OK, so have any of you ever tried to read James Joyce’s Ulysses? I have. I hung in there for 30 pages. My reason for giving up: Joyce’s seemingly endless chain of references to obscure literary works. I figured if I had no clue what Joyce was alluding to then I had no hope of understanding Ulysses.

So that’s why I’m currently perplexed. How is CBS’s Big Bang Theory drawing such big audiences? I mean, how has this show become the second most watched sitcom on television?

(A quick description for those of you who have never seen an episode of Big Bang Theory: A gorgeous, yet somewhat empty-headed, girl moves into an apartment across the hall from two of the geekiest guys on the planet, Leonard and Sheldon. The guys befriend the girl and the story begins.)

Right. So you want to know what’s bothering me. Besides having abnormally high IQs, Leonard and Sheldon earn the title of “geeks” because of their love of comic books, Halo, “Star Wars” and Star Trek. And to communicate this love to audiences, the writers of Big Bang Theory jam pack episodes with references.

You want to know something, though? I get pretty much all of them. Why? Well, put it this way: I am to Big Bang Theory, as one of the world’s most renowned Joyce scholars is to Ulysses. I know, my parents are just so proud.

My credentials? (Quick note to girls here at Cardozo between the ages of 23 and 25: please stop reading now.) I’ve hit the comic book shop almost every Wednesday for years. I’ve watched the entire Battlestar Galactica series two times over (“So say we all!”). I cannot express my love for Star Trek: The Original Series in mere words. I was Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D for Halloween. The Enterprise, ahem, also happens to grace the background of my laptop. Oh, and this one’s good: I own an authentic, or authentic as possible, Darth Vader lightsaber. Yeah, we’re done here, I’m pretty sure you get the picture now.

Let’s get back to Big Bang Theory, though, all right? So I know I get mostly all the references, but what about all those out there who don’t (gasp!) regularly read comic books or watch the same science fiction films over and over? To see what it would be like I popped in one of my Big Bang Theory DVDs and randomly chose an episode to watch.

In the first 94 seconds, there were two obscure Star Trek references. First, Leonard made a joke about Vulcan sexual reproduction. The joke multiplies in hilarity exponentially if one has seen the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Amok Time,” in which Vulcan sexual reproduction, known to Vulcans as Pon farr, is explained. The next gag was by Sheldon; a reference to Spock’s last words in the film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” So there it was, enough proof—at least by my standards—that Big Bang Theory rewards the faithful by digging deep into the geek multiverse.

All right, so then, by my Spockian logic, just like me and Ulysses, non-geeks should not enjoy Big Bang Theory. But that just isn’t the case. Here’s why: Big Bang Theory is easy to like because, at its core, it’s about basic human interaction—and everyone knows something about that. I guess, really, the referential nods to us geeks serve more as a bonus. And, hey, I’m cool with that. But, man, you would think Joyce could have made some effort to be as inclusive.