Larry remarks at one point that he's always believed himself to be "more a Mycroft than a Dr. Watson." The reference is to Sherlock Holmes' equally (or, arguably, more) intelligent older brother who rarely assists in cases because his interests are so different than Sherlock's. And of course to Sherlock's smart but non-genius famous sidekick.
Trying to determine whether a dead body is Amita Ramaujan, a medical examiner finds evidence of a shotgun wound and says, "Unless Dr Ramanujan's been out duck-hunting with an ex-Vice President ...." This refers to an incident on February 11, 2006, in which Dick Cheney (who was Vice-President of the US at the time) accidentally shot a hunting companion with a shotgun while hunting quail on a large ranch in Texas. The victim, who was hit in the face, neck, and chest, eventually recovered.
In this episode, James Callis plays a cult leader, with a harem of girlfriends. In the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica (2004), his character, Gaius Baltar, becomes the charismatic leader of a monotheistic "cult" (differentiated from the "mainstream" polytheistic culture of the show), surrounded by a devoted group of young women.