hey all. i'm writing a screenplay-type story involving gray aliens, and i need to have a clear understanding (even a made up one) as to the reasons the grays look the way they do. here goes: grays are from a system where the sun is relatively farther away from the planet. things are not only somewhat darker there, resulting in the need for larger eyes, but uv rays aren't much of a problem for them. when these grays happen upon a system like our own, they need to wear a suit, like a second skin in a way, which gives them their "gray" color. they also need dark contact-lense objects, which are soft like a thin flesh, and which cover their large but very human eyes. without this suit, their skin and eyes would be burned rapidly by our sun's uv rays. additionally, if the suit and eye covers are removed, the grays look like slender, shorter humans with small noses, large heads, and one less finger. the grays are a much older species that humans. their need for 5th fingers and toes are gone. they're thinner physically because they rely on their mind, similar to the way cavemen had smaller craniums but larger muscles than humans. because of this mental capacity, the grays have a sort of weak telepethy, not perfect but great for parlor tricks. while their society functions well collectively and with nature, they have lost their spirituality, the way that church is being driven out of our society. while the grays can feel emotions, they're used to reproducing by scientific means. their reasons for coming to this planet are twofold: while most of the visitors are scientists bent on observing, the way we sometimes go into an animals natural habitat, some of the visitors, the ones most often seen, function more like poachers, keeping some humans and throwing some others back. these have no basis on scientific fact. they're just things i made up to explain parts of the story. anything to add? or would you like to see some of your own theories in a show? let me know. thanks, ren

I don't think it is necessary to explain their grayness. There are lots of gray animals here on Earth (elephants come immediately to mind). That does not mean there is no need for all this background information - I think developing a detailed back story is always a good idea. I just don't think anyone is really going to care why they are gray. These guys sound a lot like the typical UFO alien slight of body, big of head, four rather than five digits. That's fine, it's something your audience will have no trouble identifying with. What you do with them, i.e. the actual story line, is what will be the most important. And a strong back story can often help in developing a strong final story. Just my 2 cents. jon

thanks for the reply. the reason i'm going to explain the grayness, is because one in the movie actually undresses a little. i can't wait to get more done on this screenplay. thanks again!