Ok I am pretty sure this is a bug and will make me even more crazy..... BUT....
I just started Big Ben AND on the first level then after restarting on the second level this happened:
During the battle the game "locked" up for a few seconds approximately 30 then reloaded, when it came back after the reload, the battle continued and there was no extra animatics. ie: no showing of pips ,any shields, no hand movements, spell effects, etc. the between round dealt hand was visible and i muddled thru and finished the battle. On the first floor I was then unable to talk to the NPC, whatever his name, i forget, and was unable to either proceed or exit out of the doors.
This happened on the first and second floors, then i was "logged out due to inactivaty (sp?) "
Is this something I am just going to have to Frustrate my way through or have I encountered a bug that has a fix?
To me sounds like you hit a bug, granted non that I have hit with any of my characters but still. I would normally suggest to exit the game and restart it from scrath that normally fixes weird stuff.
What happened to you sounds like what happens to me sometimes when I -almost- lose connection, just enough to get the little broken chain picture but not enough to kick me out of the instance/fight.
It's very annoying fighting a fire mob with a fire wizard when you can't see who has fire prisms and ice shields, or how many blades you have!
Though, you SHOULD still see the list of how many pips everyone has in the little tag at the top and bottom of the screen (for the enemy and you), just not around your character on the screen.
As far as talking to NPCs after, that sounds like a result of leaving the instance. At least with Big Ben you should be able to enter again afterwards.