Directed by Thomas J Wright
Written by Steven D Binder & David J North
Season 7, Episode 8:
Power Down
The team literally finds themselves in the dark when the investigation into the death of a lieutenant is connected to a city-wide blackout.
- Autopsy Snack Time: Backup generators are powering the backup lights as well as the autopsy freezers, so the employees store their perishable foods in the empty freezers.
- Big Blackout: The premise of the episode. Oh, the fun the writers must have had poking fun at the usual NCIS bells and whistles.
- Big "NO!":
- The MMORPG gamer's reaction when the screen reads "Internet Connection Lost".
- Abby, when the batteries in her music player die.
- Big "WHAT?!": The gamer's mom's response to the gamer yelling.
- Borrowed Biometric Bypass: Lt. Paxton was one of two people who were secretly authorized by the NSA to have access to every iris scanner in any facility in the entire US federal government. The bad guys discovered this somehow, and kidnapped her so they could use her eye to get access to the computer center that was their target.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: With no electricity to run the Xerox machine, the team digs an old mimeograph out of storage, but Gibbs is the only one who knows how to use it.
- Chekhov's Gun: It's mentioned that the entertainment business the victim was involved with has a bunch of generators for their events which they conveniently used for their building. The team borrows one to trick the true culprit into leading them to the phony server.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The security guard who was shot masterminded the whole blackout and was responsible for Lt. Paxton's demise.
- Foreshadowing: Ziva tells McGee that being stuck in the elevator could be worse...they could be stuck there with Tony. In the season 10 premiere, she does get stuck in the elevator with him.
- Fake American: In-Universe. The security guard who sounds as American as apple pie and claims to be a big Wizardsnote fan, is actually a former Russian intelligence operative.
- Hero of Another Story: Lt. Paxton was a secret agent working for the NSA... and it's pretty obvious she was a badass. She had a secret stash of weapons and spy gear, she'd had multiple injuries and broken bones from her work, and her last two acts were to make an attempt to mess up her eyes to thwart a computer center break-in (which didn't work, but as Abby says, it was still a great attempt), then to cuff herself to a pipe, knowing she would be killed, to clue NCIS in that they needed to investigate further. As Gibbs stated, she had a choice, and that's what makes her a hero. One suspects stories of her life would be amazing.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Subverted. At first, the NSA tried to divert NCIS' attention so they could investigate the break-in and blackout in-house. But seeing that NCIS had more progress, the NSA cooperated with NCIS to catch the Big Bad.
- Left the Background Music On: It's established several times that the music playing in Abby's lab is her own library. In "Power Down," a scene in Abby's lab starts out with her music, but ends with the music slowing to a stop as the CD player runs out of battery.
- Replaced with Replica: The real objective of the break-in wasn't to steal anything but to replace one of the server blades with a compromised copy.
- Rewatch Bonus: During the opening gunfight, the security guard who turns out to be the Big Bad emerges from a side door before "joining" his fellow guard in shooting back at the intruders.
- Right Behind Me: Gibbs, per usual. With the power out, Tony cracks several jokes about Gibbs and the power outage.Ziva: I'm sure Gibbs is feeling right at home.
Tony: Well you don't need electricity to use hand tools or drink a bottle of bourbon. *nyuk* *nyuk* *nyuk* *snerk*
(McGee and Ziva share knowing looks)
McGee: He's right behind you, isn't he?
Tony: (sees Gibbs behind him) Yes, he is. - Shout-Out:
- During the blackout, Tony includes references to "pre-tech" cop shows like Dragnet, Baretta and Kojak.
- When the team stumbles upon a shipping container full of guns, McGee references Doctor Who while Tony references Lord of War.
- Gibbs gets into the act when they arrest the culprit. Lampshaded by Tony who catches it.
- Special Edition Title: After the opening credits, the street lights go out, then so do the lights on Capitol Hill, then the screen snaps to black.
- Uncomfortable Elevator Moment: McGee and Ziva are trapped in the elevator when the power goes out.
- Useless Without Cell Phones: The younger members of Team Gibbs have a difficult time adjusting to the power cut that renders all of their usual technology unusable. Gibbs is amused by this, for the most part.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The Big Bad killed his two henchmen after they have broken into the server farm and installed a compromised server.
- What Are Records?: No-one except Gibbs can recognize or use a mimeograph (a kind of copying machine that pre-dated photocopiers).
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Stone, the security guard, coached his underlings to shoot him in the shoulder during the gunfight to divert suspicion away from him.
