This was not unfair or a bad episode. I endured the father version of christie and nobody can dare assume when the slate is clean when a child must grow up light yrs ahead of others due to a inempt parent or parents, what have you. Problem is you see the character and actress and the sweet funny side but i assure you its not funny when your mother is crying in the bathroom and the father is passed out drooling at the table ,slopping food allover his fool self. Or when as a 14 yr old you have to kick his drug fiend homies out the motel room he so lovingly provides his family while your mother is scared senseless of the ppl in her home,especially when the home is a tiny motel room barely bigger then a cell. Or maybe its when the father had the idea to have his daughter date his dealer for a rebate - that never happened as i had to put a quick stop to that situation. Do not dare compare a tv show to how ppl should handle real life,but if you must,this episode is actually very important to note how far and and how much an addict can brutally affect the immediate ppl in their lives. In this case we know ,because its a show,that christie improved herself and is a charming woman. But never forget your only a child once. A tv or a car that is robbed can be given back. Not one ,not ever, can a childhood be replaced.