NCIS Round Table: "Power Down"

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TV Fanatic's review of "Power Down" touched on just how good last night's NCIS was because of the blackout, whereas so many other shows would have fallen short.

Below, our staff members break down the latest episode of TV's #1 show in further detail in an NCIS Round Table discussion. Here's what our panel had to say ...

1. What was your favorite NCIS quote from the episode?

The Barnacle: Tough call! Either Abby's "joke" that she admitted was only funny if you have a PhD in chemistry, or Gibbs' nonchalant "Book 'em, Da-Nozzo" after Tony had been annoying everyone with outdated TV show reference all night.

Dr. Shepherd: I'm going to go with all the NCIS quotes Gibbs does not produce even when he's directly spoken to. This must have happened 5-6 times last night. Gibbs is a man who does not utter a word unless he deems it directly necessary for survival.

M.L. House: Ducky saying he "let the staff use 107." Gibbs' reaction said it all.

2. The blackout as a plot device: gimmick or genius?

M.L. House: Genius. I loved Mark Harmon and David McCallum unflinchingly carrying about their business as their older characters would, and watching the younger kids all scramble.

Dr. Shepherd: Great stuff. Fitting that creator Donald Bellisario (of Magnum P.I. fame) would re-integrate the old school element (and humor) to today's most bad-ass crime fighters.

The Barnacle: A little gimmicky. How realistic is it that it would stay out that long? I know I'm being a little nit-picky and it did lead to some great exchanges, but it felt a little forced.

3. Whose response to the blackout did you most enjoy?

The Barnacle: Tony, for how it bothered him to be out of his element.

M.L. House: Abby's the best. Blackout, schmackout. She dumps those boxes of fingerprints on the floor to dig through like it's nothing at all. Girl even got it done without her Caf-Pow.

Dr. Shepherd: McGee. That guy is so McGeeky and helpless sometimes, but he's always the first one through the door with his gun drawn. I also loved Gibbs calling McGee out for rubbing his success in Tony's face, but approvingly, not admonishingly.

4. Did you think Lt. Paxton was actually a heroine?

Dr. Shepherd: Even after they learned she was an undercover NSA agent with "backdoor" access around iris scanners ... I still wasn't sure what to make of her. Loved the suspense.

M.L. House: I started to see it coming after the team's first few efforts to link her (or her husband) to the perpetrators failed. This episode made me feel like an investigator myself.

The Barnacle: No. Great twist. As was how the team caught Paxton’s killer by making him believe the power came back on. They're one step ahead of the bad guys ... and me.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.

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NCIS Season 7 Episode 8 Quotes

Abby: I don't understand! I mean why does autopsy get back up power and I don't? MTAC I get that, but what does Ducky have that I don't?7
Gibbs: Corpses.
Abby: I'll get some corpses!

Gibbs: Book 'em, Dan-ozzo.
Tony: Nice Hawaii Five-O reference, boss.