Maybe someone can help me. The reruns of friends come on a few times a day here. I get so confused everytime I see the episode of friends where Monica was fat, Rachel was married to Barry, Joey was a big actor, Phoebe works in the corporate world and Chandler was geeky.

What is going on there? Is this a bad pilot episode or is someone dreaming or what? Where in the life of the show did this episode originally air?

The One That Could Have Been (2 parts/originally aired as an hour special) from the sixth season:

http://www.tvtome.com/Friends/season6.html#ep136

(1)
Barry and Mindy's impending divorce prompts the gang to fantasize about what their lives might be like if they'd all taken different courses. Ross is still married to Carol, and Rachel is married to Barry, but fawning over famous soap star Joey Tribbiani. Monica is still fat and dating a doctor. Chandler is an aspiring writer; so broke that he takes a job as Joey's assistant. Phoebe is a Wall Street shark for Merrill Lynch who has a heart attack. Ross tries to make Carol want him again. Chandler sells a story to Archie Comics. It turns out Monica is still a virgin. Phoebe is fired from her job. Rachel makes plans to go to Joey's.

NOTE: This episode received an Emmy nomination for Directing (Michael Lembeck).
In the two episodes "The One That Could Have Been" (Part 1 & 2) the opening credits have been changed: you see the alter-egos of the cast members in the "alternate reality" (Monica still being fat, Joey as famous actor etc.).
When the "The One That Could Have Been" was divided into two parts for syndication, a sequence was added that had the ending credits superimposed. It shows fat Monica dancing to some music while eating some food. The original hourlong airing of "The One That Could Have Been" did not have the credits at the end of the first half hour and this scene was not involved.

(2)
Carol and Ross decide to have a threesome to spice up their marriage. Rachel goes to Joey's and kisses him. Chandler and Monica have sex and end up together anyway. Susan meets Carol. Rachel catches Barry cheating.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I ALWAYS miss the beginning of these episodes and wonder what on earth is going on. Because the credits part was changed also, I thought that these were pilot episodes.

Hey, I'm sure somebody caught the discrepency with Barry's last name. In the pilot, Rachel says his last name is Finkle, but in later episodes, it's Farber. I don't know why they even changed it. I guess it was a case of short term memory from the writers. Just like when they changed the number on the doors of Mon's& Rach's apt. and Joey & Chandler's. I think at the beginning it was 4 & 5? and now it's 19 & 20.:wave: :wave: :wave: