Kurt Vonnegut was a very distinguished writer of science fiction stories. In this interview with the Christian Century website he discusses the nature of humour. In the body of the interview he observes that humour introduces something troubling to the audience. He then observes that Laurel and Hardy are particularly funny because they have a sweetness that it is too sweet to survive
http://www.vonnegutweb.com/vonnegutia/interviews/int_xiancentury.html
