The aliens in question are the cast of the new show Roswell starring Jason Behr (Dawson's Creek) and newcomer Shiri Appleby. Also joining the cast - Katherine Heigl, Majandra Delfino, Brendan Fehr, Colin Hanks, Nick Wechsler and William Sadler.

Roswell is set in the New Mexico town made famous by the alleged crash of an alien spacecraft in July of 1947. Several witnesses claim to have made contact with the ship's debris, stating that the material would not burn or scratch, and it would return to its normal state after being crumpled. And others recount tales of alien bodies lying dormant in the wreckage. All of this, naturally, has been refuted time and again by the US military. They still say the craft was nothing more than a weather balloon.

But producers David Nutter (The X-Files) and Jason Katims (My So-Called Life) are spinning a new angle on the story in Roswell. They reveal that not only did aliens dive bomb into the American west 50 years ago, but their descendants are living among us under the guise of human personas.

"To me, one of the exciting things about the premise of the show is that the three alien characters in the show don't know about their history," says Katims. "From a writing point of view, it's exciting because as they discover their backstory, the audience is discovering it."

Although it would be easy to define Roswell as a science fiction program, Katims and Nutter have opted to steer away from the sci-fi aspects and focus more on the quest for identity and acceptance. The stories will be told from the point of view of the human residents of Roswell, but will also call upon the unique voice of the aliens. It is they who must struggle to conceal their otherworldly identities while discovering what it means to be human.

Says Katims, "We have a way of doing it in a way that can be personal and hopefully very emotional and not just about the facts about what's happened. It's something we're going to discover with the characters and it will be a long ride and hopefully a really fulfilling journey."

Katims and Nutter have been able to set Roswell aside from thematically similar programs like The X ­Files by emphasizing the romantic facets of the story. Nevertheless, the show does have aliens, and the actors that play them have taken a strong interest in the events surrounding the alleged UFO crash.

"My father actually sent me the official government records on Roswell, and it's very interesting," says Roswell actress Jessica Heigl. It's all based on the weather balloon, but supposedly now, people that were involved in the supposed crash are able to speak freely. And they still say it was a weather balloon. I don't know. There's still that mystery there."

Roswell actor Jason Behr, who says the movie ET had a strong impact on him when he was a child, is forthright on the topic. "For me to sit here and to tell you that we are the only intelligent life form that ever existed would be very arrogant of me."

If we are living elbow-to-elbow with aliens, and if we are one day to communicate with them, we should be prepared to face a frightening possibility. They may know a lot more about being human than we do.