The Big Crunch

The Big Crunch was supposed to be a science-fiction film produced by Ted and Nick Phillips. It was recorded on VHS-C format media using the old camera on September 29, 2001, but it was not edited or released to the public until December 31, 2009.

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The mad scientist Nickélass attempts to take over the world by bringing about the contraction of the universe until the secret agents Ted and Rich come to the rescue.

The Big Crunch is based on an acting exercise created by Ted and Nick Phillips during a visit to Hyde Park, New York in February 2001. Nickélass's plan is based on one of several theories about the fate of the universe, the Big Crunch Theory, that Nick Phillips learned from the Scientific American Library "The Universe: From Quarks to the Cosmos" CD-ROM. Nick Phillips learned about the theoretical particles called gravitons from the Science Advantage 2000 "Astronomy" CD-ROM.

The Big Crunch was a commercial flop. It performed poorly at the box office, probably due to the fact that the film was unscripted, incomplete, and never released. Critics pointed out that the concept was poorly executed, the action scenes were mediocre, and the characters were not believable.

• There is an American flag in the window because this film was recorded in September 2001, soon after the September 11 attacks. It was customary for Americans at the time to show their patriotism in an increased fashion by displaying more American flags than usual.
• Nickélass has bound Ted and Rich to a conveyor belt, much like Hard Drive does to Razor and T-Bone in the season one episode of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
  "Night of the Dark Kat."
• Ted is wearing a Fordham Freshman T-shirt. Ted Phillips had received one of these T-shirts as a member of the Freshman Cross Country Team at Fordham Prep.
• Rich says in a narrating voice, "Key joined your party," as if the characters were in an RPG. Rich Falantano was likely influenced by the prevalence of games made with RPG Maker 2000 at the time.
• After Ted and Rich escape, Rich does a victory dance to his own cover of the song "That's the Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band.
• Rich drinks what Ted tells him is "Hi-C Iced Tea." Ted mentions two of the commercials for the product.
• Ted and Rich talk about the robbery at the Nuclear Power Plant in Springfield, Europe. In The Simpsons, which the actors watched frequently, there is also a Nuclear Power Plant in Springfield.
• Ted suggests to Rich, "Let's go to wherever Springfield is," similarly ignorant of Springfield's location as the producer from the seventh season episode "Radioactive Man" of The Simpsons who requests, "Get me two plane tickets to the state that Springfield is in."
• In the Nuclear Power Plant, Ted wields a Nintendo Super Scope.
• Rich screams, "That's impossible!" with the same level of emotion that Luke Skywalker delivers the identical line upon learning that Darth Vader is his father in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
• Anonymous threatens Nickélass with a Nerf gun.

When applying to film school, Ted Phillips described The Big Crunch in his portfolio:

Ted Phillips said:

An evil mastermind attempts to make the universe collapse on itself.

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