Bringing the reader up to speed
One of my niggles that turns up again and again in cop shows on TV - the CSI type of thing - is when the detectives stand around in their office and spout exposition. I don't mean one of them telling the others what's happened, but four or more of them each telling each other what they already know. They're only doing this so the viewer knows as well.
Character A knows exactly how much to say before character B takes over. Character B then gracefully gives in to character C who somehow knows wh...
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Yup, agree with everything you say. Though it always worries me in a book I'm if the characters sit round tooooo long. On the other hand, having them do random stuff that doesn't relate to the conversation or to anything purposeful is just as bad! NCIS is certainly hectic in its approach, but not as bad as a movie we gave up on last night, in which all the action of the big opening sequence was shot in semi-darkness with flashing lights of all colours obscuring what the characters were actually doing. It was supposed to be New Year's Eve in an Asian country. Could have been anywhere!
Way too much flash in modern film-making. Shaky cameras, CGI and zippy editing can't disguise dull words, cliched characters and plot holes.
The key to exposition is letting the reader discover knew facts only at the same time as the main character learns them. how many TV mysteries/dramas take the action away from the principle character (detective or otherwise) and into the lives of secondary characters? This takes all the surprise out of the narrative.
Sadly, TV drama is governed by time constraints and the fact that most viewers don't really pay attention to the story, just colour and movement. That's why the camera is constantly moving and shaking, sometimes furiously circling two characters and their banal dialogue. (N.C.I.S. is the worst.)
An author can do a better job of storytelling, using a first-person or third-person technique. There's nothing wrong with writing a scene that's just two people just sitting in a room, talking to each other, as long as they are: a) saying something interesting, b) learning new facts and c) soon to get up off their butts and get on with the action.