnant. At first the only person she meets is Sally (the others are in a meeting). After a little banter, Sally figures out why she's there and immediately calls Rob in. Laura asks how she knew:
21	-->'''Sally:''' Your smile. It's obvious you're smiling for two now.
22	* Rob spends most of "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS1E10TheMeershatzPipe The Meershatz Pipe]]" feeling underappreciated and unwanted, a feeling that grows worse when he gets sick and the show seems to go on fine without him. Then, at the end of the show (which Rob takes as proof of his irrelevance) Alan calls him on the air to tell him that they all need him to get better and come back to work soon because they can't stand writing another show without him. It's especially heartwarming since Alan very rarely expresses any appreciation for the writers.
23	* The ending of "The Foul Weather Girl". A young, talented, and beautiful girl that Rob knew in high school has come to New York to try and break into show business, and basically shanghais Rob into helping her. Laura goes crazy with jealousy as he sacrifices several nights for this girl, afraid that when she makes it big she'll be "grateful" to Rob (and all that implies). In the end, when the woman gets a spot on the Alan Brady show, she ends up thanking ''Mel'' for helping her (because he's the one with the power), essentially ignoring Rob's contribution to her success entirely. Watching this on television, Laura immediately flies into an angry rant on Rob's behalf, even threatening to call the producers of the show. Rob just calmly and happily hugs her.
24	* In "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS5E19TheBottomOfMelCooleysHeart The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart]]", the series' only Mel-centric episode, ''[[SitcomArchNemesis Buddy]]'' of all people fights Alan to get Mel's job back, admitting that he likes having him as producer and that the verbal abuse he heaps on Mel are really just things he's too cowardly to say to Alan. After five seasons of mutual hatred, the episode ends with Mel, jubilant that he himself finally stood up to Alan, putting his arm around Buddy and saying "come on, little fella" as they leave to go to the movies together.
25	* "[[Recap/TheDickVanDykeShowS5E22BuddySorrellManAndBoy Buddy Sorrell, Man and Boy]]":
26	** When Rob tells Sally about his suspicion that Buddy is having an affair, she lists Rob and Buddy as the two men she considers least likely to ever cheat on their wives.
27	** Buddy's Bar Mitzvah, even more so as [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness it's one of the few times in the series where he's completely serious and sincere]] as he thanks his family, friends, and God for being there for him.
28	** Buddy's bar mitzvah has one sweet aspect that's easy to overlook: when the camera shifts to the audience, it shows that Buddy invited the Petries, Sally, ''and'' [[SitcomArchNemesis Mel]], seemingly indicating that the cooling of hostilities that happened during "The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart" has at least partially stuck.

Context Heartwarming / TheDickVanDykeShow