(S07E08) NCIS did something so great on tonight's episode that I'm surprised I haven't seen it done on another procedural until now. If you haven't seen the show yet, I won't spoil it, but I will say that it was a complication that really made the show.

There were moments for DiNozzo to reference all kinds of TV shows from the past, a chance for Gibbs to prove that there's nothing he can't handle with aplomb, and even the opportunity for Abby to show that sans Cafe Pow, she's still the sharpest lab tech in NCIS. More on the case after the jump.

When you have to go unplugged, how do the forensic experts and the criminologists and the specialists figure out how to do their jobs? No cell phones? No computers? No spectrum analyzers? That's right, the power was out and Washington was running on generator power only. For the NCIS crew, that meant literally working in the dark. It was hilarious to watch the techno-stress grip them all -- especially McGeek.

On the Swift Cast crime scene, Gibbs showed his resourcefulness. He had Polaroid cameras. That's what those things were, folks, that he handed McGee and Tony. Remember Polaroids? What was so funny was that not only did Jethro have the cameras, he had the film, too! And when McGee asked if he had anything to eat, Gibbs offered him a can of sardines.

After nine hours and 21 minutes stuck in the elevator together, I was shocked that Ziva and Tim didn't need a pit stop. Instead, they were right on the case. That's TV, right?

When they figured out that one of the servers had been switched out, it was sort of a nod to Switch -- a 1975 TV series with Robert Wagner, who will be appearing in an upcoming show as Tony's dad.

The undercover Naval officer who was killed in the line of duty turned out to be a heroine. She made certain that her death would be investigated and thus the switch would be revealed. It was a good story turn, especially since the ramifications of that one server blade getting out would have been a true security breach.

Other points of interest

-- Tony had shout outs to Kojak, Dragnet, Toma and Baretta. He even brought along a Tootsie Pop like Theo Kojak.

-- Gibbs got in on the act, too, with the "Book 'em, Dan-ozzo." Right out of Hawaii Five-O.

-- And what about McGee's appreciation of the storage container as something from Dr. Who?

[Watch clips and episodes of NCIS at SlashControl.]