The cover of Outside In Wants to Believe
A small Canadian press called ATB Publishing formed in 2012, then launched a series of nonfiction books under the banner Outside In. Conceived as collections of creative, entertaining commentary about the British television series Doctor Who, the line eventually expanded to include other genre shows, including such fare as the original Star Trek and its successors, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Twin Peaks. Each book comprises scores of short pieces that, while essentially functioning as reviews of all the individual episodes (and occasional films) of a particular series, often masquerade as something else: a story, a selection of newspaper clippings, a set of personal letters, and all manner of other written forms. In other words, these are critical but fun works that offer clever takes on the installments of various televison programs.
Editor Stacey Smith?—yes, Stacey employs a question mark as the last character of her surname—invited David R. George III to contribute to a volume entitled Outside In Wants to Believe. The book explores seasons seven through eleven of The X-Files, the second feature film, all three seasons of Millennium, and the single seasons of The Lone Gunmen and Harsh Realm. David chose to write about one of his favorite Millennium episodes, “Skull and Bones,” in a tale he calls, “Victim 47: A Selection of Materials from Evidence Locker 1013, Prince William County Police, Southeastern District.”
David’s wife, talented actor-writer-director Karen Ragan-George, has also penned an entry, a story about the Millennium episode “Nostalgia,” which she dubbed, “That Old Black Magic.”