Stephen and Linda Stotch

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*South Park* character
Stephen and Linda Stotch

Gender:	Male and Female
Hair:	Brown and blonde
Age:	Unknown
Job:	Unknown and engineer
Religion:	Roman Catholic
First appearance:	The Wacky Molestation Adventure
Voiced by:	Trey Parker and April Stewart

Stephen (previously Chris) and Linda Stotch are recurring characters in the animated series South Park. They are Butters' parents.

1 Stephen
2 Linda
3 Abuse
4 Episodes in which Stephen and/or Linda are prominent
5 Notes

[edit] Stephen

Stephen is most notable for his harsh treatement of Butters. He seems to also have homosexual tendencies, but suppresses them after nearly losing his family in Butters' Very Own Episode. He is also shown to be very selfish, considering his needs and ambitions above those of Butters. He is a good friend of Randy Marsh and Gerald and among the more prominent adults of the town. His career is unknown, it is suggested by his harsh parenting techniques and haircut that he has a military background. It is also suggested that he is homophobic, which is ironic because he told Butters he is bi-curious.

[edit] Linda

Linda Stotch is shown to be a quiet, submissive woman. She is often seen reading or cleaning the house. She is an engineer and also serves on the city council as the treasurer. Linda has also been shown to be much more sympathetic and loving to Butters compared to Stephen. She is shown to care a lot about Butters as in Marjorine.

[edit] Abuse

Stephen and Linda have both abused Butters in one way or another. He is usually grounded after he gets involved with something, because they usually conclude that it was Butters all on his own, and don't believe that he is being bullied. They have also threatened to ground Butters for things he can't control, such as in The Death of Eric Cartman, Stephen orders him to stop having nightmares or else he'll be grounded. They have also hit him in Jared Has Aides which was later withheld from broadcast by Comedy Central because of the abuse Butters receives, though it has been shown since.

The worst abuse was in the season five episode Butters' Very Own Episode which centered on how Linda sent Butters to spy on his father to find out what he was getting Linda for their wedding anniversary. Butters saw Stephen go into a Men's Bathhouse. Butters didn't understand what it was and told his mother. Linda then attempted to kill Butters by pushing a car with Butters inside off a deck. Linda then wrote a suicide note and was about to kill herself just when Stephen stepped in. The resulting confrontation changed her mind about suicide. Stephen and Linda tried and keep Butters' murder a secret and blamed it on "some Puerto Rican guy". Butters meanwhile found a way home and Butters' parents came clean.

After Butters used Cartman's company to get revenge on his parents in My Future Self n' Me his parents realized how bad they'd been and apologized to Butters for lying to him about his future self. However, they do seem to be annoyed by Butters, as seen in The Death Camp of Tolerance as when Butters talks, Stephen bluntly tells Butters to "shut his mouth".

Despite all the abuse Butters has received, his parents have been shown to care deeply about their son. They do put a price on their care, however, as shown in the Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset episode where they sell Butters to Paris Hilton for $250 Million USD. (In their defense, though, that is up from Paris Hilton's initial offer of $200,000,000.)

[edit] Episodes in which Stephen and/or Linda are prominent

The Wacky Molestation Adventure- First appearance.

How To Eat With Your Butt- Got angry at Butters for making rude faces (though it is actually how Butters looks).

Butters' Very Own Episode- Linda discovers Stephen is gay or possibly bisexual. She goes insane, nearly killing Butters in the process.

Jared Has Aides- Butters is beaten by both of his parents. (though not seen)

Asspen- Take the Cartmans, Broflovskis and Marshes to Aspen with them.

Freak Strike- Ground Butters for putting balls on his chin.

The Death Camp of Tolerance- Have Butters sent to a tolerance camp along with Stan, Kyle and Cartman.

My Future Self n' Me- Realize how bad they've been to Butters.

Raisins - Find out that Butters has got a girlfriend.

Casa Bonita- Fear for Butters after his disappearance.

Die, Hippie, Die - Linda is the engineer on the Hippie Driller 2000.

AWESOM-O- Butters makes friends with a robot.

Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset- Sell Butters to Paris Hilton.

The Death of Eric Cartman- Believe Butters is going insane after he says he starts to see ghosts.

Marjorine- Find out Butters has died (Butters actually faked it).

Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow Stephen goes on the expedition with Randy and Gerald.

Cartoon Wars Part I - Stephen is the only person in the town who supports free speech.

Cartman Sucks - Stephen takes Butters to a reparative therapy camp when he thinks Butters might be "bi-curious" although later states himself that he is bi-curious himself.

Various other cameos.

[edit] Notes

A protestor that looked identical, and sounded identical can be seen in Quintuplets 2000.
A reporter that looked identical to Stephen was seen in Are You There God? It's me, Jesus.
Butters' father's name changes constantly between Stephen and Chris - in Raisins, Linda addresses him as Stephen, while in Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset, she calls him Chris. Either one of them could be a middle name, though.
Linda thinks that Stephen's wedding anniversary present is better than hers every year.
Although Butters was an important character since season three his parents were not seen until season four.
Butters is supposed to be Butters' nickname. His real name is Leopold but his parents call him Butters.
Stephen has told Butters "Never get into a car with a stranger; unless it's a limousine". This was heard in Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset.
Linda can be quite sadistic as seen in Butters' Very Own Episode.
Stephen was shown to be bisexual (since he also likes women, assumingly) in Butters' Very Own Episode.
The Jud Crandall character appears only in episodes with Butters' parents and Butters.
In the first appearance, Chris sounded different in one scene but he sounded like his normal voice at the end.