Very interesting and well-done series that does not quite do what it says in the title, since it is not in fact concerned with the first origins of life, but instead begins with more complex lifeforms. Even so, there is much to interest non-specialist viewers, and it probably contains greater scientific content than some of Attenborough's more celebrated series that have a greater emphasis on photographing the living.

The first part is better than the second but both fail to expand on some of the really interesting ideas that are brought up, particularly those involving the most recent theories. Overall it's good (for once even the typically-dodgy BBC CGI isn't gratuitously overused) yet you can't shake the feeling that a longer series would've made more sense, and could've still been achieved without stepping on the wrinkly toes of Life on Earth.