Why The Apartment Numbers In The Big Bang Theory Mean More Than You Think
The Big Bang Theory was the only show brave enough to ask the question, "what if nerds were fun to hang out with?" The concept proved a hit, and the series remains one of America's most beloved sitcoms. The show starred Rosanne's Johnny Galecki and Hollywood's Jim Parsons as physicist roommates whose world gets turned upside down by their new neighbor, Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco (who later starred in The Flight Attendant). The Big Bang Theory ran on CBS for 12 seasons, and during that time, the denizens of the Los Robles Apartment Building had to contend with love, professional rivalries, and Wil Wheaton.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation alum plays a fictionalized version of himself on the show, and he initially serves as an antagonist to our nerd pals. Sheldon often ends their interactions yelling "WHEATON!!!" to the heavens in the style of his beloved Captain Kirk shouting "KHAN!!!" Eventually, a detente is reached, and Wheaton becomes a classic enemy-turned-trusted-ally, just like Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra. But there's something you may not have noticed about Wheaton's house number.
Numbers are a great place to insert inside jokes and Easter eggs in movie and TV production. Every Pixar movie includes the alphanumeric code A113 in homage to a beloved CalArts classroom. George Lucas included the number 1138 in his films, alluding to his first feature THX-1138. And Kevin Smith uses 37 in ways that are...let's just say "inventive." Lost even made significant repeating numbers integral to the show's mythology.
The apartment numbers on The Big Bang Theory include a sneaky Star Trek reference
Wil Wheaton's house number on The Big Bang Theory is 1701, an obvious reference to TNG's USS Enterprise-D. Wheaton's breakout character Wesley Crusher lived on the starship as a teen, whose registry is NCC-1701-D, for four years. He wasn't always the most beloved character on the show — in fact, many fans despised the little whelp. But Wheaton put up with the fan derision long enough to become a beloved nerd personality at cons and on TBBT. Obviously Wil Wheaton the TV character still hasn't gotten over his love-hate years on the Enterprise. Still got some stuff to work out emotionally, don't we?
But that's not the only number-related detail on The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon only visits Wheaton's house after Wil clashes with Amy and Sheldon accidentally sides with his frenemy instead of his future wife. When Sheldon brings Amy TNG DVDs, we see that her apartment number is 314, a reference to Pi. If Wheaton's house number is significant to his character, what does Pi say about Amy? Like the actress who plays her, Amy is a neurobiologist. Neurobiology is a field in which the number rarely figures. However, Sheldon is a physicist, and they've got Pi coming out of the wazoo. Amy's apartment number thus serves as a subtle hint that the two belong together.